Early Years Providers: Government Support

Asked how to attract more men into early years education to provide positive male role models for children who lack them at home or in their families. Called for the Government to incorporate childminders within SEND training for early years staff.

My hon. Friend highlights the issue of late identification of SEND and delayed support for children, suggesting more investment into funding specialist training for pre-school educators.

The hon. Member highlights the importance of high-quality early years education and stresses that quality should be prioritised over just hours of childcare. She calls for better support for the early years workforce, including more training and simplified regulation to attract new childminders. Rainbow nursery in Totnes serves not only the town but the wider area and is struggling with covering its costs under the new arrangements, leading to concerns about sustainability of early years provision in rural areas. The hon. Member for South Devon mentioned the issue of screens and suggested that overuse is detrimental to young people's development.

Over the weekend, I was approached by the head of a primary school who told me that with the expansion of the number of hours and the rate that they are being paid, the school will close within 18 months due to insufficient Government funding.

Discusses high costs of nursery care for parents in his constituency and questions the Government's decision not to exempt nurseries from additional national insurance contributions.

The Chair of the Education Committee highlighted the need to shift focus on early years provision towards helping parents prepare their children for school through play and reducing screen time.

Quality early years education is the single best investment that any Government can make in the future of our society. It supports children’s development at a critical stage of their lives and lays the groundwork for future educational attainment, wellbeing and opportunity. Welcomed Best Start hubs and asked the Minister to reassure parents that play will continue as the bedrock of early years teaching throughout key stage 1. Also mentioned concerns about funding for maintained nurseries.

The hon. Member discusses the importance of early years support, citing a survey that found nearly 85% of parents had their return to work impacted by childcare costs and almost a quarter reported childcare consumed nearly a full wage in the household.

The hon. Member welcomes Government efforts to make early years provision accessible but highlights disparities in access based on income levels, with only 36% of lower-income families using formal childcare services compared to 73% of higher-earning families.

Called on the Government to provide more relief to early years providers from NICs and ensure social workers are aware of local provision to direct families in need. Asked the Minister to ask for funding bids to be made to the Treasury.

High-quality early years education is crucial, but nurseries face ongoing challenges such as increased staffing costs and changes to business rates. The Stockport private providers network includes 63 day nurseries, 22 pre-schools, 220 childminders, and eight independent nurseries.

The hon. Member welcomes the Government’s £2 billion extra investment in early years entitlement and mentions the Early Education and Childcare Coalition's positive reception to the strategy.

Questions the Minister about the balance between childcare access through school-based nurseries and the risk of passing basic life skill teaching responsibilities to primary teachers, highlighting concerns over resource strain and standard lowering.

Sarah Dyke highlights the importance of early identification of special educational needs and disabilities, emphasizing the need for sufficient funding to match government strategy. Nurseries face unsustainable costs and funding models that are becoming uncontrollable, with many providers struggling. The 83% increase in funding is far less than the 250% increase in wages since 1999.