The new coalition Government has been in power no more than a few weeks. It is too early to say for certain what policies will be put in place that affect the early years sector, particularly when the reduction of the budget deficit is paramount, and we are still in a position where we need to 'wait and see'.
Nevertheless we can speculate a little on the basis of the statements made by the new Government both in the in the coalition document and publicly by Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Education, and Sarah Teather, the Minister of State for Children and Families.
The Government has stated that it is looking to obtain a diverse range of providers, with a greater gender balance in the early years workforce.
Q: How will the Government achieve this and what will this mean for nurseries in practice?
It is difficult to see how a greater gender balance can easily be achieved by changes to the law. Any overt measures may well be challenged for being discriminatory. The main way in which this is likely to be done is by means of altering public perception of the nursery profession.
Certainly, several pre-election statements made by the Conservatives (in the context of primary and secondary education) were about changing the public perception of teaching as a career, and they may well be looking do likewise in the early years sector. Perhaps one way of doing this would be to highlight the achievements of the many males who already work in the early years sector.
Of course the nature of work in the early years sector means that hours can be convenient for those with children of their own, which may be why it has been attractive to a female workforce to date.
The Government has stated that it will extend the right to request flexible working to all employees and in addition, it will encourage shared parenting from the earliest stages of pregnancy - including the promotion of a system of flexible parental leave.
Q: How will it look to achieve this and what is the likely effect on early years providers?
It is clear that the Government is looking to encourage businesses to adopt more flexible working practices. It is likely that it will take the lead in this respect by extending the right to request flexible working to those in the public sector. Legislation affecting the private sector may follow.
The immediate conclusion is that this may reduce the demand for nursery care, as parents can adapt their working hours around the requirements of their children. But this may not necessarily be the case.
A recent Government-funded research study undertaken by the Office for National Statistics has said what we have all known for a while - that pre-school children who attended nursery performed significantly better when they started school than those who did not. Those children also showed a greater range of social skills and managed to form better relationships.
The Early Years Foundation Stage has been useful in reinforcing the awareness that early years provision is not just about childcare, but that there is also an invaluable education element which prepares children for school and beyond. In my opinion, early years providers should emphasise this in their marketing material.
At the time of writing there have been no fresh statements on the Early Years Foundation Stage, despite the pre-election statements made by the Liberal Democrats that they would slim it down.
Of course, any change made in the law will affect the rights of staff employed by early years providers, and the providers should be ready for this.
The Government has confirmed that an extension to the free entitlement provision to 15 hours per week (from 12.5 hours per week) is to go ahead from September, as planned.
Q: What is the likely effect of this on day nurseries, and can nurseries start planning for this change?
This entitlement is for threeand four-year-olds. We would anticipate that the main thrust of the Government's actions in this area will be to encourage parents to ensure that they take up the entitlement, particularly when there has been a suggestion that the most disadvantaged families have been slow to take up the offer in the past. They may seek to do this through children's centres or otherwise.
Sarah Teather has stated, 'Parents should be able to choose when and how they use their free childcare to help fit in with their daily lives. We will be working closely with local authorities and nursery providers to help them promote greater choice for families'.
This seems to imply that measures will be put in place to encourage more flexibility in the childcare sector, presumably in recognition of the long, irregular hours many parents work.
One would expect capacity levels to increase as a result of this change. There is, of course, some concern among early years providers that the payments made in relation to the free entitlement are insufficient to cover their costs. Many feel that they should be entitled to charge top-up fees, but the Government's policy in this area is currently unclear. This is one issue on which the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats may disagree, judging by pre-election statements.
The Government says it will review the criminal records and vetting and barring schemes and scale them back to common-sense levels.
Q: What is the likely effect here and how long will it take to make these changes? What should nurseries do in the meantime?
It is too early to tell, to be honest. It is vital, however, that nobody forgets that the current regime is in place for a very good reason - to protect children in the care of others - and has come about as a direct result of a number of high-profile cases. For this reason I do not anticipate that substantial changes will be made to the main thrust of the regime, albeit there may be some tinkering around the edges. Obviously, all early years providers need to ensure that they comply fully with the current legislative requirements.
Robert Collier is a partner at Veale Wasbrough Vizards and heads the Early Years Team. Contact him on 0117 3145472 or rcollier@vwv.co.uk
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