When it comes to the election, you may be wondering who's the best option, but it is not my place to tell you who to vote for. Don't get me wrong, there are some great early years practices going on and the manifestos below outline some positive things for the early years. It's a privilege to work in this industry, but we can't ignore the ongoing issues that have been happening within the early years, not just from Covid, but also the lack of investment in this crucial phase of a child's life. My focus as an early childhood researcher is on workforce development and what professionals do for our youngest children.
This quote below has spurred me onto why our votes need to count.
‘The early childhood sector is in crisis’
(Burgess-Macey et al., 2020)
Below are the main points of each political party's early years manifesto. It's been a long and hard thought process for me about what our children need when it comes to moving forward in politics and the below 6 points are what I believe should be the areas of focus each political party needs to prioritise for the early years.
1. Developing children’s voice
2. The early years curriculum and positioning play and early childhood development
3. Childcare and early education
4. Investment in workforce development
5. Recruitment and retention
6. Capital Investment
Let's start with the 4 main parties: Labour, Greens, Liberal Democrats, Conservatives. Each manifesto has a proposal for our early years sector. Let me take care of what they're offering. You can read more about each manifesto by clicking the links below each area of focus..
The Conservative Party
The Conservatives have pledged to continue the rollout of their funded childcare scheme, which is estimated to see all eligible parents of children from nine months old to school-starter age be able to access 30 hours of funded childcare a week from September 2025.
The party has also pledged to increase hourly funding rates over the next two years by £500mn while helping the sector to hire more staff.
The manifesto also says the party will invest £300mn in wraparound childcare for parents.
Additionally, the party has pledged to deliver a Family Hub in every local authority in England.
It will move to a household rather than an individual basis for calculating child benefit.
Reference (https://public.conservatives.com/static/documents/GE2024/Conservative-Manifesto-GE2024.pdf)
The Green Party
There has not been a clear and concise early years or childcare policy from the Green Party but they have stated the below which could involve the early years sector in the widest sense:
Education should be about inspiring a love of learning and ensuring that every young person can reach their potential. Yet too many children are failing to thrive in an education system that operates like a production line rather than valuing their individual qualities. An investment in the next generation is the most important investment we can make.
Green MPs will champion:
An increase in school funding of £8bn, to include £2bn for a pay uplift for teachers.
Supporting every higher education student, with the restoration of grants and the end of tuition fees.
Ending high-stakes testing at primary and secondary schools and abolishing OFSTED.
The Labour Party
Childcare will be available and accessible
· Over three thousand new nursery classes across England to open up access to childcare hours for families.
Childcare will support our children to achieve and thrive
Labour will deliver half a million more children hitting the Early Learning Goals by 2030.
Labour will bring a new focus on supporting language skills and maths learning right from the start.
Labour will support staff working in childcare & early education so they are recognised for the skilled and important work they are doing.
Labour has commissioned Sir David Bell, former chief inspector of Ofsted, to look at how we can drive up standards in childcare in England.
Childcare will be affordable
Labour will deliver the enhanced entitlements the government have offered, saving thousands of pounds a year for working families.
Labour will support three quarters of a million more parents to re-enter the labour market.
The Liberal Democrats
Every child deserves the best possible start in life and the opportunity to flourish, no matter their background or personal circumstances. Protecting their rights and wellbeing as children and ensuring they are properly nourished are top priorities.
Families come in all shapes and sizes, and parents should have the support and flexibility to juggle work with parenting as they see fit.
Flexible, affordable childcare and early years education is a critical part of our economic infrastructure and helps close the attainment gap between rich and poor. It gives parents more choice over how to organise their lives and helps them return to work if they want to. Lack of access to affordable childcare is a key driver of the gender pay gap.
But affordable childcare is only part of the picture. We will also overhaul parental leave to give parents a genuine choice over how to manage things in the first months of their child’s life.
They will:
Extend free school meals to all children in poverty, with an ambition to extend them to all primary school children when the public finances allow.
Appoint a Cabinet Minister for Children and Young People.
Give parents genuine flexibility and choice in the crucial early months by doubling Statutory Maternity and Shared Parental Pay to £350 a week and introducing an extra use-it-or-lose-it month for fathers and partners, paid at 90% of earnings.
Make all parental pay and leave day-one rights, and extend them to self-employed parents.
Expand opportunities for young people to study, teach and volunteer abroad by returning to the Erasmus Plus programme as an associated country.
Reference: (https://www.libdems.org.uk/manifesto)
Let's start with a spider diagram showing what our early years sector needs and how they align with each manifesto I've outlined in the 6 areas above.
(This is not an endorsement of each political party, but more of a holistic look at what we need as a sector. If I agree with a point a political party has made I have included it in the diagram.)
Where do we go from here?
Many of the policies I have outlined above include early education and childcare. Although I have only skimmed the surface of what each political party has planned in the early years sector, there are many areas of need. It is important to consider the economy, but it shouldn't be the only factor. Nevertheless, I am pleased to see that at least one political party has aligned itself with my thinking in each of my foci above:
1. Developing children’s voice
2. The early years curriculum and positioning play and early childhood development
3. Childcare and early education
4. Investment in workforce development
5. Recruitment and retention
6. Capital Investment
Personally, I want to see a bold plan that establishes the sector as a respected and valued part of education. Investing in early education, early help services and qualifications, especially higher education for professionals, made a significant impact on our children pre-2010. Recruitment and retention in the early childhood sector are real and living issues today. Despite significant growth in early childhood education in the UK, recruiting and retaining professionals has been a challenge. Low wages and limited development opportunities have contributed to this trend. Regardless of who wins the election on the 4th July 2024, policy changes must prioritise recruitment of early childhood professionals. A real-term early years workforce strategy needs to be developed within the first 6 months, detailing how they will recruit, retain and train a new generation of early childhood professionals. To support the training of tomorrow's professionals, I have already completed a piece of research where I have looked at reconceptualising the third teacher in the early years (Bradbury, 2023). The needs of graduates within the sector will be an important consideration for all political parties in the future. A highly skilled and qualified workforce is essential to providing a high-quality early childhood experience. However, recent reports indicate that recruitment, retention, wage stagnation, and changing employee qualification requirements continue to pose challenges in the early childhood workforce (The Guardian, 2022; Early Years Alliance, 2021; London Early Years Foundation, 2022).
The early years sector needs to end austerity and invest heavily at this crucial time. We need to move away from a business model and towards one that puts children and families at the centre of policymaking. Any political policy should begin with play, early child development, and the rights of the child. We need to stop relying on the deficit model for early years and start planning ahead. It's time to be bold and plan big for our children. The early years sector should once again be seen as a beacon of excellence where children's progress is not dictated by the curriculum, but through play, love, and nurture. Whenever we make decisions for children, their families, and the workforce, we want our early years sector to be something we are proud of, invested in, and represented at every table. Separately, it cannot be accomplished. Change must occur now if we are going to raise standards together. Now is the time for the political parties to begin this process. Through our dialogue and their ability to foster a manifesto of real change, they can put their manifesto into action.
We need to be clear, we can make the change we need for our children and our sector if you use your vote, your voice matters. Neither politics nor the past 14 years should separate us, but should bring us together. We are one sector creating opportunities for children in an ever-changing world, and we can make a difference for each and every child, but now is the time to be their voices, as the election matters to them.
As a sector, politics needs to be woven into its fabric. In fact, I am co-editing a book with Ruth Swailes and Philippa Thompson that explores what the main focus needs to be for children within the next 10 years, and is authored by many early childhood experts and academics. In October 2024, a book called 'A manifesto for early childhood' will be published.
Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts and I hope you have found each political parties manifesto helpful in supporting your decision making when casting your vote on July 4th.
Aaron
References
Bradbury, A. 2023. Reconceptualising the Third Teacher: A study of trainee experiences of work-based learning on Level 3 Early Years programmes. Prof Doc Thesis https://doi.org/10.48773/q218z
Burgess-Macey, C., Kelly, C., & Ouvry, M. (2020). Rethinking early years: how the neoliberal agenda fails children. Soundings: A Journal of Politics and Culture: 76.
Early Years Alliance. (2021). Early years staffing shortages reaches crisis point. Available at: https://www.eyalliance.org.uk/news/2021/12/early-years-staffing- shortages-reaches-crisis-point [Accessed on: 16/6/2024].
LEYF Nurseries. (2022). Tackling the Early Years Recruitment Crisis Head On. Available at: https://www.leyf.org.uk/news/ey-recruitment crisis/#:~:text=35%25%20of%20respondents%20are%20actively,and%20poor%20p
ay%20(57%25). [Accessed on: 16/6/2024].
The Guardian. (2022). UK faces childcare crisis as staff shortages force nurseries to close.
Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/apr/30/uk-faces-childcare-crisis-as-staff-shortages-force-nurseries-to-close. [Accessed on: 16/6/2024].
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