Government ‘has more work to do’ on landmark childcare reforms – report

The House of Commons have warned the government should consider wider policy changes to ensure children benefit from high quality affordable childcare and to help parents and providers who are struggling.

The findings come in a new report which concludes the cross-party committee’s inquiry that was launched amid warnings that state and private providers had been closing at an alarming rate. This has been coupled with a major recruitment and retention challenge and a decline in the number of childminders.

This is despite strong demand for childcare from a generation of parents who are struggling to afford services, with many opting against returning to work or delaying having children.

During the course of the inquiry, the government announced the largest expansion in public investment in childcare on record through an extension of its funded hours, but the overall system remains complex and the committee has made a number of recommendations to increase choice, availability and flexibility for parents.

Education committee chair, Robin Walker, said: ‘Simply extending the number of hours that the government calls free will not work unless the funding rates accurately reflect the costs of providing high quality early education and childcare. We have heard that many settings rely on charging more for the children who attend them outside of the funded hours. It is therefore essential that ministers reduce burdens on the sector and provide adequate funding for all the stages of early education.

‘We have recommended that the government should remove business rates and VAT from nurseries and support an expansion in childminding capacity which provides much needed flexibility. We also want to see better evidence on the case for younger children being in childcare and more support for parents who choose to stay at home to look after their children, providing stimulation and support at such a critical stage of development.

‘Family Hubs will be an especially vital resource for disadvantaged families but currently cover a limited number of places, we recommend that they be rolled out nationwide.

‘There are holes that need fixing in the complex patchwork of benefits and schemes available to parents, and not reforming the onerous workings of the tax-free childcare scheme was a missed opportunity. We are also concerned that parents who are studying and upskilling are not well enough supported, which runs contrary to the government’s own agenda.

‘The overall system of supporting families and children with SEND, all the way through to adulthood, could be significantly helped by improving identification during the early years, which is why we argue for all childcare workers to receive mandatory training in this.

‘Throughout this inquiry, and in the incredible response from families and providers, there was no shortage of people ready to point out flaws in the system. But there was a great deal of praise for the brilliant people who work with young children and strong evidence that with the right support they can do more. There were also an abundance of practical ideas to revive the childcare sector and update the offering to young families. We look forward to the government’s response to our recommendations.’

The report’s main recommendations are:

• Increase the childcare entitlement subsidy for providers
• Simplify the system to ensure more families benefit
• Abolish business rates for nurseries
• Simplify tax-free childcare offer
• Closely monitor the impact of reduced staff:child ratios
• Mandatory SEND training
• Fund family hubs across the country
• Boost staff career development
• Remove barriers for childminders operating from social housing
• Data on the benefits of childcare
• A long-term plan for childcare & the early years

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