CEY1708

Written evidence submitted by British Psychological Society

This submission sets out the British Psychological Society’s (BPS) submission to the Education Committee’s inquiry into Support for childcare and the early years.  The BPS is the representative body for psychology and psychologists in the UK, and is responsible for the promotion of excellence and ethical practice in the science, education, and application of the discipline. 

As a society we support and enhance the development and application of psychology for the greater public good, setting high standards for research, education, training and knowledge, and disseminating our knowledge to increase public awareness 

For enquiries regarding this this submission, please contact:  

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?

Educational Psychologists have reported that they often find that children with special needs are only identified when they start in a nursery or school; when there are trained staff who can do this and provide referrals to appropriate support.

Outreach work is needed - by volunteers and professionals working in the community (e.g. health visitors, GPs, childminders, children’s centres) - who themselves should understand local provision and make appropriate referrals to relevant professionals. The would include paediatricians, Portage workers, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, Educational and Community psychologists and early years practitioners working in local authorities and the health service, including those who specialise in supporting social interaction and play. It is critical that these professionals work collaboratively offering a holistic service with the relevant professional taking the lead depending on the child’s needs and circumstances.

These professionals need to reach out into the community and raise awareness of local provision by visiting the places where parents go: places of worship, community centres, soft play areas, parks and playgrounds. 

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?

Anecdotal evidence from Educational Psychologists suggests that the prohibitively expensive child care costs mean that many parents (and mothers in particular) have to give up work to care for their children.

Often the provision which is affordable provides basic childcare, aiming to keep children safe, fed and cared for. Typically, those working in these type of settings are not sufficiently trained in understanding childhood development and the social and environmental factors which can impact on this. They need to learn how to have supportive and non-judgmental conversations about children’s development including strengths and needs. In addition, early years workers need to learn how to identify children who are have significant needs that require immediate, specialist provision and those who may be delayed in their development. Some children, for example, may not meet published developmental milestones (e.g. speak in sentences by the age of five) or be toilet trained by the age of five. However these children may meet these developmental milestones a little later than peers for many reasons (e.g., family’s knowledge and ability facilitate the development of these skills and access local provision and support)

Educational psychologists recognise the importance of play in the early years to develop language, self-care, social skills, cognitive development and emotional regulation. The BPS have previously worked on a ‘right to play’[1] campaign, which focused on this specifically.

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?

It is often said that the most vulnerable children are cared for by the least qualified workforce including teaching assistants and workers in early years settings.[2]

Anecdotal evidence suggests that low paid nursery staff can find better paid work in retail, distribution and other sectors particularly in the current time of the ‘cost of living’ crises with a large number of vacancies in these sectors.

Educational Psychologists have reported that they are concerned about the lack of stability within the early years workforce and the implications for children who benefit from developing relationships and attachment with their carers who can provide a personalised approach to learning and development and who are trained to identify potential special needs as outlined above.

Is the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) system meeting the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND), and what improvements could be made to better support young children with SEND within early years provisions?

• Educational Psychologists who fed into this submission believe that the barriers to meeting the needs of pupils with SEND include:
• Having a transient and unskilled workforce who have not been trained in understanding early years development, the importance of play and how it can develop language, social skills, cognitive development and emotional regulation. This could include learning to share, take turns, show empathy and understand why an adult has said ‘no’ to something they want. Investment in this early preventative work can save money in the long run by avoiding the need for expensive remedial interventions
• Educating parents about children’s development and how they can support this and how to engage and play with their children to support the development of skills as outlined above
• Families not seeking support for children who may have SEND. This applies particularly those who live in disadvantaged areas or those who are unaware of local provision or somehow feel that they don’t qualify for it
• Lack of identification of children who may have SEND (as opposed to being delayed in meeting developmental milestones as outlined above) and so do not access early intervention by specialist early years practitioners such as portage workers and early years practitioners employed by the health service and local authorities including Educational and Community Psychologists
• Lack of multi-agency working which is facilitated by have a one-stop shop such as locally accessible children’s centres where professionals can be accessed without parents and carers having to make additional trips to hospitals and clinics
• The need for a formal diagnosis (e.g. Autism) before families can access the early intervention which is needed to prevent differences becoming entrenched and hence more difficult and expensive to address

An excellent example[3] of the type of joined by provision which can be provided is that provided by Neath Port Talbot Council. This initiative is led by a team of Educational Psychologists.

Reference List

Early Years Educational Psychology Support for Parents and Carers, Neath Port Talbot Council - https://www.npt.gov.uk/24294

The British Psychological Society, Children’s Right to Play, Dr Charmain Hobbs et al - https://cms.bps.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-06/PP17%20Children%27s%20right%20to%20play.pdf

Stover, D. (1999). The least qualified teach the most needy: Working to fit it. The Education Digest, 64(8), 40.

January 2023