Extending free nursery places to two-year-olds will give much-needed help to the poorest families, says Daycare Trust, giving a warm welcome to the announcement on 12th December of Ed Balls’ ten-year Children’s Plan.

“Providing free places is a simple, transparent way of supporting early years education and care, and one which is hugely popular with parents,” says Alison Garnham, Joint-chief Executive of Daycare Trust.

“Extending the free places to two-year-olds, targeting the most disadvantaged first, will help close the gap in educational outcomes between the poorest children and the rest,” she added.

The national childcare charity also welcomed a pledge of more investment for driving up skills in the childcare workforce.

“Putting more money into supporting professional development in the private, voluntary and independent sector is very welcome, as is the long-term funding for the Graduate Leader Fund. This puts us on course to reach the goal of having every childcare setting led by a qualified teacher.”

“It’s also great news that the Government is planning to make better outreach a part of everyday practice for early years settings – because we know that it’s the most disadvantaged families who find it hardest to access services.”

“We believe, however, that this will only be really effective if matched with the funding needed to ensure that nurseries are sustainable. It’s no use encouraging parents to use their local nursery if it’s on the brink of closing because it can’t make ends meet.”

“Ed Balls’ vision of childhood, where the poorest families have access to high-quality early years care and education, delivered by highly-trained staff, is one which we are happy to endorse.”

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