The consultation on tax-free childcare has brought early years reform firmly back on the news agenda. The cost of childcare is always headline-worthy: parents will be wincing this summer as the average cost of a week of holiday care has crossed the £100 mark for the first time.
The debate on cost will rage on, but it seems that the focus on quality reform seems to have taken a backseat.
Delivering a high quality system is hard. Part of the problem is cost. The Government are in straitened circumstances, and parents are feeling the pinch. Aspects associated with high quality care (qualified workforce, low ratios, good equipment and activities and so on) come with a price tag.
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