Graham Archer

DCSF: Early Years Extended Schools and SEN Group

12th May 2008

Childcare and Early Years

Provision in a Diverse Market –

The Government’s

Approach

Our Vision

• Every Child Matters - each with the support they need in, and beyond, the family

• Transforming life chances, opportunities and outcomes - and building aspiration - for all

• Especially those whose backgrounds and personal circumstances might hold them back 

Investing in the Early Years - the Foundation for Success

• Giving all children the best possible start in life - with particular benefits for most disadvantaged and vulnerable

• Helping parents balance work and family life with confidence• Tackling child poverty and regenerating communities• So we can:

– Improve life chances – Set the foundations for future success; and – Allow children and families to break out of cycle of

underachievement • And childcare and study support for older, school age children helps

realise and sustain potential and supports parents• Critical to meeting five ECM outcomes - staying safe; being healthy;

enjoying and achieving; achieving economic wellbeing; and making a positive contribution

• Research clear on positive payback

The Positive Payback (1)• High quality early learning improves children’s development - esp

those from disadvantaged backgrounds • • And effects last throughout primary school

• Authoritative EPPSE evidence:

– At entry to primary school at 5, through to 7, and on to 10 – Benefits greatest for cognitive development, but positive

impact for emotional and social development too– Also reduces risk of SEN from 1 in 3 at entry to pre-school

to 1 in 5 by the time children start primary

The Positive Payback (2)Duration and Quality Matter

– At primary school entry, developmental advantage of those who attended quality pre-school of 4-6 months over those who did not

– Advantage rises to up to 10 months for those benefiting from highest quality provision for longest (3 yrs from age 2)

– Advantages still visible at age 7 and 10 (better results in English and - more especially - maths)

– Disadvantaged children gain particular benefit from a high quality pre-school experience

– Gives them developmental boost, increasing chances of achieving minimum national standards at KS1

– And especially if they attended centres catering for mix of children from different social backgrounds

The Positive Payback (3)

• EPPSE found integrated centres (combining high quality education and care and health and family support) do best in promoting better outcomes

• Also, substantial international evidence (esp from USA - eg: Perry/High Scope) that intensive, integrated early childhood intervention programmes, supporting children and parents, substantially boost development of disadvantaged children

• They also show sustained employment, economic, behavioural and health benefits into adulthood

The Positive Payback (4) - Extended Schools

• And evidence on impact of extending services positive too

• Manchester and Newcastle Univs Evaluation of Full Service Extended Schools demonstrates benefits to children, young people, families and wider community

• Enhance pupil engagement with learning; family stability and life chances - and lower exclusion rates

• DCSF analysis of a sample of the schools found progress in them around twice national average 2005-06

• At KS4, % of pupils achieving 5+A-C grades at GCSE increased by over 5%, compared to a 2.5% increase in national average

Early Years a “New Frontier”

• Radically changed early years and childcare landscape over last decade

• Ten Year Childcare Strategy 2004 - permanent and mainstream services - huge leap forward for welfare state

• Strategy Action Plan 2006 - very ambitious delivery programme to transform children’s and parents’ lives

• Underpinned by landmark Childcare Act 2006• Universal children’s centres, nursery education and childcare• New single integrated framework for learning and development 0 to

5 - Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) - from September 2008• Children’s Plan sets wider context and new proposals to take

forward/extend ten year strategy

ECM in action, with delivery by and through:

• Integrated services working across professional boundaries

• A mixed market, drawing on expertise and commitment of all sectors

• Particular focus on disadvantaged/vulnerable • Building on Sure Start principles • Prevention and early intervention and better support to

parents and families• Local change driven by Children’s Trust partnerships

Children’s Plan

• Government’s long term vision to improve schools, and enhance support for parents and families, building on decade of reform and results

• Strengthened support for all families• Next steps in achieving world class schools - in 21st

century should be central to their communities• Step-change in parental involvement in their child’s

learning • Ensuring children happy, healthy and safe from harm

The Children’s Plan : 5 principles

• Government does not bring up children – parents do• All children have the potential to succeed• Children need to enjoy their childhood• Services need to be shaped by and responsive to

children , young people and families, not designed around professional boundaries

• It is always better to prevent failure than tackle a crisis later

Children’s Plan – Early years • £100m to extend free childcare places to 20,000 of the most

disadvantaged two year olds • Every child ready for success in school, with at least 90% of children

developing well across all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage profile by age 5

• £117m invested in the early years’ workforce - for the Graduate Leader Fund and continuing professional development

• Review of the primary curriculum to examine transition from early years and issue of how to tackle the disadvantage experienced by Summer born children

• More advice, information and guidance to parents and families about their child’s development

Schools to work in partnership with other agencies. Children’s services increasingly based on school sites. Guidance to ensure schools are designed with other services co-located with them

LAs in the Driving Seat (1)• Champions of their communities

• Key to translating our vision into lasting benefits for children, and more choices, opportunities and support for parents

• New responsibilities for LAs and health and Jobcentre Plus partners, outlined in the Childcare Act 2006:

– Improving outcomes at 5, and narrowing gaps that emerge from an early age between lowest achieving groups and the rest (social class starts to affect attainment from 22 months)

– Integrating early childhood services through universal network of Sure Start Children’s Centres

LAs in the Driving Seat (2)

– Securing sufficient childcare for all those wanting to work or train, and free early education for 3 and 4 year olds (being extended to 15 hrs per week, and with more flexible delivery)

– Giving comprehensive information to parents, and encouraging take-up of formal childcare, including the free element

• £4bn new investment through Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant to LAs 2008-11

Progress so farOver 2,900 Sure Start Children’s Centres, serving more than 1.5m children

Free entitlement - 96% 3 year olds and almost all 4 year olds accessing it; extended to 38 wks from April 2006

1.29m registered childcare places, for 1 in 4 under 8s - growth targets met and provider closure rates in decline

Over 10,000 schools (1 in 3 of the total) offering full range of extended services, including childcare and study support

Ofsted confirms quality improving; and workforce increasingly qualified

Major investment of over £21bn on early years and childcare since 1997 underlines our determination to improve life chances

Sufficiency Assessments completed

But despite the progress and strong evidence base..

• Variation in take-up of free offer and paid childcare by different groups

• Age 5 outcomes rising, but gaps not closing

• Children’s centres need more focus on, and success in, reaching most disadvantaged groups

• Too many children still living in poverty and in workless households

The Challenges• Helping all children develop to their full potential, so all doing better

by 5• Making services work for all families. Working in partnership and

intervening early where necessary• Increasing take-up by those who need them, and ensuring what

offered really helps• Particularly reaching disadvantaged and vulnerable children, so we

narrow gap between them and their peers• Improving outcomes and sustaining gains up the age range, so

benefits last • Maximising parents’ choices and opportunities• Tough agenda - vital we all work effectively together. Turn

enthusiasm and passion into results

How we meet the Challenges (1)

• Better information and understanding about where children are, and what they/families need

• Improving practice and performance - inc: more effectively joined up services

• Increasing understanding, commitment and knowledge throughout the delivery chain (DCSs’ engagement and support especially critical)

• Capturing, sharing and supporting good practice• Additional resources for outreach and parenting support

How we meet the Challenges (2)

• Testing and trialling targeted initiatives, including: – Free early learning for disadvantaged 2 year olds (increased to

20,000 by Children’s Plan); – Free childcare for up to 50,000 workless parents undertaking

training; and – Black and minority ethnic community pilot

• Easing transition from early years into primary school • £265m subsidy so disadvantaged children benefit from extra sport,

music and drama out of school hours. - part of £1.3bn funding boost to extended schools 2008-11

• Well qualified, skilled and motivated workforce - eg: qualifications framework, graduate leadership

• Effective leadership and management and external challenge• Telling the powerful story in way and language that better engages

hearts and minds

The Essential Ingredients for Success

• Increased intelligence on take up, demand, and barriers to delivery and accessibility

• Deploying evidence more smartly to make the policy case

• Gaining a deeper understanding of our audience • Working with, and using stakeholders, more effectively• Using the language of parents and providers• Focusing the whole system and all its players on the

same objectives and outcomes

Securing Sufficiency

• New Local Authority duty

• “So far as is reasonably practicable”

• Partnership working

• Particular focus on lower income families and children with a disability

• Sufficiency in terms of timing, location, accessibility, affordability, quality, appropriateness. Led by parents demand.

Impact on Providers

• Assessments support understanding of market

• Leads to more coherent commissioning

• LA has duty to support with provision of information, advice and assistance

• Opportunities to influence the process

• Private and voluntary sector the providers of first resort

Increasing Childcare Take Up • Take up least amongst lower income families,

children with a disability and some minority ethnic families

• Language we use around childcare resonates least with lower income families

• Disadvantaged children most likely to benefit from longer early years provision and probably greater benefits from out of school activities for older children

• Settings in disadvantaged areas most likely to have sustainability issues

Increasing Childcare Take Up • Action to increase take up

– Affordable Childcare Campaign – including increasing take up of the Working tax Credit

– Influencing the Sector and positioning childcare within the wider child poverty agenda;

– Improving outreach, information and advice to parents – parents as champions of childcare

– Improving availability of childcare for the over 5’s– Focusing on needs of bme families and families with

a disabled child– Increasing affordability of childcare

Improving quality

• EYFS – setting the standards

• OfSTED registration and inspection

• Workforce development: graduate leadership, Level 3 as standard for group care, CPD

• LA oversight of quality improvement

• National QI Network – sharing best practice

Affordability• Sufficiency Duty focus on affordable

provision

• Universal provision for three and four year olds and pilot provision for two year olds

• Working Tax Credit

• Childcare for parents training for work

• London Childcare Affordability Programme

Diversity in the Childcare Market

• Diverse market essential to sufficiency

• Private and voluntary providers often most likely to deliver more flexibly

• But quality sometimes variable

• Increasing number of partnerships across sectors

Sustainability• Childcare Places have doubled since 1997

• Occupancy low in some nurseries

• Closure rates still below those in small businesses as a whole

• But concerns amongst providers about sustainability:

Action to Increase Sustainability

• National Government – Sufficiency Duty and Associated Funding– Reform of Free Entitlement Funding– Action to increase take up

• Local Government– Market Management– Partnerships with providers and referral agencies– Family Information Services

• Providers– Work in partnership with LAs – Look hard at own marketing and business management – Look to increase occupancy by improving take up from lower

income families

Conclusions• Genuine transformation in the childcare and

early years sector underway – sufficiency, take up sustainability and integration of services

• Strong progress – but some problems remain • Diverse market the only game in town – rightly

so, it’s a strength• Priority is to deliver what families need – but

need to keep an eye to what the sector can deliver