Early years providers need help to support the most vulnerable families
Janaki Mahadevan
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Early years providers must be supported to meet the needs of vulnerable children and families if the free entitlement to early education is to be successfully extended to all of the most disadvantaged two-year-olds, an evaluation of pilot schemes has claimed.
The study commissioned by the former Department for Children, Schools and Families and undertaken by the National Children’s Bureau and National Centre for Social Research said that training will have to be offered to providers with limited experience of catering for vulnerable children.
According to the evaluation, which examined a sample of areas that had piloted the "two-year-old offer" at some stage between 2006 and 2010, the current Early Years Single Funding Formula will not be "financially viable" to support the expansion by 2013, particularly in areas that already have a high demand for childcare.
"It is likely that in childcare markets with high demand for childcare and high costs, different funding arrangements would be required, as the current funding formula was not seen as financially viable to support the kind of expansion envisaged by 2013," the report states.
"In deprived areas with low demand for childcare and low childcare costs, the offer has supported the financial viability of some providers, particularly children’s centres."
The Department for Education confirmed last October that the free entitlement to 15 hours of early education will be extended to every disadvantaged two-year-old by 2013. There are currently 15 areas trialling ways to best offer the entitlement.
Other issues identified in the study were how local authorities target the families most in need. It concluded that an effective strategy would be to compile a comprehensive list of children before they turn two, complemented with information by professionals delivering a universal service such as health visitors.
The report authors also found that the programme had largely improved inter-agency working between councils and agencies such as Jobcentre Plus and health services because councils needed the help to identify the right families. However, it was suggested that more should be done to involve parents in the implementation and development of the offer.
