This could present an opportune moment to establish an equitable and high-quality provision for all families in England. Research indicates that such provision has the potential to significantly improve life chances for children, bridging the attainment gap between lower-income children and their more advantaged peers.
We know that just providing childcare without attention to quality is likely to be detrimental. An expansion of cheap, subsidised childcare in Quebec, Canada, in the late 1990s, found the expansion reduced the quality of provision with negative outcomes for children in the long-term, including worse health outcomes, lower life satisfaction and higher crime rates later in life. Quebec shows the dangers of expanding early years provision without a focus on quality.
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