Childcare and Early Years Provision in a Diverse Market The Governments Approach

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Childcare and Early Years Provision in a Diverse
Market The Governments Approach
Graham Archer DCSF Early Years Extended Schools
and SEN Group 12th May 2008
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Our Vision

• Every Child Matters - each with the support they
  need in, and beyond, the family
• Transforming life chances, opportunities and
  outcomes - and building aspiration - for all
• Especially those whose backgrounds and personal
  circumstances might hold them back 

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Investing in the Early Years - the Foundation for
Success

• Giving all children the best possible start in
  life - with particular benefits for most
  disadvantaged and vulnerable
• Helping parents balance work and family life with
  confidence
• Tackling child poverty and regenerating
  communities
• So we can
• Improve life chances
• Set the foundations for future success and
• Allow children and families to break out of cycle
  of underachievement
• And childcare and study support for older, school
  age children helps realise and sustain potential
  and supports parents
• Critical to meeting five ECM outcomes - staying
  safe being healthy enjoying and achieving
  achieving economic wellbeing and making a
  positive contribution
• Research clear on positive payback

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The Positive Payback (1)

• High quality early learning improves childrens
  development - esp those from disadvantaged
  backgrounds
• And effects last throughout primary school
• Authoritative EPPSE evidence
• At entry to primary school at 5, through to 7,
  and on to 10
• Benefits greatest for cognitive development, but
  positive impact for emotional and social
  development too
• Also reduces risk of SEN from 1 in 3 at entry to
  pre-school to 1 in 5 by the time children start
  primary

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The Positive Payback (2)

• Duration and Quality Matter
• At primary school entry, developmental advantage
  of those who attended quality pre-school of 4-6
  months over those who did not
• Advantage rises to up to 10 months for those
  benefiting from highest quality provision for
  longest (3 yrs from age 2)
• Advantages still visible at age 7 and 10 (better
  results in English and - more especially - maths)
  
• Disadvantaged children gain particular benefit
  from a high quality pre-school experience
• Gives them developmental boost, increasing
  chances of achieving minimum national standards
  at KS1
• And especially if they attended centres catering
  for mix of children from different social
  backgrounds

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The Positive Payback (3)

• EPPSE found integrated centres (combining high
  quality education and care and health and family
  support) do best in promoting better outcomes
• Also, substantial international evidence (esp
  from USA - eg Perry/High Scope) that intensive,
  integrated early childhood intervention
  programmes, supporting children and parents,
  substantially boost development of disadvantaged
  children
• They also show sustained employment, economic,
  behavioural and health benefits into adulthood

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The Positive Payback (4) - Extended Schools

• And evidence on impact of extending services
  positive too
• Manchester and Newcastle Univs Evaluation of Full
  Service Extended Schools demonstrates benefits to
  children, young people, families and wider
  community
• Enhance pupil engagement with learning family
  stability and life chances - and lower exclusion
  rates
• DCSF analysis of a sample of the schools found
  progress in them around twice national average
  2005-06
• At KS4, of pupils achieving 5A-C grades at
  GCSE increased by over 5, compared to a 2.5
  increase in national average

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Early Years a New Frontier

• Radically changed early years and childcare
  landscape over last decade
• Ten Year Childcare Strategy 2004 - permanent and
  mainstream services - huge leap forward for
  welfare state
• Strategy Action Plan 2006 - very ambitious
  delivery programme to transform childrens and
  parents lives
• Underpinned by landmark Childcare Act 2006
• Universal childrens centres, nursery education
  and childcare
• New single integrated framework for learning and
  development 0 to 5 - Early Years Foundation Stage
  (EYFS) - from September 2008
• Childrens Plan sets wider context and new
  proposals to take forward/extend ten year
  strategy

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ECM in action, with delivery by and through

• Integrated services working across professional
  boundaries
• A mixed market, drawing on expertise and
  commitment of all sectors
• Particular focus on disadvantaged/vulnerable
• Building on Sure Start principles
• Prevention and early intervention and better
  support to parents and families
• Local change driven by Childrens Trust
  partnerships

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Childrens Plan

• Governments long term vision to improve schools,
  and enhance support for parents and families,
  building on decade of reform and results
• Strengthened support for all families
• Next steps in achieving world class schools - in
  21st century should be central to their
  communities
• Step-change in parental involvement in their
  childs learning
• Ensuring children happy, healthy and safe from
  harm

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The Childrens Plan 5 principles

• Government does not bring up children parents
  do
• All children have the potential to succeed
• Children need to enjoy their childhood
• Services need to be shaped by and responsive to
  children , young people and families, not
  designed around professional boundaries
• It is always better to prevent failure than
  tackle a crisis later

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Childrens Plan Early years

• 100m to extend free childcare places to 20,000
  of the most disadvantaged two year olds
• Every child ready for success in school, with at
  least 90 of children developing well across all
  areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage profile
  by age 5
• 117m invested in the early years workforce -
  for the Graduate Leader Fund and continuing
  professional development
• Review of the primary curriculum to examine
  transition from early years and issue of how to
  tackle the disadvantage experienced by Summer
  born children
• More advice, information and guidance to parents
  and families about their childs development
• Schools to work in partnership with other
  agencies. Childrens services increasingly based
  on school sites. Guidance to ensure schools are
  designed with other services co-located with them

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LAs in the Driving Seat (1)

• Champions of their communities
• Key to translating our vision into lasting
  benefits for children, and more choices,
  opportunities and support for parents
• New responsibilities for LAs and health and
  Jobcentre Plus partners, outlined in the
  Childcare Act 2006
• Improving outcomes at 5, and narrowing gaps that
  emerge from an early age between lowest achieving
  groups and the rest (social class starts to
  affect attainment from 22 months)
• Integrating early childhood services through
  universal network of Sure Start Childrens
  Centres

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LAs in the Driving Seat (2)

• Securing sufficient childcare for all those
  wanting to work or train, and free early
  education for 3 and 4 year olds (being extended
  to 15 hrs per week, and with more flexible
  delivery)
• Giving comprehensive information to parents, and
  encouraging take-up of formal childcare,
  including the free element
• 4bn new investment through Sure Start, Early
  Years and Childcare Grant to LAs 2008-11

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Progress so far

• Over 2,900 Sure Start Childrens Centres, serving
  more than 1.5m children
• Free entitlement - 96 3 year olds and almost all
  4 year olds
• accessing it extended to 38 wks from April
  2006
• 1.29m registered childcare places, for 1 in 4
  under 8s - growth targets met and provider
  closure rates in decline
• Over 10,000 schools (1 in 3 of the total)
  offering full range of extended services,
  including childcare and study support
• Ofsted confirms quality improving and workforce
  increasingly qualified
• Major investment of over 21bn on early years and
  childcare since 1997 underlines our determination
  to improve life chances
• Sufficiency Assessments completed

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But despite the progress and strong evidence
base..

• Variation in take-up of free offer and paid
  childcare by different groups
• Age 5 outcomes rising, but gaps not closing
• Childrens centres need more focus on, and
  success in, reaching most disadvantaged groups
• Too many children still living in poverty and in
  workless households

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The Challenges

• Helping all children develop to their full
  potential, so all doing better by 5
• Making services work for all families. Working in
  partnership and intervening early where necessary
• Increasing take-up by those who need them, and
  ensuring what offered really helps
• Particularly reaching disadvantaged and
  vulnerable children, so we narrow gap between
  them and their peers
• Improving outcomes and sustaining gains up the
  age range, so benefits last
• Maximising parents choices and opportunities
• Tough agenda - vital we all work effectively
  together. Turn enthusiasm and passion into
  results

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How we meet the Challenges (1)

• Better information and understanding about where
  children are, and what they/families need
• Improving practice and performance - inc more
  effectively joined up services
• Increasing understanding, commitment and
  knowledge throughout the delivery chain (DCSs
  engagement and support especially critical)
• Capturing, sharing and supporting good practice
• Additional resources for outreach and parenting
  support

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How we meet the Challenges (2)

• Testing and trialling targeted initiatives,
  including
• Free early learning for disadvantaged 2 year olds
  (increased to 20,000 by Childrens Plan)
• Free childcare for up to 50,000 workless parents
  undertaking training and
• Black and minority ethnic community pilot
• Easing transition from early years into primary
  school
• 265m subsidy so disadvantaged children benefit
  from extra sport, music and drama out of school
  hours. - part of 1.3bn funding boost to extended
  schools 2008-11
• Well qualified, skilled and motivated workforce -
  eg qualifications framework, graduate leadership
  
• Effective leadership and management and external
  challenge
• Telling the powerful story in way and language
  that better engages hearts and minds

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The Essential Ingredients for Success

• Increased intelligence on take up, demand, and
  barriers to delivery and accessibility
• Deploying evidence more smartly to make the
  policy case
• Gaining a deeper understanding of our audience
• Working with, and using stakeholders, more
  effectively
• Using the language of parents and providers
• Focusing the whole system and all its players on
  the same objectives and outcomes

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Securing Sufficiency

• New Local Authority duty
• So far as is reasonably practicable
• Partnership working
• Particular focus on lower income families and
  children with a disability
• Sufficiency in terms of timing, location,
  accessibility, affordability, quality,
  appropriateness. Led by parents demand.

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Impact on Providers

• Assessments support understanding of market
• Leads to more coherent commissioning
• LA has duty to support with provision of
  information, advice and assistance
• Opportunities to influence the process
• Private and voluntary sector the providers of
  first resort

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Increasing Childcare Take Up

• Take up least amongst lower income families,
  children with a disability and some minority
  ethnic families
• Language we use around childcare resonates least
  with lower income families
• Disadvantaged children most likely to benefit
  from longer early years provision and probably
  greater benefits from out of school activities
  for older children
• Settings in disadvantaged areas most likely to
  have sustainability issues

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Increasing Childcare Take Up

• Action to increase take up
• Affordable Childcare Campaign including
  increasing take up of the Working tax Credit
• Influencing the Sector and positioning childcare
  within the wider child poverty agenda
• Improving outreach, information and advice to
  parents parents as champions of childcare
• Improving availability of childcare for the over
  5s
• Focusing on needs of bme families and families
  with a disabled child
• Increasing affordability of childcare

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Improving quality

• EYFS setting the standards
• OfSTED registration and inspection
• Workforce development graduate leadership, Level
  3 as standard for group care, CPD
• LA oversight of quality improvement
• National QI Network sharing best practice

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Affordability

• Sufficiency Duty focus on affordable provision
• Universal provision for three and four year olds
  and pilot provision for two year olds
• Working Tax Credit
• Childcare for parents training for work
• London Childcare Affordability Programme

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Diversity in the Childcare Market

• Diverse market essential to sufficiency
• Private and voluntary providers often most likely
  to deliver more flexibly
• But quality sometimes variable
• Increasing number of partnerships across sectors

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Sustainability

• Childcare Places have doubled since 1997
• Occupancy low in some nurseries
• Closure rates still below those in small
  businesses as a whole
• But concerns amongst providers about
  sustainability

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Action to Increase Sustainability

• National Government
• Sufficiency Duty and Associated Funding
• Reform of Free Entitlement Funding
• Action to increase take up
• Local Government
• Market Management
• Partnerships with providers and referral agencies
• Family Information Services
• Providers
• Work in partnership with LAs
• Look hard at own marketing and business
  management
• Look to increase occupancy by improving take up
  from lower income families

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Conclusions

• Genuine transformation in the childcare and early
  years sector underway sufficiency, take up
  sustainability and integration of services
• Strong progress but some problems remain
• Diverse market the only game in town rightly
  so, its a strength
• Priority is to deliver what families need but
  need to keep an eye to what the sector can deliver