Early Childhood Education and Care: progress report December 2006

STATES OF JERSEY

Presented to the States on 22nd December 2006
by the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture

STATES GREFFE

REPORT

FOREWORD

The Council of Ministers’ overall vision is to enrich the quality of life for Islanders by ensuring that –

· Jersey has a unique and recognised identity;

· people living here enjoy a good standard of living based on a strong, environmentally sustainable and prosperous economy;

· we are an inclusive society where everyone has equality of opportunity and access to the services they need;

· our environment sustains a sense of well-being;

· Government promotes self-sufficiency and enables enterprise.

Whilst the proposals set out in this paper are primarily about giving our youngest children the best start we can, they are inextricably linked with this broader economic and social vision. The benefits of early education and care for the growth and development of children and for society as a whole are well established. Investment in our youngest is an intelligent investment in the future.

This progress report provides a structure for keeping the development of early years under review. Recommendations in respect of 0-3 year-olds are cautious; understandably so, given the impending introduction of Income Support and the proposed consultation on parental leave. With regard to provision for 3-5 year-olds the report highlights some outstanding features of current arrangements. However, in spite of these, there remain issues around equity, access and affordability which need to be resolved.

As Minister for Education, Sport and Culture, I believe that integrated early education and care should be available for all children to support their development. With this in mind, I intend to bring forward to the Council of Ministers, a proposal to provide a free entitlement of 20 hours per week, 38 weeks per year for all 3 and 4 year-olds. This would be achieved by investing in private sector provision to complement our nursery classes in provided schools.

However, given the current economic context, I realise that the timing of this proposal is not ideal. It will need to be considered against the possible introduction of charges for nursery classes and means testing. Each of these models has advantages and disadvantages but, in deciding which to choose, it will be important to ensure that the key principles underpinning early years policy are preserved; that provision is of the highest quality and accessible to all.

Senator Mike Vibert

Minister for Education, Sport and Culture

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 The purpose of this paper is to inform States Members and members of the public about the progress made to review early years’ provision. The effectiveness of current arrangements to support parents is considered and recommendations made for future action.

2. BACKGROUND

2.1 At its meeting of 27th July, the Council of Ministers received a presentation from the Minister for Education, Sport and Culture and a paper prepared by his Department which explored some of the complexities involved in developing a coherent early years strategy. The purpose was to stimulate Ministerial debate about the fundamental principles which might underpin future arrangements.

2.2 Both the presentation and paper focused on provision for children aged 3-5, thus reflecting the scope of R.C.54/2005: ‘Investing in our Future: a vision for early childhood education and care for children in Jersey’. However, it was recognised that such provision was only a sub-set of arrangements for children aged 0-5 and support for their parents/carers, which itself constitutes one element of Social Policy for the Island.

2.3 The outcome of the discussions held by the Council of Ministers was agreement that the:

‘Education, Sport and Culture, Employment and Social Security, Health and Social Services and Treasury and Resources Departments should work together, under the auspices of the Social Strategy Group to develop an Early Years Strategy for the 0-3 year age range by the end of 2006’

2.4 Consequently, an officer group was established and tasked to –

· bring forward recommendations for a comprehensive strategy for supporting early years childcare and education in respect of the 0-5 age group;

· consider the appropriate arrangements for financial support for the parents and carers of this age group, including benefits and tax allowances;

· take account of the potential impact of proposals on existing provision;

· ensure that any recommendations or options for development are fully costed;

· ensure that the recommendations balance the interests of private and public sector provision to create choice as far as possible within an efficient system of provision;

· work within the current strategic and business plan.

3. KEY PRINCIPLES AND OBJECTIVES

3.1 In undertaking the work, the officers have taken account of research findings which suggest that –

(i) quality childcare has a beneficial impact on the development of children and this is enhanced further where provision includes an element of early education. The benefits to children are sustained into adulthood and garnered by society as a whole by reducing the costs associated with educational failure and its consequences;

(ii) high quality provision is more likely to develop where there is a strong partnership between the public and private sector that is founded on a clear partnership agreement;

(iii) childcare supports mothers returning to work thus reducing the loss of their skills to the economy;

(iv) childcare costs can be a barrier to labour force participation, particularly in respect of women;

(v) support for childcare is warranted as an intervention measure aimed at children at risk because intervention of this nature has substantial economic benefits by reducing unemployment and crime in later life;

(vi) skill shortages emerging in the economy may be mitigated by greater or more flexible parental participation in the workforce;

(vii) failure to address issues to do with the affordability of childcare can lead to an increase in the use of unregistered childcare.

3.2 Consequently, in reviewing the current context it has been assumed that policies in respect of early years should –

· encourage the development and use of high quality provision thus maximising the educational and social benefits to children and the long term economic benefits to society;

· encourage parents to remain in the workforce and ease their return at an appropriate time which accords with their parental preferences.

3.3 The policy objectives would therefore be to –

· ensure that high quality early education and care is available and affordable for children 0-5 years;

· give parents greater choice in the way their children are cared for in their early years;

· provide targeted support for the most challenged families;

· establish a strong and stable partnership between all providers, public and private, to support the growth and development of early years services.

4. OBJECTIVE 1

4.1 To ensure that high quality early education and care is available and affordable children 0-5 years

4.2 Availability

4.3 Table 1^[1] shows the numbers of pre-school children in Jersey in 2006 and Table 2¹ shows the equivalent number of places available including 235 family daycare places (child-minders). Although data is not currently available to provide a breakdown of family daycare places by age, it is known that most cater for children 0-3 years old.

Table 1 – Pre-school population 2006 by age
Age	0-1	1-2	2-3	3-4	Total 0-4
Number of Children	949	963	962	928	3,801

Table 2 – Available places for the pre-school population 2006
Age	0-1	1-2	2-3	3-4	Total 0-4
Day Nursery Places	124	98	218	283	723
Pre-school Places			152	152	304
Family Day Care					235
Nursery Class Places				480	480
Total No. Places Available	124	98	370	915	1,742

4.4 During school term-time, the supply of places is sufficient to meet the needs of 46% of the pre-school population. The most incongruent match is in respect of babies and children aged up to 2 years. Although the indication is that insufficient places are available for this age range, the extent of the potential demand is not accurately known. This will be influenced by parental choice about whether one parent remains home to care for a very young child or whether both parents choose or need to work. However, whilst some parents may choose nannies^[2], the high cost of provision for babies may lead others to seek informal or unregistered care.

4.5 The best match is in respect of 3 and 4 year-olds with ample provision for 98% of the cohort but this reduces to 47% during school holiday periods. However, whilst there many parents who require no more than term-time provision, there are some indications, based on the demand for play scheme places, that there is a need to increase availability during school holidays. Again no accurate statistics are available to indicate more precisely what the demand might be.

4.6 Successful planning for early years should be based on accurate indicators of demand including demographics, trends in the use of childcare and parental preferences. Data in respect of 3-4 year-olds is reasonably comprehensive although there are still unknowns around after school care and holiday provision. Data in respect of babies and children under two is less current. For this reason it recommended that:

4.7 The Department for Education, Sport and Culture works with the States of Jersey Statistics Unit and the Jersey Child Care Trust to determine a mechanism for collecting data to establish trends in the use of childcare, parental preferences and gaps in provision.

4.8 Affordability

4.9 As highlighted in ‘Investing in Our Future,’ the cost of child care can be a barrier to workforce participation. A typical full-time nursery place for a child aged under 2 years now costs £258 per week, in excess of £12,000 per annum.

4.10 For a child aged over 3 years the average full-time cost per week is now £191, over £9,000. The cost of family daycare is also high. Based on a survey of 62 respondents, 78% of family daycarers charge in excess of £5 per hour. Twenty seven percent charge in excess of £6 per hour and 3% in excess of £7 per hour.

Table 3 – Hourly Child Care Cost – Day Nurseries^[3]
Age	0-2 Years	2-4 Years	3-5 Years
Average	£5.16	£4.62	£3.82
Minimum	£4.00	£4.00	£3.45
Maximum	£6.18	£5.35	£4.73

Table 4 – Hourly Child Care Cost – Pre-schools
Age	0-2 Years	2-4 Years	3-5 Years
Average	–	£4.22	£3.62
Minimum	–	£4.00	£3.11
Maximum	–	£5.00