News

The government’s drive to end child poverty will fail if it relies on the targeted area-based initiatives contained in the national childcare strategy, charity the Daycare Trust has warned, writes Jonathan Pearce.

According to a policy report published by the trust, initiatives targeted on disadvantaged areas will not reach the majority of children in poverty because most of them do not live in these areas.

The strategy’s market-led and area-based approach creates large regional variations in the level and pattern of childcare provision, so that access to childcare is dependent on where families live, their income and their employment status.

The report argues that investment in universal childcare – delivered through integrated childcare and early years services in children’s centres – is key to tackling child poverty. It urges the government to build on the nearly universal provision of part-time pre-school education for three and four-year-olds.

The paper also highlights "four fundamental flaws" threatening the delivery of universal childcare. First, childcare and education are still seen as different in terms of funding, staff and location – pre-school education for three and four-year-olds is near universal, does not have time-limited funding and is not linked to parents’ ability to pay, while training, pay and career opportunities are limited for childcare staff compared to teachers.

Secondly, the growth of childcare is threatened by staff recruitment and retention problems, but integration of early years and childcare services would result in higher quality services and better career paths for staff which would help the childcare workforce to grow.

Thirdly, the current tax credit system for working parents, together with area-based policies targeted at disadvantaged areas, leave out many families who want and need childcare services.

And, finally, insecure funding for many childcare initiatives creates uncertainty, undermines quality, exacerbates staffing turnover and ends in the closure of services.

* 'Meeting the Child Poverty Challenge: Why Universal Childcare is Key to Ending Child Poverty' available from 020 7840 3350.