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Childcare: putting the money to work Childcare: putting the money to work
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Getting in early to help families and children in trouble is among the most useful things a government can do. So Nick Clegg's speech promising a doubling of nursery places for two-year-olds from this time next year, is welcome in principle. But since September 2012, Mr Clegg has had to work alongside an education minister, Liz Truss, with a notoriously narrow focus on affordability. Mr Clegg won the argument with her over increasing the staff-children ratio in nurseries and with childminders. But it is not clear that he has found the cash to be confident there will be enough places in the right locations for the 130,000 two-year-olds who this month became entitled to free early-years learning, let alone the same number again next year.Getting in early to help families and children in trouble is among the most useful things a government can do. So Nick Clegg's speech promising a doubling of nursery places for two-year-olds from this time next year, is welcome in principle. But since September 2012, Mr Clegg has had to work alongside an education minister, Liz Truss, with a notoriously narrow focus on affordability. Mr Clegg won the argument with her over increasing the staff-children ratio in nurseries and with childminders. But it is not clear that he has found the cash to be confident there will be enough places in the right locations for the 130,000 two-year-olds who this month became entitled to free early-years learning, let alone the same number again next year.
It is not enough that the deputy prime minister's heart is in the right place if he can't get the money to make it happen. When the National Audit Office examined funding for the programme for free places for three- and four-year-olds last year, after the coalition expanded the programme to include 80% of the age band, it found that behind impressive overall take-up were yawning variations within the figures. The most disadvantaged children were consistently least likely to be at a school or nursery because in the places where they lived, there weren't enough of them.It is not enough that the deputy prime minister's heart is in the right place if he can't get the money to make it happen. When the National Audit Office examined funding for the programme for free places for three- and four-year-olds last year, after the coalition expanded the programme to include 80% of the age band, it found that behind impressive overall take-up were yawning variations within the figures. The most disadvantaged children were consistently least likely to be at a school or nursery because in the places where they lived, there weren't enough of them.
That is an ill omen for the extension of the scheme to the 20% of most disadvantaged two-year-olds, particularly since the funding is – rightly – available only to nurseries and childminders classed as good or outstanding by Ofsted. Providers such as the charitable Pre-School Learning Alliance fear there won't be enough staff to meet the needs of toddlers from difficult backgrounds – the very ones with most to gain from the scheme.That is an ill omen for the extension of the scheme to the 20% of most disadvantaged two-year-olds, particularly since the funding is – rightly – available only to nurseries and childminders classed as good or outstanding by Ofsted. Providers such as the charitable Pre-School Learning Alliance fear there won't be enough staff to meet the needs of toddlers from difficult backgrounds – the very ones with most to gain from the scheme.
Last year, more than a hundred nurseries either closed or failed to open to meet expected demand because of anxiety about costs. In London, where the Family and Childcare Trust has surveyed provision, 31,000 places will have to be provided by next September to meet Mr Clegg's commitment. Meanwhile, local authorities closed Sure Start nurseries after the coalition ended the obligation to provide all-day nursery care, blaming a shortage of demand. Now they aren't available to meet the demand that is.Last year, more than a hundred nurseries either closed or failed to open to meet expected demand because of anxiety about costs. In London, where the Family and Childcare Trust has surveyed provision, 31,000 places will have to be provided by next September to meet Mr Clegg's commitment. Meanwhile, local authorities closed Sure Start nurseries after the coalition ended the obligation to provide all-day nursery care, blaming a shortage of demand. Now they aren't available to meet the demand that is.
Good childcare is expensive and the early years are so very important. The government likes to boast of the sector's dynamism, another way of saying nurseries come and go, depending on what money's available where. It might help keep costs to a minimum, but this is an area of government activity that more than most others cries out for a coherent strategy to improve quality, availability and affordability. Instead it looks more like a series of politically motivated initiatives.Good childcare is expensive and the early years are so very important. The government likes to boast of the sector's dynamism, another way of saying nurseries come and go, depending on what money's available where. It might help keep costs to a minimum, but this is an area of government activity that more than most others cries out for a coherent strategy to improve quality, availability and affordability. Instead it looks more like a series of politically motivated initiatives.
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