The scheme, 'Investors in Children', is to rate early years providers on their facilities and quality of service. The prime minister also announced a funding boost of 19m to help nursery schools and playgroups expand what they offer to include out-of-school facilities, services for a wider age range of children and family services such as health visitors, family support and adult education.
The star rating scheme, the details of which are yet to be devised in consultation, is meant to give parents an informed choice so they can compare all types of provision. Cherie Blair, the prime minister's wife, will be patron of the scheme.
Mr Blair said, 'Our scheme will help parents choose what's right for their children. It will be a practical guide on the facilities and quality of care and early education available.
'When a parent entrusts the care of their child to another they need to know that their child will receive high quality care. Each provider that reaches the standard will be able to display a sign showing the rating it has received. This rating will include the excellence of the staff, the facilities on offer, and their track record of delivering a high quality service to children. This will make it much easier for parents to make informed decisions.'
National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) chief executive Rosemary Murphy responded to the announcement with, she said, 'surprise and a certain amount of trepidation'. She said, 'The average day nursery in this country undergoes an annual inspection for registration carried out by the local early years or social services department and an education grant inspection from Ofsted taking place every one to two years.
'On top of this the Early Years National Training Organisation is encouraging all settings to participate in Investors in People, and Government targets have been set to ensure that 40 per cent of the sector is accredited by a sector-specific scheme by 2004. If the Government is now suggesting they undergo another process to gain "star rating" we will be in grave danger of placing too much pressure on staff and curbing expansion.' She added, 'The childcare sector has already invested an enormous amount of time and money into developing quality assurance schemes that are specifically tailored to meet the needs of the different types of provision. We hope the Government will not be re-inventing the wheel and will be including these schemes as key factors in the award.' A Pre-school Learning Alliance spokesman said, 'Any investment is welcome. The PLA has had a rigorous accreditation scheme, recognised in the sector and by parents, for many years and has been successful. If the maintained sector is to continue expanding into daycare it is important to have standards everyone has to adhere to. There are some concerns but they are difficult to clarify until we know the details of the scheme. If the star rating was to follow our accreditation scheme model it would be a good thing.'