Free childcare scheme needs more investment
Derren Hayes
Monday, June 23, 2014
The government's free childcare offer for disadvantaged two-year-olds is both laudable and much needed. But that alone will not guarantee its success. Concerns about implementation of the initiative - which is meant to provide 15 hours of free childcare per week for the 130,000 most disadvantaged two-year-olds - have been around for some time. In the spring, the government's own figures showed a quarter of the expected number of places had yet to be created.
Now, figures obtained by Labour show that in the first year of the scheme's operation two-thirds of local authorities have failed to secure sufficient places. To make matters worse, the research reveals almost half of councils don't expect to have enough places available to meet demand when the scheme is expanded in September.
So what is holding the scheme back? The biggest problem was highlighted by the National Day Nurseries Association in February when it revealed the average price paid by local authorities to childcare providers for delivering places was £1 an hour less than the actual cost of care. In more affluent areas this loss can be offset by charging fee-paying parents more for their childcare, but this option is greatly reduced in deprived communities where the free places are needed most.
The initiative has huge potential, both in helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds be more ready for formal learning, and to give their parents the opportunity to get back into paid employment. And the sector is on board - many children's organisations spoken to by CYP Now identified expansion of free childcare as a key priority for the next parliament.
However, to make it deliver results for all those who need it, the price paid to childcare settings for a place must go up - either the government finds more money for the scheme or it forces councils to raise the amount it pays to providers.
Pragmatic solution to the outsourcing debate
The surprisingly swift response from government to the outsourcing of social care services consultation caught many off guard. With a real split across the children's sector on the proposals, most expected a lengthy period of deliberation by government. But the decision to bar profit-making companies from entering the children's social care "market" is most likely a reflection of the desire of ministers not to get drawn into a protracted and emotive public debate over "privatisation" of child protection.
derren.hayes@markallengroup.com
