Asked by
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for reducing
inequality and closing the early years educational attainment gap
for pre-school children.
The Minister of State, Department for Education ( of Malvern) (Lab)
My Lords, our plans for the best start in life, to reduce
inequality and close the attainment gap, include delivering 3,000
new or expanded school-based nurseries to break down barriers to
opportunity; funded hours for families of two year-olds receiving
additional forms of support; supporting the workforce to develop
skills and confidence to work effectively with children with
SEND; funded early language and maths interventions; supporting
parents through the home learning environment; and 400-plus
family hubs.
(Lab)
I thank my noble friend for that Answer. I know she will agree
that the previous Labour Government made significant progress in
improving the well-being of our youngest children and reducing
the early attainment gap through Sure Start parenting and family
programmes. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown recently
that the benefits of that have been sustained through to the age
of 16 at least, although of course now we are seeing those gaps
widen because the coalition and Tory Governments abandoned those
programmes. I welcome the commitments my noble friend has just
outlined, but does she agree that there needs to be a broader,
more comprehensive strategy for our youngest children that
includes, as a minimum, excellent early years education, support
for parents and families—she has touched on some of that—and a
highly trained workforce? Can my noble friend assure me that that
strategy will be forthcoming?
of Malvern (Lab)
My noble friend is right about the progress that was made under
the last Labour Government, and she played an important role in
that Government in this area of policy. I assure my noble friend
that, as well as the plans that I have outlined, the department
is working on an early years strategy that will give
consideration to all the areas that she has outlined.
(LD)
My Lords, this is a hugely important Question. I wonder if the
Minister would take a moment to think that it is not just about
provision; it is also about the quality of that provision and of
the staff. Does she agree that all nursery staff working with
children from the ages of two to four should have a relevant
qualification, or be working towards that qualification, in early
years?
of Malvern (Lab)
The noble Lord is right that the quality of staff is fundamental,
but so is the number of staff. We have a big challenge to ensure
that we have sufficient staff in place by next September to
deliver the outlined entitlement. We are working to provide
additional training for staff. I take his point about the
training and ongoing support that we need to provide for the
staff who do such an important job at the beginning of children's
lives.
(CB)
My Lords, the largest number of nursery closures in recent years
has been in the poorest parts of the country, particularly in
areas with large minority-ethnic populations. Will the new and
expanded nurseries that the Government are allocating be
proportionately allocated in those hardest-hit areas?
of Malvern (Lab)
The noble Baroness is right that those are the areas where need
is very great. In our recent announcement of £15 million-worth of
investment in the first 300 nurseries based in schools, we will
be encouraging applications from those where there is a
particular need. We will be using evidence of those applications
to ensure that we are able to improve the provision in the areas
that need it most.
(Con)
How confident is the Minister that she will be able to recruit
the 35,000 additional staff that she needs to meet her
target?
of Malvern (Lab)
As I outlined to the noble Lord, it is a very big challenge and
one that we inherited from the previous Government. We have
reinvigorated the recruitment campaign and are focusing on
ensuring that we have those staff in place. Although it will be
very difficult, we are committed to ensuring that, next
September, we deliver that improved entitlement for
childcare.
(Lab)
My Lords, it is good news about increasing the funding for
school-based nurseries. Can the Minister say something about
childminders? Is there a danger that, if the number of
childminders goes down, the net benefit will be less?
of Malvern (Lab)
My noble friend is right. We have already seen a halving in the
number of childminders over recent years. Childminders play an
important role for those parents who choose to use them, which is
why we have implemented improved support for childminders. We
want to maintain their important position in the market.
(CB)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that it is unrealistic to think
that all adults are born with good parenting skills? Therefore,
it is important that we have in place facilities that help some
parents learn new skills and develop confidence about how to
bring up their children. By doing that, we prevent a substantial
number of children coming into care and save a great deal of
money, as well as looking after the well-being of children. Can
the Minister say that the facilities that she has described will
help parents develop confidence and parenting skills?
of Malvern (Lab)
The noble Lord is right. The first years of a child's life, where
they depend on their parents, are fundamental. Supporting parents
to be able to take on that job—he is quite right that it is not
always easy and does not necessarily come naturally—is really
important. Evidence has shown that high-quality parenting
programmes, alongside wider integrated support, can be really
important. That is why the Family Hubs and Start for Life
programme includes funding to improve the parenting support
offer, including evidence-based parenting programmes. It is why
we will work to ensure that there is further awareness of the
importance of parenting in childhood development. We will
consider how, through the development of family hubs, we can
provide further support for parents, precisely because, as he
says, it is good for children and saves money later on in
life.
(Con)
My Lords, could the Minister confirm that the Government's
childcare funding rates will be increased to absorb the increase
in employers' national insurance contributions?
of Malvern (Lab)
We have increased the rates this year, but we will be looking at
the implications of national insurance contributions for the
early years sector.
(Lab)
My Lords, given the importance of childcare to early years
education and development, would our child-centred Government
consider as part of their early years strategy, referred to by my
noble friend, the extension of free childcare to children whose
parents are not working at least 16 hours a week? At present,
children from the lowest-income families, who are likely to
benefit most, are excluded from free childcare.
of Malvern (Lab)
My noble friend makes a very important point. On the
entitlements, we are delivering the programme and the plans set
out by the previous Government, but there are also provisions for
some parents with children with particular needs, or where they
are on particular benefits, to receive childcare provision.
Notwithstanding the pressures on the public purse, we will want
to think in the early years strategy about how we can extend the
support of childcare to more families when we are able to.
(Con)
My Lords, this is a workforce with a large number of 18 to 21
year-olds. Following my noble friend's question, will the
department consider whether those increased costs are going to be
absorbed? If the department decides to do that, what will be the
implications for, for instance, hospices, which are charities
delivering NHS services? Once one moves to support one sector to
absorb the national insurance and minimum wage increases, is
there not an issue of principle that other sectors should be
supported too?
of Malvern (Lab)
With respect to services delivering healthcare, my noble and
honourable friends in the Department of Health and Social Care
are considering the implications and will bring them forward. I
point out to noble Lords opposite that there is no point
demanding improved provision and arguing for, for example, a
childcare entitlement that will involve considerable additional
spending—which this Government have found in last week's
Budget—while being unwilling to find the money necessary to fill
the £22 billion black hole that we inherited from them.
(Lab)
My Lords, there is a certain amount of research which shows that
children who attended early years education thrived more. They
had higher incomes and they certainly benefited from higher and
tertiary education, and I think they kept out of prison a bit
more. Will my noble friend keep an eye on the continuation of
this research, which might even help her get more funds for early
years care from the Treasury?
of Malvern (Lab)
My noble friend is absolutely right that investing money in our
youngest children demonstrably improves their outcomes later in
life. It is the most effective place in which to invest that
money. That is why my honourable friend the Secretary of State
has made it her number one priority for the Department for
Education and why we were pleased to receive from the Treasury
additional money to enable us to make progress in this last week.
I will certainly keep an eye on the evidence that my noble friend
identifies, and I am sure my noble friends—including my noble
friend sitting next to me on the
Front Bench—will be keen to hear about it when they find
additional resources for this very important area of work in the
future.
