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By Rachel Lawler

Two-fifths of children are not reaching “expected levels of development” by age five, as early childhood is “increasingly characterised by inequality and uncertainty”, according to a by the Nuffield Foundation.

The report, which is the last in a series on early childhood, argues that the Covid-19 pandemic, rising poverty and cost of living crisis are contributing to inequality.

The Nuffield Foundation estimates that more than a third of families with young children are now living in poverty and has called form “urgent reform” of the early education system.

The report notes that early education is “transformative” when at its best but argues that the current system is not working, as the most disadvantaged families are less likely to access funded early education.

The Nuffield Foundation is now calling on the government to create a new early childhood strategy based on the following four goals:

• offer services that understand and respond to the needs of all families with yound children
• give all parents have a choice about how they care for their young children
• create an early education system that supports children's learning
• tackle the causes of early childhood poverty

Family-focused strategy
Carey Oppenheim, author of the review and early childhood lead at the Nuffield Foundation, said: “We need an early years strategy that prioritises family-focused, joined-up services that take account of the complexity and dynamism of family lives. To be effective, systems of support should empower families of young children and meet their evolving needs today and into the future. Working together to get the fundamentals right in early childhood is part of creating a more resilient, productive and just society for us all.”

Early years on the edge
Neil Leitch, CEO of the ��������, said: “While the findings of this report will come as little surprise to those working in the early years sector, the fact that rising inequality and poverty, exacerbated by both the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis, is having such an impact on the lives of so many young children is still of great concern.

“All children, regardless of their background, should be able to access high quality early years education, and there is a wealth of research highlighting the vital importance of the early years and the significant impact it has on a child’s future development. Early educators have worked incredibly hard to counter the inequalities highlighted in this report, but they themselves need support to be able to continue to do so. 

“While the Nuffield Foundation is absolutely right to argue for a system that helps parents to balance work and care and supports children’s learning, the fact is that years of government underfunding has pushed early years settings to the edge, making achieving these important aims all the more difficult.

“As such, we urge the government to commit to making the early years a policy priority, and to properly fund the sector, rather than wasting time on policies like the relaxation of ratios that are likely to worsen existing inequalities.

“For years now we have been calling for a review of the early years system and a clear, comprehensive strategy for our vital sector. How much worse does the situation need to get, for both providers and parents, for the government to finally take action?”

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