Childcare Challenge Facing the Next Government

Childcare Challenge Facing the Next Government

Whoever wins the next election, they will need to grapple with childcare policy. All the major parties have committed to expanding the funded childcare entitlement, with the possible exception of Reform UK, who have indicated a preference for children being looked after at home. The funded entitlement, itself the product of the 2015 general election campaign, has been consistently controversial, with questions over funding rates and staffing capacity dogging successive childcare ministers.

Money, is of course at the heart of these policies. While both the Conservatives and Labour have promised not to raise income tax or national insurance, major increases  to funding seem unlikely to materialise. They will therefore need to ensure what money is available is used efficiently. With research from the NDNA showing that councils underspent their childcare budgets by £70m last year, there is clearly work to do to simplify and rationalise the system.

Staffing is the other major problem and as things stand, none of the main parties have published a comprehensive strategy to resolve the crisis. Quite simply, for years, childcare providers have struggled to recruit enough qualified staff for their settings. There are numerous reasons for this, many of which come back to funding in the end, though there is also work that needs to be done to ensure that those who would love a career working with children are able to access it.

When the next Childcare Minister, whoever that may be, sits down at their desk, they will need to grapple with these issues, but they will also have to consider what their vision for childcare is. Political parties have tended to focus on parents as the key stakeholders in childcare; they, after all, vote in the largest numbers, but the sector itself must have its voice heard  too – and most importantly, children should of course be at the heart of every childcare decision.