The growth and development that a child undergoes in the first few years of their life is vital to their long-term outcomes. High-quality early years education supports children’s long-term development and sets them up to be ready for school.
However, many boroughs have reported that local providers are struggling financially and particularly concerned about loss of flexible, affordable providers in areas with higher levels of deprivation.
There are workforce pressures with some settings having to close rooms, operating at reduced capacity and turning children away as they cannot retain or recruit sufficient staff to meet the required staff to child ratios.
Current pressures relating to increased costs and the workforce challenges, on top of long-standing financial challenges, have caused concerns among London boroughs about the stability of the early years sector and how this will affect access to vital high-quality early years education and childcare in the coming years. And while hourly rates have increased, it is too soon to tell if they will deliver the necessary funding to sustain a vibrant early years offer across London.
Given early years provision is a key cornerstone for social mobility, any reduction in the capacity of the sector in the mid to long term leaves the youngest Londoners at risk of losing key support for their development at a crucial point in their young lives – with long term implications for their attainment.
Parental needs
The current childcare system is complex and difficult to navigate with different entitlements for 2, 3 and 4 years olds depending on different eligibility criteria, tax free childcare and other options for support with costs for those on lower incomes. Many parents and carers struggle to understand what support is available to help them pay for childcare, even with online tools and summaries. They also struggle with the different application processes. It can be especially challenging for parents who speak English as an additional language.
The needs of working parents are also changing. The growth of flexible working and changing working patterns since the Covid-19 pandemic has changed what some parents need from childcare. Officers have heard from parents that they require a more flexible offer from providers. For example, providers have reported that Mondays and Fridays tend to be quieter compared to pre-pandemic patterns, and this is causing financial challenges.
Take-up
The extension of free childcare only applies to eligible working parents. Increasing awareness and take-up of free entitlements for disadvantaged 2 years olds (and the universal offer for 3 and 4 year olds) will remain a priority for boroughs.
London has had historically low levels of take up of places for disadvantaged 2 year olds. DfE statistics show that in 2023, only 65% of eligible two-year-olds in London accessed their free 15-hours of early education, compared to 74% nationally.
Take up varies significantly across London boroughs and is linked to a variety of factors including disadvantage, employment status, ethnicity, SEND, population mobility and English as an additional language. The DfE suggests that London’s take up differs to other culturally diverse cities in England due to the super-diversity of the population and higher population mobility.
SEND
Some families with children with SEND struggle to access early years provision and some providers struggle to meet the needs of children with SEND.
There are many inclusive settings across London but funding rates for entitlements do not fully cover costs for providing places for children with special educational need or disability (SEND). Some settings report becoming known for being inclusive and becoming overwhelmed by demand for places for children with SEND and the financial challenges that come with this.
Boroughs have heard from families who are turned away from settings that cannot meet the needs of their child. Some settings do not feel their staff have the required skills. Boroughs have been proactive in offering training to providers but workforce challenges mean that many settings lack the capacity to have staff away from the setting to attend training.
London Councils’ asks of the government
- We call on the government to ensure that there is sufficient funding for early years entitlements to improve the financial sustainability of the early years sector and make sure families can access high quality provision when and where they need it.
- We urge the government to work with local authorities to monitor the impact of closures of early years settings and to continue support the early years sector to ensure sufficiency of high-quality local early years education and childcare provision, including for children with SEND and other additional needs.
