The measures outlined by Tolhurst have been previously announced or promised, or are extensions of existing initiatives - they form part of the Government's Early Years Recovery Programme, launched to help children impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The aim of measures is to support the sector to focus on children's development, help address the recruitment and retention crisis and provide opportunities for staff to train as special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs)
While the National Day Nurseries Association welcomed any support, it said 'what the sector really needs is to see ministers making childcare an urgent priority and put an end to the rumours and speculation [about deregulation], which are very unsettling.'
The package of support outlined by the minister today includes:
- A new universal online child development training offer to help staff improve their knowledge and understanding of how pre-school children develop and training to help parents encourage their children’s development at home.
- Graduate-level specialist training leading to early years teacher status.
- Early maths, language and social development training for 10,000 professionals through the third phase of the Professional Development Programme (PDP3), which is designed to support the learning and development of children affected by the pandemic.
- The national rollout of the Expert and Mentors programme to provide bespoke leadership support to 7,500 early years settings and childminders to address the impact of the pandemic on children in their care. This free support will be available across the country to eligible settings. It follows a pilot of the programme with 200 settings in the spring.
- Support for nearly 6,000 early years professionals to achieve the National Professional Qualification in Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL) – designed to support early years leaders to develop expertise in leading high-quality education and care, effective staff and organisational management and support the recovery of children’s development that has been impacted through the pandemic.
- Training for up to 5,000 Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) to obtain their Level 3 SENCO qualification, with the goal of being able to help identify children’s needs earlier so they have the right support – a commitment reaffirmed in the SEND Green Paper.
- A new network of 18 Stronger Practice Hubs to support early years practitioners to adopt evidence-based practice improvements, build local networks for sharing effective practice and cultivate system leadership.
- The continuation of the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme during the 2022-23 academic year – building on the two-thirds of primary schools which have already benefitted from the programme, improving the speech and language skills of an estimated 90,000 Reception pupils.
The DfE said separately that the ‘Government continues to consider responses to its consultation on regulatory changes in childcare and will respond in due course.’
'I'm really proud of the quality and dedication of our early years workforce'
Tolhurst commented, ‘The early years of a child’s life are vital, not only in establishing important developmental skills, but also in building a lifelong love of learning that will help them succeed in adult life.
‘I’m really proud of the quality and dedication of our early years workforce. This package of support is a huge investment in their skills and professional development, because raising the status of this important sector is key to its growth.’
'The sector has bigger challenges'
The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said any support was welcome, but the ‘sector has bigger challenges.’
Chief executive Purnima Tanuku explained, ‘Any support from the Government to help those who care for and educate our most vulnerable youngsters is welcome.
‘However, this project has been previously announced and the sector has bigger challenges to cope with. Nurseries and other childcare providers are really struggling to remain sustainable while their costs are going through the roof, but there’s been no uplift in the rate for funded childcare places.
‘The current political uncertainty is not helping the early years sector to focus on what they do best – which is supporting our children and families. As childcare providers’ margins become more squeezed, they are also seeing more and more qualified staff leaving the sector for higher-paid but less rewarding jobs as the cost of living really bites. We really need to see ministers making childcare an urgent priority and put an end to these rumours and speculation which are very unsettling for the sector.’