The development of the early years sector mustn't get neglected in the chaos

I am a proud member of the Early Education and Childcare All Party Parliamentary Group, campaigning for a meaningful review of childcare and early education policy and funding, addressing the market failure the sector is experiencing, and maximising the enormous impact it has on children’s development and learning. The most recent APPG meeting looked at some crucial issues we’re facing: social mobility, strengthening the case for reform, and ensuring the early years sector remains sustainable.

The Effective Pre-School, Primary and Secondary Education (EPPSE) project found that ‘attending a pre-school setting increased educational attainment: with the resulting increase in lifetime earnings that benefited the individual and the exchequer’. Not only do we know how much the early years can influence a child’s attainment throughout school, we also want to drive home the importance of high-quality early education as a key factor in advancing social mobility, as it is at this time when the gap in outcomes between disadvantaged children and their more affluent peers first takes hold.

The early years workforce

The Early Years Workforce Strategy (2017), included a commitment by the DfE to develop career pathways, stating, ‘We want to support the workforce to develop both professionally and personally, and want staff to understand how to achieve their career goals.’

The sector offers many opportunities for progression – with qualifications from Levels 1 to 6 and beyond - whatever the starting point and it is this that will promote social mobility, by capturing interest and skills and nurturing expertise to achieve. The richness of choice in the sector is fantastic and that in itself brings the opportunity for social mobility, we just need to ensure that we actively promote early years careers advice.

A recent Early Years Workforce Commission report found that 62% of respondents to our survey said that improved professional development would support their employees to continue providing excellent teaching to young children and obtain the qualifications that would attract higher wages.’ This shows that Continual Professional Development (CPD) within the sector is vital to supporting the workforce development.

The costs of establishing and sustaining a highly qualified early years workforce are significant but should be seen as an investment in human capital for future generations and a signal of the importance given to securing social mobility for those young children who are left behind.

Sustainability leads to progression

Each qualification, regardless of level, is a step towards a progressive career that provides social mobility for learners and inspiration for the beneficiaries, the children, and their families alike.

Progression into a career in early years can be through a classroom based technical or T-Level programme or alternatively, young people may do an applied general qualification which would be taken alongside A-levels. Apprenticeship standards at level 2 and level 3 include the early years criteria-based qualifications Early Years Practitioner and Early Years Educator which offer students and employers a practical progression route. Worryingly though, there has been a 25% drop year-on-year in apprentices in early years so reversing this is critical to supporting the future of the sector.

The increase in unqualified staff and a downward trend in the number of those qualified to level 3 (in the number of vocational certificates issued from 2012 onwards) is a huge sustainability issue. There does seem to have been an upturn since 2017 however, which could be attributed to the change in requirements in English and maths after functional skills was reinstated.

The COVID effect

The pandemic has allowed those working in the early years to look at what happens when access to childcare is taken away.

53% of parents of 2-4-year olds whose children had not been able to attend their childcare provider said that the situation had a negative effect on their child’s social and emotional development. Working class parents (classed as C2DE) parents are more likely to cite their child’s learning and development as a reason for their child returning to the childcare provider (48%) than middle class, or ABC1 parents (37%).

Writing in Ofsted’s December annual report, chief inspector Amanda Spielman said: ‘What closures have reminded us about here is the importance of consolidation in learning. The knowledge and skills that matter aren’t learned instantly. They have to be practised and reinforced – ideally both at home and in school.’

As a critical sector, testing and vaccination for our staff and students must be a priority.

So what now?

As the research shows, the first years of a child’s life is crucial in influencing their later chances, so the need to develop a well-qualified and professional early years workforce which has the capacity to transform young lives, especially for those from less advantaged homes is urgent.

Only by supporting the sector in a strategic, joined-up way can we sustain a high-quality service, which is crucial for the future of the UK’s economy and the outcomes of young people.

Childcare and early education has never been more important. With such disruption happening across the education sector and society as whole, now more than ever we need to ensure that the development and sustainability of the early years sector does not get forgotten in the chaos.

You can watch a recording of the recent meeting of the APPG on Childcare and Early Education: Early Education and Social Mobility here.

Julie Hyde is the director of external and regulatory affairs at NCFE