CEY1423

Written evidence submitted by Manchester City Council

As the lead for Early Years Access & Sufficiency in Manchester, I am concerned about the challenges facing the early education sector which impact upon the stability and accessibility of provision in the City. This is particularly apparent in neighbourhoods where there are high levels of deprivation, of which Manchester has a number. 

Childcare Entitlements   

How affordable and easy to understand is the current provision of childcare in England and what steps, if any, could be taken to improve it, especially in relation to families living within the most deprived areas in England? 

MCC (Manchester City Council) response - Prices are rising due to the increased costs of service delivery which are passed onto families.  Parents are facing multiple rising costs including food, living expenses, travel costs as well as daycare fees.  The high quality expected of daycare provision comes at a price. Staff must hold qualifications and be well trained.  Time spent training is often time away from service delivery. In the most deprived communities, families are more likely to experience worklessness or be on the cusp of giving up work when outgoings such as childcare prove too costly.   More funding should be available particularly in deprived areas to ensure that families can continue to work and daycare providers can afford to operate flexible, high-quality provision. These are the families who are less likely to be able to afford any additional services such as wraparound care. Daycare providers struggle to operate effective, high-quality provision where they are reliant upon more than 50% funded children. Where entitlements are subject to frequent change, for example due to fluctuating earnings, this can make families reluctant to claim. Tax Free Childcare (TfC) is significantly underclaimed and it would appear that the system does not work for families.  Families find childcare funding difficult to navigate, needing to meet different criteria for different types of help, applying to different agencies for support, adhering to specific deadlines throughout the year. Even for daycare providers, the system can seem complicated. Local Authorities such as Manchester spend a significant proportion of time training and coaching daycare providers in how to support families with their claims for FEE, TfC etc. 

Are the current entitlements providing parents/carers with sufficient childcare, and to what extent are childcare costs affecting parents/carers from returning to work full-time? 

MCC response - Families are clearly reticent about accessing TfC.  Perhaps it is the fact that funding can be claimed back or can be adjusted based upon earnings, or that the money is linked to a person’s earnings/tax status.  The requirement to validate and revalidate 30-hour codes and to apply before the start of the first term of eligibility confuses families and daycare providers alike and is likely to impact upon take up.  If a parent forgets to revalidate a code, then this can result in a hefty childcare bill. Making an error can prove very costly and parents/carers are wary. Funding rates which have not kept pace with the cost of delivery are resulting in more nurseries limiting their funded offer.  Ideally, all nurseries should be able to offer to all children entitled to funding and still be able to offer a high quality early education experience. Paying 30 hours at the LA rate has stifled income generation opportunities for nurseries.  A reasonable average price for childcare possibly based upon average earnings needs to be determined and funding streams need to respond to this. Working families should expect to pay for childcare but should receive some assistance with this. For example, 15 hours universal free, 15 hours at the providers rate with TfC or similar available to offset a proportion of these and any other childcare costs. The process for claiming TfC or similar needs to be simplified especially in the early years where children are only with a childcare provider for a relatively brief period of time but where the gains for children, families and their schools are significant.  Childcare costs and the perceived difficulty in securing and relying upon childcare funding is certainly putting some parents, especially mothers, off accessing employment. Perhaps a more generously funded part time universal offer would provide greater stability in the sector and allow early education settings/childcare providers the opportunity to charge a reasonable rate for any further childcare purchased with parents accessing a simplified TfC scheme to reduce their additional costs where they are working. 

Whether the current Tax-Free Childcare scheme, and support for childcare from the benefits and tax credit system, is working effectively or whether these subsidies could be better used within other childcare subsidies  

MCC response - The TfC scheme is problematic. Too few families are accessing it. Manchester participated in a TfC drive led by Hempsalls in 2022 to refresh awareness among day care providers, families and key stakeholders of the support available. The monitoring data available to LAs does not suggest a significant improvement in participation in the scheme. The data is also rather difficult to interpret.  Perhaps it would be more efficient and effective to remove it from the benefits and tax credit system and for LAs to distribute the funding. Manchester has good systems for engaging with families through daycare providers, Children’s Centres, Job Centre Plus teams. Access to funding to allow parents to work should be simple and efficient, based on proof of employment status and hours worked, subject to routine checks with HMRC or other to ensure that families are entitled. It should not be overly complicated and the cause of significant stress to the extent that it would put families off applying. There needs to be better support for families with children aged 0-2 who choose/need to work.  The 2 year old FEE earning threshold should be recalculated based on 2022/23 average earnings.  The requirement to apply by set deadlines in the year and to regularly revalidate 30 hour codes catches some parents and nurseries out. Ultimately it is children who suffer when their parent cannot afford to pay the fees which should have been covered by the 30 hour extended entitlement. The current system is too fragmented and complicated for parents/carers to navigate successfully.     

Early years provision  

What challenges do early years providers face in terms of workforce, including recruiting, and retaining qualified staff, and the barriers faced by individuals joining the profession? To what extent has the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated workforce challenges?   

MCC response - Competition on pay with other sectors is a huge issue. Many daycare providers are unable to pay their staff as much as high street retailers. Staff are leaving the sector to work in shops where they can be paid more for less stressful, less taxing, less responsible work. Some L2 qualified staff do not want to become L3 qualified because of the additional responsibility for insufficient financial reward. GCSE English and Maths is a barrier to new entrants when only basic English and Maths is required in practice.  If young people have achieved GCSE Eng/Maths they are more inclined to follow alternative career paths. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the workforce crisis because staff are re evaluating the time spent at work and away from loved ones and reconsidering their career plans. The sector is losing its attraction. A career dependent upon study and qualifications should result in a salary that reflects a commitment to continuous professional development in addition to the education and development of young children. Where it is possible to earn more in retail without having to study, gain qualifications or pass career grades then the attraction of being an early educator will be diminished. As a result of these challenges, many settings find themselves in the difficult position of being dependent upon agency staff. Feedback would suggest that this has affected the continuity of high quality service provision in some settings and this has had a negative bearing on some OfSTED judgements.  

Whether the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) system is meeting the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN), and the improvements that could be made to better support young children with SEN within early years provisions  

MCC response - The sudden increase in children presenting with additional needs has led to unprecedented levels of demand from this cohort.  There is enormous goodwill in the sector, a high degree of creativity and a commitment to improving the life chances and experiences of young children. The vast majority of early educators pride themselves on the provision of inclusive early learning. However, feedback from the sector reveals that there is less capacity to deliver fully inclusive provision, especially as a result of high staff turnover rates, high vacancy rates and fewer staff progressing into higher qualified positions. Place funding does not support children with additional needs effectively.  

To what extent does the early years system adequately prepare young children for their transition into primary education, particularly children from disadvantaged backgrounds 

MCC response - The early years system is invaluable in preparing young children for their transition into primary education.  The skills learnt and confidence developed in an early learning setting support children to be better prepared for school.  All children should have the benefit of a high quality early learning experience to pave the way for a successful transition to their next phase of learning.  Children with additional needs miss out more often on this experience due to delays in securing a suitable early education place. The benefits to children and their families are manifold as are the benefits to schools.  Many families with a child with additional needs do not meet employment criteria for FEE funding or TfC. They may not work or work fewer hours as they are often the prime carer for their child and have not developed the confidence to leave their child with a nursery. Even if they do have the confidence that their child will be safe and well cared for, many families report that regular hospital and health appointments can be disruptive to employment and for this reason a high number cease to be in employment.  Children with additional needs are therefore more likely to be at risk of other factors of deprivation.  

The extent to which the reduction of Sure Start Children’s Centres has affected children and families, particularly children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and the role of Family Hubs  

MCC response - The wide variety of services and activities available at Sure Start Children’s Centres contributed to early identification of need and support for families. Manchester has retained many of its Children’s Centres and continues to support families from disadvantaged backgrounds through this mechanism.  It is hoped that the Family Hub initiative will build upon the success of Manchester’s engagement with children and their families. It is worth noting however, that many strategies such as Wellcom Speech and Language screening and Holiday Activity and Food Vouchers have been successfully rolled out across a vast number of early education settings which includes private nurseries and childminders. Without the contribution of a motivated and highly engaged PVI daycare sector, strategies to improve the lives of young children and their families in Manchester would be severely affected. The City needs a strong and flourishing daycare sector in order to continue to reach families and young children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. 

January 2023