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5 hours ago
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Figures showing a steep increase in the number of safety incidents involving children at nurseries in England are a reminder that the government-funded expansion of early years education needs to be monitored closely. The increased entitlement to free places, which was announced by the last government and is being rolled out gradually, is hugely welcome. Bridget Phillipson’s decision to prioritise new nurseries in the north and Midlands in the first round of funding was a good one.
High-quality preschool settings are a crucial foundation for future learning. They are particularly important at a time of rising concern about young children’s development – with growing numbers arriving in reception classes unable to feed themselves or go to the toilet. Currently, early learning opportunities are not evenly or fairly distributed – partly because providers rely on income from fees as well as public funding. The 4,000 new state nursery places that are due to come on stream by September should provide a boost to preschoolers in poorer parts of the country.
Nearly all nurseries are safe. Many are excellent. Overall, 97% were judged either good or outstanding under the old Ofsted system – which will soon be replaced with new report cards. As well as benefits to children, free places offer parents, and especially mothers, the chance to combine paid employment with caring duties – lifting their incomes. This is why investment in early years education has long been regarded as a feminist issue.
But as in health and children’s social care settings, concerns about safety must be taken seriously. An ongoing investigation by Stockport council into the circumstances surrounding the death of Genevieve Meehan, who was nine months old when she was killed at Tiny Toes nursery in 2022, should provide vital information. It is disturbing that the nursery, at the time of her death, had a good Ofsted rating. The sharp rise in the number of safety reports to Ofsted, uncovered by the BBC, requires a response from ministers. Claims that some nurseries cheat inspectors, for example by requiring sick staff to come in, need to be looked at carefully.
Ms Phillipson is right to champion investment in the early years and remind voters about the Sure Start programme built up by a previous Labour government before being dismantled under the Tories. At the same time, the government must be clear with the public about the situation it inherited, in which the three largest providers – with around 70,000 nursery places between them – are businesses, and that the chain that expanded most last year, Kids Planet, is funded by private equity. In the same period, the two largest voluntary-sector groups shrank, while the number of childminders (mostly self-employed women) also fell.
Affordable early years education is a social good. So is a commitment to rising standards. Currently, nurseries are inspected less often than schools (every six years instead of four), which is both wrong – given their importance and small children’s vulnerability – and in keeping with the sector’s lowly, overlooked status. Recent changes to staffing ratios have worsened the situation in some places. Particularly when they are new and settling in, babies and toddlers need attention.
It is hard to raise the quality of early years education while keeping it affordable. But this is what needs to happen. Ms Phillipson’s new nurseries are a promising start, but there is much more to do.
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