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The Guardian - Childcare cash boost in England ‘grossly underestimates’ needs, say providers
Ben Quinn |
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A £204m fund described by the government as the biggest investment in childcare ever “grossly underestimates” what early-years providers need to keep their doors open, representatives of the sector have said. |
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TES - Starmer promises to raise early years attainment
John Roberts |
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Sir Keir Starmer has unveiled a new target for half a million children to reach the EYFS Early Learning Goals by 2030, if the Labour party wins the next general election. |
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Children and Young People Now - Guarantee equal access to early years services, Prime Minister told
Emily Harle |
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More than 80 charities, early years experts and celebrities are urging the government to commit to a national baby and toddler guarantee to ensure equal access to early childhood services, in an open letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Organised by Unicef UK, the letter says UK families are struggling to access services including maternity, health visiting, mental health support, affordable, high-quality childcare, and support for special educational needs and disabilities. |
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ITV News - Nursery closures: Councils fear there won't be enough free childcare places to go around |
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Research by the Local Government Association (LGA) reveals that nearly 9 in 10 councils fear that nursery closures this year will undermine capacity ahead of the rollout of the Government’s extension of the 30 hours free childcare scheme. |
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The Independent – Board games may boost maths skills in young children – study
Nina Massey
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Findings from a new study suggest that games like monopoly and snakes and ladders can help to improve counting, addition, and the ability to recognise if a number is higher or lower than another. |
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Blogposts, Podcasts and more
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BookTrust - Dads Make Stories Magic: BookTrust teams up with Farshore and HarperCollins to get dads reading
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The BookTrust has teamed up with publishers Farshore and HarperCollins Children's Books along with famous faces like Joe Wicks, David Walliams, Alexander Armstrong, Sir Michael Morpurgo, Nick Butterworth and Emmanuel Asuquo to encourage dads to get reading.
The Dads Make Stories Magic campaign has been launched as new research found that only 29% of children are read to every day or nearly every day by their dads, despite this being one of the most effective ways of encouraging children's enjoyment of reading - proven to have a positive impact on their life chances.
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Nursery world - Early years providers' views sought on new funding rates
Katy Morton
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The Early Years Alliance (EYA) has launched parallel surveys for both providers and parents/carers on the current and new early years entitlements. It comes after the Department for Education last week confirmed the funding rates for the 15 and 30 hours from September.
The parallel survey for parents and carers asks for views on how easy it currently is to access early years places, and, for those respondents who have or are expecting children that will be eligible for the new offer for one-and-two-year-olds, their plans to take-up the funded entitlement.
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ITV News - 'A massive juggle': Summer break childcare gaps meet soaring cost of living
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Parents struggling with the cost of living will soon face steep summer holidays childcare bills, on top of rising housing and food prices.
Summer holidays and half term holidays can span up to 15 weeks in a year, eclipsing the typical worker's annual leave entitlement - and leaving many families facing bills of thousands of pounds to put each child in care during term breaks. |
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Twinkle - How can baby banks help support families of very young children?: Interview with Sophie Livingstone, CEO of Little Village |
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Baby, Bank On Us is a new campaign launched by Fabulous in collaboration with Save the Children, Little Village and baby banks across the UK. Its aims include raising awareness of the vital work baby banks do and the benefits they bring to families in need and support for the work they do. Most people will have heard of food banks and the valuable help they provide to struggling families, but less is known about baby banks.
Twinkl Digest spoke to Sophie Livingstone, its CEO of LittleVillage Baby Bank, about how their work supports families and helps young children's early learning and development.
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Nursery world - Latest figures show number of disadvantaged two-year-olds taking up 15 hours lowest ever
Catherine Gaunt |
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The number of disadvantaged two-year-olds registered for 15-hour childcare is now the lowest ever, according to the latest official statistics, while the number of children of working parents registered for the 30-hour entitlement is at its highest. |
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Research and Policy Developments
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Sutton Trust - World Class: Global Learnings for England on Early Years Policy |
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The Sutton Trust has published a new report examining international early years systems to provide a roadmap to close child development gaps in England. It finds that: Low-income families with two young children, who do not meet eligibility criteria for funded provision, pay 8% of their income on average for 30 hours early years education. This is considerably more than a similar family in Estonia (0%), Denmark (3%) and Iceland (4%); but less than Quebec (10%), Slovenia (21%) and the USA (39%). England’s complex and unfair eligibility rules for funded early years provision means several families miss out, despite both parents being in full-time work or study.
The report sets out a range of recommendations for England’s system to become an international exemplar, drawing on best practice from around the world.
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Department for Education - Press release: Government funding boost kickstarts delivery of historic new free childcare offers |
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Nurseries are set to receive a £204 million cash boost as part of the Government’s promise to deliver the largest ever investment in childcare.
The plans, which were announced in the Spring Budget, are designed to remove significant barriers to support parents to return to work and help to grow the economy by making childcare more accessible.
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Wellcome - How do childhood experiences affect health in later life? |
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A pioneering new longitudinal study could revolutionise our understanding of how early childhood experiences impact health later in life. Saz Ahmed, Wellcome Research Manager, explains how the project will tackle health inequality and advance the field of mental health science. |
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Education and Skills Funding Agency and Department for Education – Guidance: Early years supplementary grant 2023 to 2024 |
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Guidance for local authorities on the early years supplementary grant for 2023 to 2024. This guidance sets out the key principles of the grant and the supplementary funding to local authorities through the Early Years Supplementary Grant (EYSG).
The EYSG is to increase the hourly amounts paid to local authorities, so that they can increase the amount of funding early years childcare providers receive for delivering the entitlements for the period September 2023 to March 2024 for the financial year 2023 to 2024. The conditions of grant are expected to be published in September 2023. |
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NatCen – Society Watch 2023: The Price We Pay - the social impact of the cost of living crisis |
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Drawing upon new and existing research, including fresh findings from the NatCen Panel, this research explores how the cost of living crisis has impacted different groups in society, their spending patterns, mental health and what it might mean for future generations.
Child poverty in the UK is already high and is putting many children at risk of food insecurity, which can lead to longer term problems, the report highlights. The research shows that in 2021/22 children living in poverty were more likely to be in food insecure households or households that used a food bank.
The report warns that a poor diet during a child’s early life can hold back participation in school and development, leading to further problems in adult life. Food insecurity in childhood is associated with cognitive impairments (including maths and vocabulary), and also with impaired motor skills development and school readiness.
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Starcatchers - The Importance of Arts and Creativity in Early Years |
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About this event: Tue, 6 Feb 2024 10:00 - 11:00 GMT, Online
Starcatchers is Scotland’s arts and early years organisation, specialising in creating performances and exploring creative activity for babies, toddlers and young children from birth to 5 years old and the adults who care for them.
Starcatchers apply a children’s rights-based approach across their work and promote the use of the arts and creativity as a vehicle for our youngest children to access the depth and breadth of their rights.
Starcatchers' bespoke commissioned training is delivered in a range of Third sector, early learning and childcare and arts settings across Scotland, supporting professionals to develop their confidence and understanding in using the arts and creativity with our youngest children.
This practical and interactive training will explore: - Why the Arts and Creativity are important in Early Years - The importance of relationships when it comes to engaging babies and young children - Engagement Signals
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Safe, Inclusive Participative Pedagogy (SIPP) - The prevalence of violence against children in the early years |
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About this event: Thu, 7 Sep 2023 15:00 - 16:00 BST, online
Early childhood is a critical period for all children - significant for young children's rights in the here and now, for children's future educational, economic and health outcomes, and ultimately societal flourishing.
By systematically locating and synthesizing research evidence on the prevalence of violence against children in the early years (i.e., five years and under), this systematic review aims to understand the magnitude of violence against children in the early years in order to contribute to the evidence base on how to create safe, inclusive learning environments for this age group.
Speakers: Deborah Fry, Professor, Director of Data, Childlight - Global Child Safety Institute, Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh Mengyao Lu, Research Fellow, Childlight - Global Child Safety Institute, Moray House School of Education and Sport, University of Edinburgh |
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