Early Years

The reader following through the items in this section of the data list will meet a plethora of new initiatives which overlap and can be confusing. There are overall planning devices like the National Childcare Strategy and Early Years Partnerships. There are national curriculum initiatives such as the Foundation Stage and Early Learning Goals. There are funded programmes like Sure Start, Early Excellence Centres and Neighbourhood Nursery Centres. All of these have the goal of improving provision for the under-fives by putting in more money, linking up care and education and bringing in a range of partners, including parents. A summary of the Government view of these is in the recent Green Paper “Schools – Building on Success”. http://www.dfee.gov.uk/buildingonsuccess/early_years/index.shtml and in various press releases which announce new initiatives, e.g:

It is difficult to work out from the press announcements which money is new and which has already been announced before, perhaps as part of another initiative.

More solid statistical evidence is available in terms of provision, if not in terms of the cost of the various programmes provided. Two items in particular provide a good overview of what is being provided for the under-fives, in terms of the numbers provided for and the various types of places doing the provision. Comparisons between areas are however done at the regional area level and not at LEA level. The two items providing the most useful and recent statistics are the DfEE Statistical First Release “Provision for children under 5 years” (http://www.dfee.gov.uk/statistics/DB/SFR/s0160/index.html) and Statistical Bulletin “Children's Day Care Facilities” (http://www.dfee.gov.uk/statistics/DB/SBU/b0201/index.html).

From these we learn that 100% of four year olds and 86% of three year olds are already in some form of under-fives provision, and the intent is that by 2004 all three year olds can have a part-time nursery place paid for by the state. The trend is away from playgroup and childminder provision and in the direction of school and nursery places. Details of numbers in the various kinds of under-fives provision are in the Statistical Bulletin cited above, which also contains a useful glossary of the range of provision.

Special needs are being identified at nursery age as shown by the fact that 1.0% have special needs, according to Schools in England, the DfEE’s main statistical, document (http://www.dfes.gov.uk/statistics/DB/VOL/v0192/index.html).

May 2001

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