Majority of under-fives now spend large part of childhood in education and care
By Rachel Lawler
The majority of children under five in the UK now spend a large part of their childhood attending early years education and care, according to a from Nuffield Health.
Titled, How are the lives of families with young children changing?, the report reviews more than 130 sources of evidence from the last 20 years about the experiences of young children in the UK.
The report reveals that today鈥檚 under-fives are the first generation to see a majority of children spending a 鈥渓arge part of their childhoods鈥 in formal education and care settings.
Concerning trends
However, the report also noted that disadvantaged families and children who speak English as an additional language were the least likely to take up their funded entitlements to childcare and early education.
The report also highlights concerning trends following the Covid-19 pandemic with almost half (48%) of lone parent families and 37% of families with a youngest child under five living in poverty.
It also warned that a 鈥渓arge proportion鈥 of children under five missed six months of early education, which could have a impact on learning and development, particularly for those from lower income households.
Nuffield Health also reported significant gaps in the data available on modern families and concluded that 鈥渘either policy, resources nor services鈥 could be needing the needs of children as a result.
Disadvantaged families
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the 无码天堂, commented: "This report rightly highlights how central a role early education now plays in the lives of young children, and the negative impact that a lack of access to quality early years provision can have on early learning and development, particularly for children from more disadvantaged backgrounds.
"It's clear then that to ensure that all children, regardless of background, get the best possible start in life, we need to have a functioning, sustainable early years and childcare sector. And yet, as this report notes, many nurseries, pre-schools and childminders across the country are at imminent risk of permanent closure as a result of both sustained government underfunding and the impact of Covid-19.
"If the government is truly committed to supporting children and families, it simply must ensure that the early years sector gets the financial support it needs to remain viable, both now and in the long term."
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