The Minister for Children and Families, Sarah Teather MP announced that the Government are to go ahead with the review of the EYFS promised by the last administration, at the NCB Summer Reception on Monday 5 July 2010.
NCB and many other of the organisations involved in the Firm Foundations Campaign welcomed the Review this week as an opportunity to refine and improve but cautioned against fundamental change. You can read a selection of press comments here.
The Firm Foundations Campaign is now being driven by the Early Childhood Forum and is currently focussing lobbying efforts on the Academies Bill under consideration in the House of Lords. The Bill will permit primary and special schools to apply for academy status without consultation with children, parents, staff or the local community. We are concerned to ensure that the specific needs of young children are considered within the new academy model and are pressing for debate about this during the passage of the Bill. In particular we are concerned about the future of the EYFS in academies as there is no requirement on them to follow it in the Bill. There has been one day of Report Stage so far which included debate about whether or not primary schools should be included in the Bill at all. There was cross party concern that primary schools need more support from local authorities. There was also widespread concern about the impact of academy status being granted to schools without consideration of the impact on education provision and other schools in the local area. The Minister Lord Hill has agreed to consider this point and come back to it at Third Reading. Our Report Stage Briefing details the amendment to ensure that academies are bound by the Childcare Act 2006 to implement the EYFS which has been tabled by the Baroness Walmsley and the Baroness Sharp (Liberal-Democrat peers). The amendment should be discussed on the final day of Report, 7 July.
The Queen opened the new Parliament today with a speech announcing 22 bills carrying forward the Coalition Government’s Programme. In terms of early years, the bills to watch will be:
Welfare Reform Bill which will be making changes to the tax credits system and abolishing Child Trust Funds
Schools and Children’s Bill which will give schools greater independence and parents powers to set up schools
Public Bodies Reform Bill which will abolish some non-department government bodies and limit powers
Freedom Bill which will abolish ContactPoint
The Firm Foundations Campaign is very pleased to see the commitment to ring-fenced Sure Start and schools budgets announced yesterday in the Chancellor’s Emergency Budget, along with commitments to the free nursery entitlement, to ending child poverty by 2020 and to stop detaining children for immigration purposes.
Concerns have been raised this week about the future of the free entitlement to nursery education and care. An article published in The Observer claimed that the Conservatives are planning to allow for top-up fees to be charged. Daycare Trust, 4Children and Gingerbread have responded with a letter in today’s Guardian.
At a hustings event organised by Barnardo’s today, David Willetts, Shadow Cabinet Minister for Universities and Skills, with special responsibility for family policy said that there were no plans to allow for top-up fees but that the current funding arrangements for the free entitlement needed to be reviewed.
In an article by Polly Toynbee in yesterday’s Guardian, she outlines responses by Michael Gove on this question.
Political parties have been launching their election campaign manifestos. Below is a summary of what the three main political parties are promising on early childhood:
Labour Party
The Labour Party Manifesto, A future fair for all, includes:
To read the Labour Manifesto visit http://www2.labour.org.uk/labours-manifesto-for-a-future-fair-for-all
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party Manifesto, Invitation to join the Government of Britain, includes:
To read the Conservative Manifesto visit: http://www.conservatives.com/Policy/Manifesto.aspx
Liberal Democrat Party
The Liberal Democrat Party Manifesto 2010 includes:
To read the Liberal Democrat Manifesto visit: http://www.libdems.org.uk/our_manifesto.aspx
*New* Send a letter or email to your local newspaper to highlight the Firm Foundations Campaign
In the run-up to the General Election, you have the opportunity to make your voice heard about the importance of investment in high quality early education and care for our youngest citizens for voters like you. Please write to your local newspaper to encourage support for the Campaign.
Click here to find contact details for your the editors of the local newspapers in your area.
Click Dear Editor for our suggested text for your letter or email. Please feel free to add to this or compose your own to highlight your personal views or any particular local services or issues.
Please do let us know whether you get any response using any of our feedback forms or email: firmfoundations@ncb.org.uk
NCB welcomes the publication of the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee report on Sure Start Children’s Centres today.
NCB’s Early Childhood Unit has long championed the importance of high quality services for babies and young children and their families, both to promote well-being and tackle disadvantage.
Sue Owen, Director, Well-Being, NCB, said: ‘We are particularly pleased at the Committee’s recognition that the development of Children’s Centres has been solidly based on evidence that the early years are when the greatest difference can be made to a child’s life chances. We also welcome the Committee’s conclusions that Children’s Centres should remain a service for all young children and their families, and that they need long-term policy and financial security in order to properly evaluate their impact.
Our commitment to Children’s Centres is one of the reasons we established the ‘Firm Foundations’ Campaign. It promotes the need for high quality services and investment for our youngest children, which is the basis for the Children’s Centre model.’
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One of the leading articles in The Times today questions Government spending on early years and suggests that this is at the expense on investment in further education.
It is one of the top ten most read articles in today’s papers.
The Firm Foundations Campaign will be responding to the editor and you also respond online – both direct to the newspaper and also by sharing your views on this site.
The Press Association reports that Gordon Brown has hailed plans to boost childcare – and warned that Tory cuts would hit the service. Amid intense jockeying for position ahead of the general election, the Prime Minister used the opening of the 3,500th Sure Start centre in England to push for the “family” vote. Measures including an expert panel to check that nursery pupils are eating healthily and a celebrity-backed website supporting the Sure Start programme were unveiled by ministers.
The government will announce a review of food standards in nurseries today as ministers launch a fresh pre-election assault on the Tories over their plans for Sure start centres.
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