The government’s expansion of funded childcare for working parents in England could potentially affect the quality of provision or places for young children, according to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO). The report highlights several concerns, including the risk of an influx of inexperienced early years staff and higher staff-to-child supervision ratios for two-year-olds, which could jeopardize the quality of childcare. The NAO also expressed concerns about the feasibility of delivering enough places, with only 34% of local authorities expressing confidence in meeting demand.
The report emphasized the need for further monitoring of the impact on quality and places for disadvantaged children or those with special needs. The expansion has sparked concerns about its potential to displace children who are more challenging or costly to support.
The NAO called on the Department for Education (DfE) to monitor the impact of its childcare reforms on quality to understand whether unintended effects, such as on the availability and quality of places for disadvantaged children or those with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), need to be managed. The DfE responded by stating that it is delivering the largest ever expansion of childcare in England’s history and has taken steps to prepare the sector, including increasing funding, launching a workforce campaign, and providing capital funding to expand or refurbish facilities.
The report’s findings have raised questions about whether the government’s childcare expansion can be successfully implemented without compromising quality or access for all children. Further monitoring and evaluation will be crucial to ensure that the expansion achieves its primary aim of encouraging more parents into work while also safeguarding the well-being and development of young children.
