�㽶��Ƶapp

by Shannon Pite

New analysis conducted by London Economics and commissioned by charity Save the Children has modelled the cost of various changes to the current early years model which, if implemented, could “improve inclusion and quality” in the sector.

This includes: 

• paying all staff at least the Real Living Wage, or London Living Wage (£13.85) if in London, and maintaining pay differentials for higher paid staff (£674.8 million) 

• expanding the ‘working families’ entitlement offer to single parents with a disability, single parent carers, and those in training and education (£513.9 million) 

• providing introductory level SEND training for all staff (£43.7 million) 

• providing early years child development training for those with no relevant early years qualifications (£6.8 million) 

• expanding the current early entitlement offer from 38 weeks to 48 weeks per year (£490 million) 

The analysis builds upon previous London Economics modelling, which found that government funding for the early entitlement offers was £388 million less than the cost to providers of delivering places. 

Save the Children is calling on the government to invest in high-quality, inclusive early years provision as a route to reducing child poverty, increasing parental employment rates and meet the target for 75% of reception-age children to achieve a good level of development by 2028. 

Ruth Talbot, policy and advocacy adviser for Save the Children UK, said: “To meet the prime minister’s target of having 75% of children ‘school-ready’ by 2028, the UK government must invest in the childcare workforce now and pay and qualifications is a current blind spot. We already fall behind European counterparts in the pay and status of early years workers and this cannot continue. 

“A lot of the financial uplift from the Treasury to enable fair wages would reap rewards as this money would predominantly be spent in a childcare worker’s local economy.”