A summary of responses to the Government's consultation from parents, campaign groups, academics, unions, providers and local authorities says most welcome the roll-out of 3,500 children's centres. But there are questions about whether there will be sufficient cash to back up the ambition.
There is strong support for radical reform of the children's workforce and a move towards a continental model of an early years professional and there is general support for the idea of the 125m Transformation Fund to boost quality.
However, there is also concern that the sum is not enough to achieve "a step change". Many groups say there is a gap in the strategy for provision for one- and two-year-olds and a lack of detail about inclusion. Stephen Burke, who was director of the Daycare Trust at the time of the consultation, said the biggest challenge was "making sure the reality matches the rhetoric".
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