Recommendations & Conclusions
5 items
12
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Rejected
To improve awareness and improve parental trust in the childcare subsidy system, we recommend the Government stop describing the 30-hours offer as ‘free hours’ and talk about ‘funded’ or ‘subsidised’ hours instead.
Government response. The government recognises the Committee’s view but will continue to use the term ‘free’ in its communications with the public, alongside ‘funded’ and ‘subsidised’ where appropriate.
Department for Education
13
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Rejected
We recommend the Government develop better support for parents who choose to stay at home with their children. For example, HMRC could explore ways to frontload child benefits to give parents more support in the early years when the economic and social impact of childcare is highest. The Department for …
Government response. The government supports parents to make the choices that are right for their families, but has no plans to frontload child benefit or expand parental leave allowances.
Department for Education
21
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Rejected
We recommend that the Government’s controversial changes to staff:child ratios be closely monitored and reversed if quality and education outcomes are seen to suffer. If the Government’s goal is truly to “bring the UK in line with Scotland and comparable countries”, this change should be accompanied by a strong focus …
Government response. The government has proceeded with changing staff:child ratios from 1:4 to 1:5 for two-year-olds and does not commit to reversing this change if quality suffers, but highlights efforts to improve workforce quality through reviewed Level 3 qualification criteria and a …
Department for Education
23
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Rejected
The Government has acknowledged the importance of graduate leadership in the ECEC sector. It should now listen to sector-wide calls for an equivalent of the Graduate Leader’s Fund to be reintroduced. We recommend that this is given a broader name, such as the ‘Leadership Quality Fund’, and that it can …
Government response. The government does not commit to reintroducing a fund equivalent to the Graduate Leader’s Fund, stating it no longer exists. Instead, it highlights existing and alternative support mechanisms for the early years workforce, including increased entitlement funding, a national recruitment …
Department for Education
27
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Rejected
Staff development and promotions in Early Years settings should be met with higher pay. We recommend the Government consider how best to incentivise and fund settings to do this, for example by setting standards for staff pay as a condition for receiving funding for the 30-hours entitlement. (Paragraph 155) Special …
Government response. The government states it will continue to explore options for workforce recruitment and retention but has no plans to set staff pay rates for early years settings, anticipating that increased funding for new entitlements will give providers greater opportunity to …
Department for Education