Most of the recommendations and analysis in the National Audit Office's major report into the early years sector will come as no surprise to those who have been following the progress of the National Childcare Strategy (see News, page 4). But one figure really makes you sit up and take notice - the Government has spent 14 billion on early years education and childcare since the launch of the strategy in 1998. In the light of this huge amount, then, it is somewhat disappointing that over the period under scrutiny, the net gain in pre-school places is relatively small. Numbers of childminders, playgroups and nursery schools have fallen, sustainability of new provision is a huge problem, recruitment is another major headache, and the private sector that has been encouraged with a raft of short-term initiatives is about to be threatened by a shift in focus to school-based provision.
Most of the recommendations and analysis in the National Audit Office's major report into the early years sector will come as no surprise to those who have been following the progress of the National Childcare Strategy (see News, page 4). But one figure really makes you sit up and take notice - the Government has spent 14 billion on early years education and childcare since the launch of the strategy in 1998.
In the light of this huge amount, then, it is somewhat disappointing that over the period under scrutiny, the net gain in pre-school places is relatively small. Numbers of childminders, playgroups and nursery schools have fallen, sustainability of new provision is a huge problem, recruitment is another major headache, and the private sector that has been encouraged with a raft of short-term initiatives is about to be threatened by a shift in focus to school-based provision.
Yes, a lot has happened since the National Childcare Strategy began, but the NAO report highlights and pulls together how much further there is to go. We'll be giving more detail and analysis of the report, and evaluating how much value for money that 14 billion has given, in next week's issue.
