28 December 2023 , 08:51
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Thousands of new nursery places for under fives could be created within primary schools under a Labour government.
Keir Starmer’s party plans to make improved childcare a key pledge ahead of a general election next year as parents face nursery “deserts” across the country. Funding for new nurseries that would be integrated into existing primary schools is said to be “high up the list of priorities”.
Labour says it will create a “modernised childcare system” available from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school. It would mean infants would get continuity from nursery to primary school, if the two are integrated. “Evidence suggests that better integration into the wider school system should result in better outcomes in the long term,” a Labour source said.
The party has commissioned Sir David Bell, former chief inspector of Ofsted, to look at how it can drive up standards in childcare in England. He'll be looking at how to design and deliver better early education in the round and advising Labour on how it does that.
The party will then set out more detailed plans nearer the election, including what it believes they will cost and how it will fund them. The scheme is expected to encourage councils to set up their own nursery provision in existing primary school buildings, the Times reported.
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Labour this year pledged to move away from the Tories "broken" childcare model rather than "tinkering" around the edges by expanding free hours, the party's education chief said. Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson blasted the Government for "failing families" with a chaotic childcare offer that prices parents out of the workplace.
Data from Ofsted reveals that the number of registered childcare providers in England fell by 20,000 from 2015 to 2022, while the number of childminders also fell. There is variation across the country, with parts of Sunderland, for example, having just 12 childcare places per 100 children under the age of five, a 16% decrease since 2018. In Doncaster, where there are 18 places per 100 children, there has been a 25% drop in places since 2018.
Meanwhile, there has been an increase in early-years providers in wealthier areas, where families can afford to pay more for childcare. In Twickenham there are 57 places per 100 children, an increase of 15% over the last five years, while in Wokingham the number of places has risen by 23%.
Parents are currently forced to grapple with a mish-mash of provision, which includes 15 free hours of childcare in term time for all three and four-year-olds. Children of working parents can get 30 hours per week if they meet eligibility rules.
But critics say the money provided by Government is not enough to cover childcare providers' costs, with the Commons education select committee recently saying “underfunding” of the early-years entitlements had left providers “unable to invest in development and straining to survive”.
Ms Phillipson has visited Australia, Ireland and Estonia to study their childcare systems, with Labour sources saying the use of schools to increase childcare provision would ensure that all families can access free childcare. “Childcare hours are no use to parents if they can’t get places — that’s why families are sceptical of what the Tories have offered, particularly in places Labour needs to win at the next election,” a Labour source said.