Low-income families – Why they continue to lose out

Providing places for disadvantaged children from low-income families is key to a successful early years system, says Neil Leitch…

One of the most frustrating things about dealing with government is that when they roll a new policy out, they often refuse to acknowledge that it might possibly have any shortcomings.

How many times, for example, has the sector warned of the impact of underfunding on the early years sector, only to be met with copy-and-paste statements about “record investment into the sector”?

So it is more than a little significant that in one of her final speeches as education secretary, Labour MP Bridget Phillipson chose to speak of the limitations of one of the government’s most high-profile education policies: the early entitlement expansion.

Yes, she said, the rollout of “government-funded childcare” is a “huge step forward”. But, as she went on to say, “we also know there are families this does not and will not reach, families who cannot afford quality childcare, because they aren’t working, or aren’t working enough to qualify”.

There has long been a sharp tension between the rhetoric of the current government, which has a clear and proud focus on social mobility and ensuring that all children get the best start in life, and the realities of the early entitlement offer. This focuses primarily on supporting “working families”.

But this was the first time I can remember that a senior member of the government acknowledged this tension so openly.

Low-income families

We at the Early Years Alliance are clear that a successful early years system is one that ensures every child – and especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds – can access affordable, high-quality provision.

Yet, the fact remains that it is those children most in need of support who continue to lose out. It wasn’t long ago that the DfE published its latest parent survey. This showed that families with annual incomes under £20,000 were far less likely to access formal care and early education than those with higher incomes.

But of course, when you look at the current system, it’s not hard to see why. As it stands, the majority of early entitlement hours are accessible only to eligible working families.

This means that many of the children who would gain the most from quality education and care are frozen out.

Worse still, many of the government policies intended to close this access gap are failing to do so.

Research from the Sutton Trust and Social Market Foundation found that the first phase of government plans to create 3,000 school-based nurseries failed to reach areas of deprivation. Just 16% of new providers were established in the most disadvantaged schools.

Sustained underfunding

There’s no question that there has been a greater focus on supporting those most in need under the current government – not least as underlined in the Best Start in Life strategy.

But words alone do little to change the reality. We know that many settings don’t have the resources or the funding they need to remain sustainable without, for example, charging high fees for additional hours or services.

Alternatively, they have to structure their sessions in such a way that it is incredibly difficult for families to access genuinely “free” provision.

This, of course, goes against the principle of “free” care and education. But until the government addresses this sustained underfunding, accessing early years provision will continue to be a postcode lottery.

If we are to ensure that we can support all families to find affordable, high-quality places that meet their needs, we must start with funding that reflects the true cost of delivering quality care and education.

And in the longer term, once the sector is on a stable financial footing, we must surely look at eligibility. This is with a view to ensuring that we fund early education equally for all children, regardless of family income.

With a new Prime Minister now in post, we as a sector are once again preparing to work with a new early years minister and education secretary.

We’re clear that as the government reassesses its policy priorities for the years ahead, early education – and crucially, the need for every child to benefit from it – must be at the heart of the forward agenda.

Neil Leitch is CEO of the Early Years Alliance.