women in london - daycare trust - analysis of 10-Year Childcare Strategy

Daycare Trust has welcomed the Government's 10-year Childcare Strategy, supporting the long-term investment that will deliver better in childcare services, improving the life chances of both children and their families.

Analysing the strategy announced on Thursday 2nd December, Daycare Trust looks forward to taking this agenda forward and seeing sustainable changes for which we have campaigned for on behalf of children and parents.

Daycare Trust highlights the following aspects of the Government's strategy:

Choice
From April 2007 paid maternity leave will be extended from six to nine months, as a first step towards extending paid maternity leave to 12 months. The Government also announced the intention to give mothers the right to transfer a proportion of their maternity leave to the father, on top of the existing entitlement to two weeks paternity leave, by the end of next parliament.

This reform is very welcome as it recognises the importance of giving both parents the choice of looking after their children at home during the first year of life, which research shows improves children's outcomes. It will also bring the UK in line with European standards. Daycare Trust also welcomes the Government's ambition to increase the flat-rate payment over time. Daycare Trust believes that for this choice to be affordable for families, the flat-rate payments should be progressively raised to the National Minimum Wage.

Availability
Daycare Trust is pleased to see the Government tackling the issue of availability of childcare. Extending the free part-time early education places for three and four year-olds to four hours a day for 38 weeks and increasing the flexibility for parents to use these hours will be valuable for children and parents. We are concerned however that the strategy does not tackle the issue of childcare provision for one and two year-olds, nor does it mention any follow up to the pilot scheme extending part-time early education places to two year-olds in 500 areas around the country.

Daycare Trust welcomes the Government's commitment to deliver 3,500 children's centres by 2010, connecting group-based and home-based care providers and wraparound childcare from 8am to 6pm all year round through the extended schools initiative. Daycare Trust looks forward to further details on the coverage of the extra childcare places planned through the 10-year strategy. In particular, there are questions as to whether 3,500 children's centres will be sufficient to cover the early education and care needs of all children and families, and whether the model of offering fewer services in centres in the less disadvantaged areas will succeed in reaching the almost half of poor children who live in these areas.

Quality
Daycare Trust warmly endorses the Government's intention to make childcare services in the UK stand alongside the best quality examples of care in the world.

Daycare Trust has long campaigned for radical reform to increase the qualifications and skill-bases of the early years workforce and welcomes the Government's long-term goal of ensuring that degree-qualified early years staff lead all full-time daycare settings. Similarly, we welcome more workers being trained to degree-level, a single qualification framework and more training for home based carers to achieve level 3 qualifications. Daycare Trust's vision is that by 2015 60% of the workforce will have graduate-level qualifications comparable to those of a primary school teacher, with salary and benefits to match.

We look forward to providing our input into the consultations by the Children's Workforce Development Council on a new qualification and career structure for the early years workforce and in further reviews and consultations announced by the Chancellor to create a single quality framework for children from birth to five. We are pleased that the Government plans to look at examples of best practice from other countries, particularly as regards the role of teachers and pedagogues.

Affordability
The increase, from April 2005, of the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit from Ł135 to Ł175 for families with one child and from Ł200 to Ł300 for families with two or more children will make a big difference for many families. As will the increase in the proportion of costs to be covered, rising from 70% to 80% in April 2006.

Daycare Trust particularly welcomes the Government's announcement to initiate a dialogue on extending the entitlement to the Childcare Element of the Working Tax Credit to parents who work less than 16 hours a-week and to extend the payments for those who start a new job beyond the current seven-day period.

Daycare Trust believes that in order to achieve universal, good quality, accessible and affordable early education and care, a significant shift should take place from a demand-side approach to a supply-side approach in funding and is pleased that the Government sees an enhanced role for supply-side subsidies in driving up quality and ensuring sustainability. We welcome the creation of a Transformation Fund to support investment by local authorities in high quality, affordable, flexible and sustainable childcare provision and the clarification of responsibilities through local authorities new statutory duty to secure childcare and early years provision, which is accessible, joined up and meets the needs of local children and their families. It is important that sufficient funds are provided in order to ensure sustainable provision of good quality early education and care.

Daycare Trust is the national childcare charity, campaigning for quality affordable childcare for all and raising the voices of children, parents and carers.

We advise parents and carers, providers, employers, trade unions and policymakers on childcare issues.
We recognise that everyone is unique and we value difference in our communities. We listen to all views and are committed to act without prejudice.
We oppose all discrimination and promote equality in all we do.
We run a childcare helpline (020 7840 3350) for parents with access to Language Line interpreters for non-English speakers, open for calls Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm.
Callers can get a free copy of Daycare Trust's 'Choosing Childcare: Your Sure Start Guide to Childcare and Early Education', and a tax credit calculator, to find out how much tax credit parents may be eligible for towards the costs of childcare.
Parents can also visit http://www.daycaretrust.org.uk for information.