Support for childcare and the early years

Education Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 15 Dec 2022 Closed: 23 Nov 2023 Parliament page
The Education Committee has launched an inquiry into support for childcare and the early years. The inquiry will examine how easy to navigate the current childcare system is for parents and carers, and whether current childcare entitlements are providing families with affordable and flexible childcare. The Committee will assess the … Read more
24 Recommendations
8 Conclusions
1 Report
5 Oral sessions
1 Letter
5 Events
Activity timeline 13 events
25 Oct
2023
Correspondence
17 Oct
2023
Report published
26 Jul
2023
Report published
9 May
2023
Oral evidence
9 May
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
18 Apr
2023
Oral evidence
18 Apr
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 6, Palace of Westminster
21 Mar
2023
Oral evidence
21 Mar
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
21 Feb
2023
Oral evidence
21 Feb
2023
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 15, Palace of Westminster
31 Jan
2023
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 5 sessions
9 May 2023
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Support for childcare and the early years
Claire Coutinho · Department for Education Susie Owen · Department for Education
18 Apr 2023
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Support for childcare and the early years
Adam Hawksbee · Onward Christine Farquharson · Institute for Fiscal Studies Dr Tammy Campbell · Education Policy Institute Iain Mansfield · Policy Exchange Professor Birgitta Rabe · Institute for Social and Economic Success Professor Eva Lloyd · International Centre for the Study of the Mixed Economy of Childcare, University of East London
21 Mar 2023
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Support for childcare and the early years
Jane Harris · Speech and Language UK Joeli Brearley · Pregnant Then Screwed Jolanta Lasota · Ambitious about Autism Mary Mulvey-Oates · Contact Mrs Anne Fennell · Mothers at Home Matter Victoria Benson · Gingerbread
21 Feb 2023
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Support for childcare and the early years
Dr Julian Grenier CBE · Sheringham Nursery School and Children's Centre, East London Emma Gardner · Early Years and Childcare, Spring by Action for Children Gemma Rolstone · Puffins Childcare, Devon Kara Jewell · Sparkle Lodge Early Years, Portsmouth Professor Celia Greenway · University of Birmingham
31 Jan 2023
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Support for childcare and the early years
Helen Donohoe · PACEY (Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years) Laura Barbour · The Sutton Trust Megan Jarvie · Coram Family and Childcare Neil Leitch OBE · Early Years Alliance
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Fifth Report - Support for childcare and the early years HC 969 26 Jul 2023 32 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
5 results
Clear
12 Recommendation Rejected
Fifth Report - Support for childca…
Stop describing 30-hours childcare as ‘free’; use ‘funded’ or ‘subsidised’ hours
To improve awareness and improve parental trust in the childcare subsidy system, we recommend the Government stop describing the 30-hours offer as ‘free hours’ and talk about ‘funded’ or ‘subsidised’ hours instead.
Government Response
The government recognises the Committee’s view but will continue to use the term ‘free’ in its communications with the public, alongside ‘funded’ and ‘subsidised’ where appropriate.
Department for Education
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13 Recommendation Rejected
Fifth Report - Support for childca…
Develop better support for stay-at-home parents, including frontloaded benefits and expanded leave
We recommend the Government develop better support for parents who choose to stay at home with their children. For example, HMRC could explore ways to frontload child benefits to give parents more support in the early years when the economic … Read more
Government Response
The government supports parents to make the choices that are right for their families, but has no plans to frontload child benefit or expand parental leave allowances.
Department for Education
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21 Recommendation Rejected
Fifth Report - Support for childca…
Monitor staff:child ratio changes, reverse if quality suffers, and develop comparable staff qualifications.
We recommend that the Government’s controversial changes to staff:child ratios be closely monitored and reversed if quality and education outcomes are seen to suffer. If the Government’s goal is truly to “bring the UK in line with Scotland and comparable … Read more
Government Response
The government has proceeded with changing staff:child ratios from 1:4 to 1:5 for two-year-olds and does not commit to reversing this change if quality suffers, but highlights efforts to improve workforce quality through reviewed Level 3 qualification criteria and a consultation on EYFS flexibilities.
Department for Education
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23 Recommendation Rejected
Fifth Report - Support for childca…
Reintroduce a Leadership Quality Fund for diverse early years professional qualifications.
The Government has acknowledged the importance of graduate leadership in the ECEC sector. It should now listen to sector-wide calls for an equivalent of the Graduate Leader’s Fund to be reintroduced. We recommend that this is given a broader name, … Read more
Government Response
The government does not commit to reintroducing a fund equivalent to the Graduate Leader’s Fund, stating it no longer exists. Instead, it highlights existing and alternative support mechanisms for the early years workforce, including increased entitlement funding, a national recruitment campaign, EYITT funding, and the National Professional Qualification in Early Years Leadership, while also considering new apprenticeship routes.
Department for Education
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27 Recommendation Rejected
Fifth Report - Support for childca…
Incentivise early years settings to provide higher pay for staff development and promotions.
Staff development and promotions in Early Years settings should be met with higher pay. We recommend the Government consider how best to incentivise and fund settings to do this, for example by setting standards for staff pay as a condition … Read more
Government Response
The government states it will continue to explore options for workforce recruitment and retention but has no plans to set staff pay rates for early years settings, anticipating that increased funding for new entitlements will give providers greater opportunity to increase wages.
Department for Education
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Government Response AI assessment · 32 of 24 classified
Accepted 13
Accepted in Part 8
Acknowledged 4
Deferred 2
Rejected 5
Total 24 recs + 8 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
25 Oct 2023 Correspondence to the Treasury following responses to funding recommendations made in the Government Response to the Childcare and Early Years report
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