Valuing Early Learning and Care for all of Our Children

 The Time for Real Investment Is Now 

Early Years call upon the Executive to agree an investment strategy for early learning by Q4 2024.  Northern Ireland should invest 1% of GDP (£485m) per annum in early learning and care by 2030.

Early childhood care and education is an essential public good that upholds children’s rights to care and education and supports them, their families and the wider economy. The importance of early learning and care & school-age childcare and the vital role it plays in our economy and society was evident during COVID-19. Throughout the pandemic providers ensured continuity of care and education to children, supported parents, played a special role in caring for the children of essential workers, and enabled the economy to reopen at a time of unprecedented crisis. 

However, historical state underinvestment, complex funding streams and dependence on high parental fees has created an operating model for this essential infrastructure that is so fragile that its sustainability is under serious threat. In short, there is a crisis in sustainability for providers and a crisis in affordability for parents that is even more sharply in focus now with the cost-of-living crisis.

Global research shows that learning starts in infancy and in the early years, and this is the optimal stage where basic abilities can be altered, “In other words, more able people acquire more skills; and more skilled people become more able.” The most economically efficient time to develop these skills and abilities is in the very early years (0-5) when developmental education is most effective.

Additionally, ability gaps between the advantaged and disadvantaged open up early in the life of the child.  If society intervenes early enough, it can affect cognitive and socio-emotional abilities and the health of disadvantaged children. Early interventions have much higher returns than other later interventions such as reduced pupil-teacher ratios, public job training, convict rehabilitation programmes, tuition subsidies or expenditure on police.

Northern Ireland needs to make a concerted effort to invest in early learning and care by setting clear targets for investment in line with other countries and regions. Countries that invest well in early learning and care recognise improvement in:

  • The economy: both short-term, by facilitating labour, in particular of working women (mothers and grandmothers), and long-term through the upskilling of the future workforce

  • Mental and physical health for children and families, including less at-risk behaviours

  • Social welfare and criminal justice, less family violence and social crime

  • Educational achievement, including better outcomes of young children at-risk

  • Earlier identification of and support for special educational needs and disabilities

A major refocus of policy is required to understand the lifecycle of skill attainment, health formation and wider economic benefit that can be achieved through effective implementation of Early Years Care and Education. 

 

Key Recommendation

Early Years call upon the Executive to agree an investment strategy for early learning by Q4 2024.  Northern Ireland should invest 1% of GDP (£485m) per annum in early learning and care by 2030.

 

Early Years Solutions for a 21st Century Early Learning and Care Sector

Early Years propose a new strategy that supports parent and children, sustainability of providers and professional development:

Supporting Parents and Children

  1. Every child has access to high quality age-appropriate early learning and care including a standardised pre-school and two-year-old offering regardless of the type of setting they attend

  2. Services are inclusive, with additional funding provided for linguistic, cultural, special educational needs and disabilities

  3. Every parent (and grandparent) can access working opportunities as a result of affordable and sustainable childcare provision

  4. Parents have access to a central information portal on early learning and care availability, quality, costs and financial supports

  5. Parents are continually engaged from pre-birth onwards as leaders in their children’s learning and development.

    Sustaining Providers

  6. Ensure viability and sustainability through funding providers to deliver an essential public service that is available to meet the needs of parents and employers including those with irregular shift patterns

  7. Co-ordinate governance to include information sharing across health and education and appropriate data collection and information sharing practices

  8. Create one early learning and care inspectorate that covers services from 0–5 years with inspectors recruited for their experience in child development, early learning and care and centred on an inspection for improvement approach  

  9. Ensure providers have access to additional funding to maintain quality provision for families and communities in areas of low population

  10. Providers have access to a funded mentoring and coaching service to ensure continued best practice implementation based upon international research. 

    Supporting Professionalisation and Professional Development

  11. Ensure all settings are degree led and that the nature of the education received in the achievement to degree level is practice based with long practicum opportunities in early childhood settings and focused on key competencies delivered in collaboration with parents/families through a multi-disciplinary approach

  12. Remuneration and terms and conditions are sufficiently high to award staff appropriately for their level of qualifications and to overcome the challenges of high staff turnover and inadequate access to education and training

  13. Staff has access to adult learning opportunities in the workplace with a focus on adult and child interactions, observation, documentation, reflective practice, well-being and shared values in the workplace

  14. Implementation of a bespoke workforce development programme to attract and retain the best people into the sector

  15. Workforce research focused on the effectiveness of higher educational programmes and professional development opportunities.