Has anybody seen a plan? I’m sure there is meant to be one somewhere.
In the seven months or so since announcing the roll-out of free childcare hours for children under three, there has been barely a squeak out of the Government about how it might actually work. Forgetting the not inconsequential factors such as availability, staffing and sufficiency, it would be helpful to know what it might look like in practical terms. The silence is becoming deafening.
Perhaps, beyond the 15 hours for two-year-olds in April 2024, they are assuming it may not be their problem. The funding documents use ‘in due course’, so that probably means on 31 March next year. I suppose the Government is looking towards local authorities to do the work, even though a fair number appear to be going bankrupt.
It’s good the DfE have had time to release a strategy for ‘Strengthening Chess in Primary Schools’; not that I have anything against chess, but at the moment it probably shouldn’t be top of the priority list. It’s a bit like when that kind Mr Gove gave every school a copy of the St James’ bible.
The Labour Party’s planned review led by Sir David Bell is not a bad idea considering how much damage has been done to the sector over the last decade or so. It was good to hear Bridget Phillipson talk about childcare as part of improving children’s life chances and not simply as a way of increasing employment.
I hope Sir David also takes a long, cold, hard look at the services that support early childhood and parenting confidence. Otherwise, nursery provision remains isolated and is expected to be all things to all people. Without adequate support around children’s early life, such as health visiting, early identification, assessment and support then we will be quickly back to square one.
Any review would also need to take account of how SEND is funded in the early years and to suggest a proper, grown-up way of supporting the sector rather than it being seen as an unnecessary distraction.
The impact of Covid will continue to wrap itself around the young lives that walk down our corridors. The tsunami of speech and language needs seemingly ignored by peripatetic services, the accepted missing of statutory timescales in EHCP assessment and the unbelievable waiting lists for paediatrics all paint a bleak picture.
So, dare I say it, hope lurks on the horizon. There are undoubtedly a few hurdles before we get there, but the right noises are being made, which is in itself a huge step forward.