Published today (12 October), the report from Dame Rachel De Souza suggests that schools should be used to provide more early years education in light of rising costs for private childcare providers, including rent or mortgage payments and utilities, which she says may make many settings unsustainable.
The report states, ‘As school rolls fall across the country, with the number of pupils in state funded primaries set to fall by a fifth over the next decade, there will be significant underused space in schools. Currently, rent or mortgage payments account for 12 per cent of private providers’ costs, and other costs (including utilities) account for 11 per cent - these are only likely to increase in the short term, and may make many childcare settings unsustainable. Opening up schools to provide more early years education would address both these issues. ‘
She goes on to suggest that using schools would also tackle the problem of low take-up of funded hours among children from disadvantaged backgrounds, as she says they are less likely to attend private settings. De Souza also claims the move would help tackle the sector’s recruitment and retention crisis.
The report explains, ‘One of the most significant challenges facing the sector is recruitment and retention of staff, with low pay and poor progression opportunities often cited as the cause. Bringing early education into the wider school sector would present an opportunity to align workforce training, development, and support with that of wider school staff and teachers. For too long those educating the youngest children haven’t had the respect and opportunities they deserve, and this needs to change. ‘
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, called the idea that more schools should be used to deliver early years education in place of PVI providers ‘misguided.’
He said, ‘It is disappointing that while this report rightly recognises that the current early years funding system isn't working, it fails to acknowledge that the only way to solve this problem is by substantially increasing investment into our vital sector. Extending existing offers across more age groups without tackling this fundamental issue will only exacerbate an already-dire situation.
‘What's more, with private and voluntary providers currently delivering the vast majority of early years places in this country, the suggestion that we should simply accept that those settings that are struggling are likely to become unsustainable in the long term and look to schools to deliver early years places in their place, is one we find deeply concerning. Those working in our sector have a wealth of very specific knowledge and expertise built up over years of experience supporting early learning and development and the suggestion that this could be so easily replaced is incredibly misguided.’
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), said she was ‘very disappointed that the commissioner had ignored the importance and prominence of the PVI sector.’
‘Private and voluntary nurseries deliver the largest proportion of funded childcare across England, offering high quality flexible early education and care throughout the year. Dame De Souza’s misguided solution to their challenges of high delivery costs and insufficient Government funding rates for childcare places is to move children to schools and childminders. The sensible solution is to use the existing infrastructure, but to pay a fair rate for places’, she explained.
‘Her main solution is for children to have their early education in schools, which may not be suitable for some children and their families.
‘What the Government must do now is to take a sensible approach towards funding early education adequately to cover all the costs rather than coming up with a series of unworkable solutions. They must invest sufficiently in those who are already delivering excellent care rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.’
De Souza on Childminders
The report also includes suggestions on how to ‘drive-up’ childminder numbers, an issue that the Prime Minister Liz Truss is thought to be focusing on with her plans to make childcare cheaper for families, according to reports.
De Souza’s proposals include:
- A requirement for every local area to have a childminder agency run by a local authority, multi-academy trust, a group of schools or the local Family Hub.
- An agency should provide a ‘bespoke brokerage service for parents – understanding what their working patterns are, what additional needs their child has and what their existing childcare arrangement are. They would also have excellent local knowledge.
- These agencies would provide a ‘vital layer’ of support to childminders, as well as accountability on quality. Ofsted should visit within the first 30 months of a childminder registering and then at least every six years.
The report from the Children's Commissioner for England is available here