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The national take-up rate for three and four-year-olds in early education has been sustained at 95 per cent since 2008, despite an eight per cent increase in eligible children. There are however, wide variations in take-up between local authorities. Take-up for children from the most disadvantaged families is lower than overall take-up, and access to high quality provision varies depending on where children live. The percentage of good or outstanding provision across local authorities in March 2011 ranged from 64 per cent to 97 per cent. Areas of highest deprivation are less likely to have high quality provision. Children's level of development at age five has improved, but National Key Stage One results at age seven show almost no improvement since 2007. Although the relationship between the entitlement and Key Stage One results is not straightforward, the Department intended the entitlement to have lasting effects on child development throughout primary school and beyond. It is not yet clear, however, that the entitlement is leading to longer-term educational benefits, and the Department does not yet have robust measures to demonstrate whether the longer-term benefits it expects are being realised. The Department also lacks a robust analysis of the relationship between performance and funding levels. The NAO's analysis found that local authorities which fund providers of the free entitlement at a higher rate were not necessarily those with high-quality provision. There are also limitations in the information available to help parents choose where and how their children use the entitlement.
The Department for Education provides funding for local authorities to pay for three and four year olds to receive their entitlement to 15 hours of free education each week. The Department devolves delivery to local authorities and providers but it is responsible for the overall value for money from the system. In 2011-12 the Department's estimated funding for the entitlement of £1.9 billion provided over 800,000 three and four year olds with access to free education; an estimated annual allocation of approximately £2,300 per child. While the Department and local authorities have focused on ensuring places for children are available, there has been less attention on how value for money can be secured and improved. While there is evidence of educational improvement at age five, the evidence that this is sustained is questionable. The Department needs to do more to understand how educational benefits can be lasting. There is not enough good information for parents to make informed choices and there is concern at reports that some families are still not receiving the entitlement free of charge. It is important that all parents know what the entitlement is and that it should be provided completely free. Early years education has the greatest benefit for children from disadvantaged backgrounds however these children have the lowest levels of take-up and deprived areas have the lowest levels of high quality services. The Department needs to identify and share good practice from those local authorities which are having the most success.
The Committee warns that rushing to judge the worth of Sure Start Children's Centres would be catastrophic and could jeopardise one of the most innovative and ambitious initiatives of the last two decades. The report says Children's Centres are designed to address some of the most entrenched aspects of disadvantage, but the majority have been in place for less than four years. Evaluations of their impact will therefore only be meaningful over the long term. Yielding to short term financial pressure by reducing the number of Centres or pruning the range of services offered would be a mistake, the Committee says. A universal service can ensure that all vulnerable children get the access they need, and the wide range of support and activities provided to families is a vital feature of the programme. Stable funding is also essential. The scale of the programme means important challenges remain. With a national network of Centres in place, there must now be a constant focus on raising the quality of staffing and services, and on improving the performance of Centres in reaching the most vulnerable families. Partnership working with health services, in particular GPs, is patchy across the country and Children's Centres must not be an optional extra for health agencies. The Government should re-establish ministerial responsibility for the Sure Start programme in the Department of Health as well as the Department for Children, Schools and Families.Information about value for money in Children's Centres is still unacceptably difficult to come by, the committee adds. More must be done to determine the total resources being put into the initiative from all Government departments.
Recent authoritative evidence suggests that an estimated 200 million children under five fail to achieve their developmental potential due to factors including poor health and nutrition and the lack of stable high quality care. A significant number of the world’s children today lack the basic rights to health, development and protection. In light of such statistics, early childhood services for young children have expanded around the world. The SAGE Handbook of Early Childhood Policy draws critical attention to policy in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) its relationship to service provision and its impact on the lives of children and families. The perspectives of leading academics and researchers from Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Australasia and Asia have been arranged around five key themes: Part 1: The Relationship Between Research, Policy And Practice: Country Case Studies Part 2: Equitable Early Childhood Services: Intervention to Improve Children’s Life Chances Part 3: Extending Practice: The Role of Early Childhood Services In Family Support Part 4: Participation, Rights and Diversity Part 5: Future Directions for Early Childhood Policy This handbook is essential reading for practitioners, stakeholders and others committed to working within early years services to achieve an awareness of policy and its implications for services and practice.
The 2008 edition of The Statesman's Yearbook contains information and analysis on every country in the world, including biographical profiles of current leaders, government histories, economic overviews and maps. Every copy comes with a single-user licence giving access to the full text online, updated regularly and fully searchable.
This book tells the story of Sure Start, one of the flagship programmes of the last government. It tells how Sure Start was set up, the numerous changes it went through, and how it has changed the landscape of services for all young children in England. Offering insight into the key debates on services for young children, as well as how decisions are made in a highly political context, it will be of keen interest to policy academics, senior managers of public services and all those with a keen interest in developing services for young children.
There are many transitions that children experience before they are five, including the first major transition from home to an early years setting. Successive changes can have a serious impact on young children and stress, separation and insecure attachments can affect not only a child's emotional health but also cognitive and intellectual development. Understanding Transitions in the Early Years explains why transitions matter and provides practical guidance on how to support young children's developing emotional resilience and equip them to embrace change in the future. Aimed at practitioners and students, the book: draws together evidence from neuroscience, attachment theory, child development and childcare practices provides a context for practitioners to empathise with children and families as they relate to their own understanding of the impact of change and transition looks at ways to reduce the number of transitions including the key person approach offers guidance and practical strategies for practitioners, managers and head teachers for supporting children through transitions. Including case studies, examples of good practice and questions for reflection this thought-provoking text emphasises the little things that practitioners can do for the individual children in their care to help them feel secure and confident when dealing with change.
Throughout the world the number of working mothers with young children has continued to grow. This has important consequences for social policy decisions, particularly in the fields of parental leave, childcare and pre-school services provision. Some countries are far more successful at combining high quality early childhood services with high percentages of mothers in employment, whereas others continue to struggle. This edited volume examines the ways in which different countries across the world are tackling early childhood services and how these services affect young children’s experiences and development, for better and worse. Some of the recurring questions of childcare provision are tackled, including: Is pre-school childcare detrimental to children? Does the quality of childcare matter? Why are some countries succeeding in providing quality childcare services, and others are not? How can we best organise parental leave, employment regulations and childcare provision?
This report (Cm. 7455, ISBN 9780101745529) sets out the Government's progress against the Ministers for Women priorities, as set out in July 2007. The priorities concerned the following areas: (1) supporting women and families who are caring for children and elderly relatives; (2) tackling violence against women and changing the way women offenders are treated; (3) increasing the representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic women. The report also outlines activity which the Ministers for Women and Equality and Ministerial colleagues intend to make a reality before the end of the current Parliament. For the original report, Priorities for the Ministers for Women, see (Cm. 7183, ISBN 9780101718325).