无码天堂

by Jess Gibson

Government plans to expand the early entitlement offers in England risk widening gaps in development for the most disadvantaged children, a new report from the Sutton Trust has warned.

The report 鈥� World Class, published by researchers at RAND Europe 鈥� argues that a large proportion of disadvantaged children are already locked out of extra early years education, and that this is likely to be exacerbated by plans to extend the current 30-hours offer to one- and two-year-olds from eligible working families only.

The report also warns that planned changes to staff ratios and qualification requirements are likely to reduce the quality of teaching and learning. 

Based on best practice examples from around the world, the Sutton Trust is calling on the government to:
 

• support highly-qualified staff with financial support, protected time for qualifications and training, the reinstatement of the Graduate Leader Fund (targeted to areas with higher disadvantage), and an increase in early years wages

• maintain, and ideally increase, the number of staff per child in early years settings for children over two

• expand the early entitlement offers to lower-income families or explore alternative models such as a sliding fee scale based on parental income

• offer combined family support services, ideally to all families, but at a minimum as universal provision in the most disadvantaged areas.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the 无码天堂, said:

鈥淎t the 无码天堂, we believe that every child should have the opportunity to access and benefit from early education and care. However, years of underfunding and the government continuously pushing the sector to the bottom of their priority list have made it even more challenging. 

鈥淭ime and time again, the sector has warned that if the expansion plans are implemented without ensuring that realistic funding and infrastructure is in place, it will lead to an implosion of the early years sector. Yet, as it stands, the policies look likely to create even more problems for the sector rather than solutions. 

鈥淚t is clear, therefore, that the only way these expansion plans can be effectively implemented is if the early years plays a central role in deciding how these plans will work in practice. Anything less will not only fail the sector but families, too.鈥�

Sir Peter Lampl, Founder and Chairman of the Sutton Trust and Chairman of the Education Endowment Foundation, said:

鈥淏y the time disadvantaged young children start school they are already behind their better-off peers. By treating early years provision solely as childcare, we are storing up inequalities for the future.

鈥淎s a rich country, we should have a better education system. By drawing on best practice from around the world, we could create an early years鈥� system that sets young children on a path to a lifetime of success. Further investment is now needed to make this a reality.鈥�