General Election Policy Briefing - Inequality in early years education - JANUARY 2024

Untitled General Election Policy Briefing Inequality in early years education JANUARY 2024 OVERVIEW • Just 20% of families in the bottom third of the • Despite an increase in the proportion of children earnings distribution are eligible for the existing offer of in the early years qualifying as disadvantaged (using 30 hours of early education and childcare for three- and the same eligibility crite. [...] Overall, it provides a summary of preschools are being forced to close The recently announced early years existing evidence on the early years, due to funding issues and difficulty expansion had a strong focus on the and in particular the policies which in recruiting staff.8 sector’s role as childcare.9 Once the are likely to benefit the life chances expansion is in place, it will widen of childre. [...] existing inequalities in access to "A key question for the THE BENEFITS OF EARLY early years provision, and therefore to EDUCATION next government is how early education, with poorer families less likely to be able to access The first few years of a child’s life to create a system which government funded entitlements. [...] This would risk giving factor in improving the quality of and a lack of career benefits (notably perverse incentives to providers, who early years education, which is key the drop in CPD opportunities in would be likely to be encouraged to realising the long-term benefits the sector following austerity) are to prioritise families eligible for of early years provision. [...] The way the a review of global early years systems amount awarded from the premium formula is constructed means that from the Sutton Trust in 2023, in is not high enough to fund all the the proportion of spending on the Estonia the minimum requirement costs of adequately supporting universal 15-hour entitlement for 56 for Early Years educators, directors disadvantaged pupils.