By Vivienne Russell | 16 July 2014
A think-tank has called on the government to provide parents who work at least 20 hours a week with up to 25 hours of free early education for their pre-school children.
CentreForum said early years education had the potential to narrow the opportunity gap between disadvantaged children and their peers, while allowing parents to work more and boost their family’s income also helped children to progress.
Its Early years: valuable ends and effective means report suggested that staff working with young children from disadvantaged backgrounds should be better qualified and more should be done to equip childcare professionals to support parents in encouraging early learning at home.
Janet Grauberg, the report’s editor, said: ‘The last 20 years have seen a real consensus build around the case for government action to promote early childhood education and care. But a lack of clarity about the purpose of government intervention has led to a confusing mix of policies, which makes it tough for parents and providers and means that children aren’t getting the best start.
‘The evidence is really strong that high-quality early years education, alongside measures to improve family income, can make a real difference in narrowing the gap in young children’s outcomes, and the next generation should be bold in making this their priority.’
Contributors to the report include: children’s charity Barnardo’s; the Early Intervention Foundation; the Family and Childcare Trust; and academics from the University of Oxford and the London School of Economics.
