Early childhood education and care under the UK’s Labour Government: tensions and contradictions Eva Lloyd, UEL Wellington, NZ 11 February 2008

The UK’s Labour Government After 18 years in opposition, the Labour Government assumed office in Labour administrations to date: , ; 2005 onwards. ‘Third Way’ politics positioned ‘New’ Labour as a centre-left party rather than a democratic socialist party.

Continuities with the past New Labour operated within Conservative spending limits, at least for the first two years. New Labour continued Conservative neo-liberal approach to welfare and education policies by encouraging welfare, health and education ‘markets’. New Labour continued targeted policies including means-tested benefits, and separate service systems for the poor and better-off.

Breaks with the past Much higher profile for children. Integration of administrative responsibilities for childcare and education within Department for Education and Skills. HM Treasury sets public service delivery and quality targets in biennial Spending Reviews. Devolution: 4 Acts in For education and social welfare matters now separate jurisdictions in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland; (already were for criminal justice in Scotland and Northern Ireland). London gets its own Assembly.

Three key policy drivers Public sector reform aims to create a sustainable welfare state via the mixed economy of welfare. ‘Rights and responsibilities’ and ‘welfare to work’ agendas. Women encouraged to join the workforce, lone mothers in particular. ‘Education, education, education’: boosting educational performance in the interests of the knowledge-based economy. Eliminating child poverty: 1 in 3 children are living below the poverty line in 1997.

The position in 1997 Labour inherited a fragmented early childhood service system: Uneven publicly funded early education for 3 and 4 year olds, primarily in Labour local authorities. Over 50% of 4 year olds in primary schools, most 3 year olds in private not-for-profit pre- schools/playgroups. Publicly funded childcare for ‘at risk’ children and some disadvantaged children only. For others full cost day nursery or family daycare in the private for-profit and not-for-profit sectors.

The 1998 National Childcare Strategy Free early education entitlement for year olds: 12.5 hours weekly for 33 weeks annually. Early education grant: a supply-side subsidy to private for-profit and not-for-profit settings, provided the early years curriculum is used. Pump-priming funding, a short-term supply-side subsidy to encourage the set up of childcare businesses to provide school-age and ‘wrap- around’ childcare and care for children under 3. Tax credits, a demand-side subsidy, to help parents who are employed over 16 hours buy registered childcare.

Introduction of a national minimum wage, ensuring better pay for early childhood practitioners. Sure Start initiative to provide family support services for children aged 3 and under growing up in disadvantaged areas. From 2003 Sure Start Local Programmes also deliver childcare. More support for the training of the childcare workforce, still largely unqualified. Introduction of national minimum quality standards for childcare, regulated by the Office for Standards in Education, Ofsted. Other pertinent developments

Interface problems between free early education and ‘wrap-around’ childcare for 3/4 year olds. Childcare sustainability problems in poor areas, once supply-sided subsidies are phased out. Parents prefer informal, and thus unregistered, care for their youngest children, aged 0 to 3. Tax credits problematic: overpayments clawed back, forcing low-paid parents into debt. Sure Start programmes fail to reach most disadvantaged children, Black and minority ethnic communities and children with disabilities and/or special educational needs. (Kazimirski et al. in press; Lloyd, forthcoming) Tensions and contradictions

Refocusing early childhood policies During the second Labour administration: The Child Poverty Review (HM Treasury, 2004a) advocates greater convergence between the child poverty and national childcare strategy. A National Audit Office review (NAO, 2004) identifies a lack of progress in accessibility, choice, affordability, quality and sustainability of childcare and early education provision. The Ten Year Strategy for Childcare (HM Treasury, 2004b) addresses these issues and announces a raft of new developments.

What happened next? Commitment to mixed economy of childcare reaffirmed in the 2006 Childcare Act. Childcare staff recruitment and ‘churn’ increasingly problematic. Day nursery occupancy rates of 75% insufficient for financial viability. Rapid consolidation among for-profit providers benefits the corporate childcare sector, which increased seven-fold since Steep increase in childcare costs: more than twice the rate of inflation in Mothers’ employment rates static between 1994 and 2004: this trend continues.

Implications of early childhood policies under Labour Early childhood policies under Labour have impacted on childcare cost, quality and sector status. (Penn, 2007) This affects the experiences of: 1.Children, 2.parents, 3.providers, 4.practitioners, and 5.policymakers.

Childcare costs in 2007 Annual cost in England of a typical nursery place for 50 hours a week for a child aged two or under in 2007: £8, equivalent to $21, New Zealand dollars (Daycare Trust, 2008 ) The Childcare Affordability Programme is devised by the London Development Agency to help parents with the even higher costs of childcare in the capital.

Childcare quality in 2007 Ofsted reports that in England in 2006/07: 54 % of all childcare and early education inspected was ‘good’; 3% was outstanding. This was 4 % less than the 61% who achieved this rating in 2005/06. (Ofsted, 2007: 6, fig. 2) Quality in private for-profit early childhood settings used by the UK’s Millennium Cohort children was lower than in the state or not-for- profit sector. (Mather, Sylva and Joshi, 2007)

Childcare sectors in England In 2006 the private for-profit sector in England delivered: 65% of full group childcare provision; 17% of full group childcare in Children’s Centres targeted at poorer families; 44% of full, sessional and out-of-school group childcare provision combined; This compared with: 42% delivered by the private not-for-profit sector; and 13% by the state sector. (Kinnaird et al, 2007) The UK corporate for-profit childcare sector has grown seven-fold since 1997.

Conclusions Recent developments in the UK suggest that: the mixed economy of childcare promotes social segregation and hinders poor children’s access to quality early childhood education and care. Consolidation in the undercapitalised childcare market removes parental choice and increases pressure for deregulation. The Government has misread the attitudes of parents towards non-parental care in the very early years, when informal care is preferred. The government has underestimated parents’ interest in the value of publicly funded early education for their 3 and 4 year old children.

Some ways forward? Under the 2006 Childcare Act, 3 and 4 year old children can get 15 hours free early education for 38 weeks annually by This target should be brought forward and increased to a minimum of 20 hours; the entitlement should be extended to 2 year old children. Under the Work and Families Act 2006, women are entitled to 26 weeks paid maternity leave and 26 weeks unpaid additional leave. The additional leave should be paid. The Government should reconsider the operation and impact of the mixed economy of childcare.

References Daycare Trust (2008) Childcare Costs Survey, London: Daycare Trust. HM Treasury (2004a) The Child Poverty Review, London: The Stationary Office. HM Treasury (2004b) Choice for Parents, the Best Start for Children: a Ten Year Strategy for Childcare, London: The Stationary Office. Kazimirski, A., Smith, R., Butt, S., Ireland, E. and Lloyd, E. (in press) Childcare and Early Years Survey 2007: Parents’ use, Views and Experiences, London: DCSF. Kinnaird, R., Nicholson, S. and Jordan, E. (2007) 2006 Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey, London: DCSF (Res. Rep. 009). Laing & Buisson (2007) Children’s Nurseries UK Market Report 2007, London: Laing & Buisson.

References Lloyd, E. (forthcoming) ’The interface between childcare, family support and child poverty strategies under New Labour: tensions and contradictions’, Social Policy and Society, 7(4). Mathers, S., Sylva, K. and Joshi, H. (2007) Quality of childcare settings in the Millennium Cohort Study, London: DCSF Res. Rep. 025 National Audit Office (2004) Early Years: Progress in Developing High Quality Childcare and Early Education Accessible to All, London, The Stationary Office. Penn, H. (2007) ‘Childcare market management: how the United Kingdom Government has reshaped its role in developing early childhood education and care’, Contemporary Issues in the Early Years, 8(3):