Its conclusion was that there was no evidence that current policies would improve productivity – obviously a major concern for a Treasury body.
The findings and recommendations about the level of funding for the 30 hours programme have been particularly well received by early years providers. The game of table tennis between the sector and the Department for Education, with one claiming that hourly rates are too low and threaten sustainability and the other responding that they more than cover costs as shown by its research, has been well and truly interrupted by this report. The Committee says that rates are too low, are based on out-of-date information, and don’t take into account costs such as the National Living Wage, and that they should be raised and updated annually.
This feels like a significant intervention, especially with former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan at the helm of the Treasury Committee.
How do we get to the point where the true costs of delivering high-quality early years education and childcare are fairly evidenced, though?
The DfE is currently asking providers to fill in another form about their business costs, but this is already provoking unrest and the feeling that we won’t move much further forward. About Early Years, the research programme run by Ceeda, is also calling for more nurseries to sign up to take part in its panel surveys and contribute to the process of obtaining robust, regular data on the sector.
The sector needs to keep up the pressure.