It was a rare sunny week for the early education sector (Editorial, 7 April). The first wave of 300 new school-based nurseries was announced – with the majority in this phase in cold spots, supporting the communities that need it most. A quick scan of the distribution had me smiling over my cornflakes in recognition of policy, practice and provision coming together in my own north Leeds neighbourhood, offering an average of 20 places per site.
Joy also that the Guardian is reporting on the expansion’s benefits, not just for helping parents to work but, crucially, for supporting children’s development. A raft of research shows that high-quality, group-based care outside the home can improve children’s physical, cognitive, communication and socio-emotional skills. Our research during Covid showed that children attending nursery grew stronger vocabularies as the country went in and out of lockdowns. This effect was especially strong in children living with disadvantage.
Now we must ensure that these new settings succeed for sustaining children’s readiness for school and beyond. High-quality settings require much more than a classroom – with sufficient funding to match.
First, research showed that in 2023, 57% of nursery staff were considering quitting the sector. This is a major risk to success. The rollout needs to be underpinned by measures to strengthen staff retention, including better career development, guaranteed access to training on special educational needs and disabilities, safe adult-to-child ratios and concomitant pay.
Second, school readiness involves families, schools and children alike. Nursery families must be re-engaged to enable them to take up their offer of a place and to ensure regular attendance.
Third, this rollout depends on collaboration between industry, academia, charities and the government. To safeguard that, we need to establish a dedicated scientific advisory subcommittee on early years to ensure the government’s opportunity mission can not only be delivered but also built on in the long term.
Dr Catherine Davies
Professor of language development, University of Leeds
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