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At the beginning of May,the Governmentcelebrated its firstbirthday, rather quietly.

No sign of a Smarty Arty or a partymagician. Perhaps they decided tocontinue the frugal, austere tone ofthe first year and so there was noplace for any razzmatazz.

This year has certainly beentough for the sector. TheCoalition came to power warningus of the dire consequences of a public debtof £1,000,000,000. They told us that we hadlittle choice but to join together and help theGovernment get us on a stable economicfooting. If we didn’t, the very children we knewand cared for would suffer far into the future.As a sector, we responded constructively tothe public cuts and efficiencies implementedto help reduce the debt. However, we’re farfrom safe. There’s more to come.

Many of us were keen that a newGovernment would just settle in and not tryand change everything (theprevious Government introducedmuch that was very good forchildren), and happily it hasn’t.Our new Minister, Sarah TeatherMP, appeared to value theimportance of universal care andeducation for three- and four-year-olds, although shedescribes it as ‘school readiness’which caused someconsternation (we all know thatearly childhood is a period of lifein its own right; it’s not apreparation for anything). Shecommitted the Government toextending the two-year-old pilot. I was delighted, as the pilot hasbeen a very helpful and correctly-funded project which hastouched the lives of many of ourpoorest families.

That said, we’ve had fivesignificant reports, which seemto be the framework for astrategy. Graham Allen pushedthe importance of parenting andreinforced the principle of earlyintervention. As my Grandmawould say, “A stitch in time savesnine”. Frank Field examined howwe address child poverty nowthat it’s increasing again. The Munro report looked atsafeguarding and how to avoidany more childrenbeing murderedwithin their families.The Wolf reportexamined how wesupport younglearners andapprentices, manyof whom are

trainees in our nurseries. Finally, theTickell Report reviewed the EYFS. Tickelllistened to the 3,300 people whoresponded and kept the majority of theEYFS with some minor changes – arelief, as it’s a good document.

So, what do we put onthe birthday card? n Great about universal childcare andeducation, but remember it’s only useful

if it’s good quality and that care andeducation remain integral. Early years is notjust about education. n Well done for the two-year-old pilot. Make it universal, but ensure those childrengo to settings which understand and liketwo-year-olds. Link the offer to parentsupport, including opportunities for training and work.n Child poverty is reduced when parents work.Keep a wide range of properly-fundedchildcare and education support, includingholiday and after school services.

n Make Children Centres multi-generational and open tolocal people so they cancontribute as well as accessfriendships, advice and happyexperiences. Children Centresneed to be central to reducingisolation and creatingcommunity networks.n Don’t give up on training anddevelopment; quality is the coreof what we do. Make sure ourqualifications have childdevelopment at the core. Keep the Graduate Workforceidea, and ensure all leaders of services have a relevantdegree and the right level of experience. n Graham Allen MP haspushed for measurement, socialinvestment and payments byresults. Work with us on this.Don’t lumber us with complexmonitoring systems that take usaway from children. Don’t losesight of what it is we’re reallyhere to do.

Happy Birthday, Coalition, fromthe Early Sector – remember tosend us a party bag of cake,chocolate, bubbles, and a yo yoso we can have a little fun.

The CoalitionGovernment hascelebrated its first

birthday; what shall wewrite in its birthday card?June O’Sullivan offers

some suggestions...

happyreturns?

many

As a sector, we respondedconstructively to the public cuts andefficiencies. However, we’re farfrom safe. There’s more to come

JUNE O’SULLIVAN

June O’Sullivan is the CEO of

the London Early Years

Foundation. Visit leyf.org.uk or

June’s blog at

juneosullivan.wordpress.com

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