Download or read book Delivering the free entitlement to education for three and four year olds written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-02-03 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The national take-up rate for three and four-year-olds in early education has been sustained at 95 per cent since 2008, despite an eight per cent increase in eligible children. There are however, wide variations in take-up between local authorities. Take-up for children from the most disadvantaged families is lower than overall take-up, and access to high quality provision varies depending on where children live. The percentage of good or outstanding provision across local authorities in March 2011 ranged from 64 per cent to 97 per cent. Areas of highest deprivation are less likely to have high quality provision. Children's level of development at age five has improved, but National Key Stage One results at age seven show almost no improvement since 2007. Although the relationship between the entitlement and Key Stage One results is not straightforward, the Department intended the entitlement to have lasting effects on child development throughout primary school and beyond. It is not yet clear, however, that the entitlement is leading to longer-term educational benefits, and the Department does not yet have robust measures to demonstrate whether the longer-term benefits it expects are being realised. The Department also lacks a robust analysis of the relationship between performance and funding levels. The NAO's analysis found that local authorities which fund providers of the free entitlement at a higher rate were not necessarily those with high-quality provision. There are also limitations in the information available to help parents choose where and how their children use the entitlement.

Download or read book The free entitlement to education for three and four year olds written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-05-22 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Department for Education provides funding for local authorities to pay for three and four year olds to receive their entitlement to 15 hours of free education each week. The Department devolves delivery to local authorities and providers but it is responsible for the overall value for money from the system. In 2011-12 the Department's estimated funding for the entitlement of £1.9 billion provided over 800,000 three and four year olds with access to free education; an estimated annual allocation of approximately £2,300 per child. While the Department and local authorities have focused on ensuring places for children are available, there has been less attention on how value for money can be secured and improved. While there is evidence of educational improvement at age five, the evidence that this is sustained is questionable. The Department needs to do more to understand how educational benefits can be lasting. There is not enough good information for parents to make informed choices and there is concern at reports that some families are still not receiving the entitlement free of charge. It is important that all parents know what the entitlement is and that it should be provided completely free. Early years education has the greatest benefit for children from disadvantaged backgrounds however these children have the lowest levels of take-up and deprived areas have the lowest levels of high quality services. The Department needs to identify and share good practice from those local authorities which are having the most success.

Download or read book An Equal Start written by Gambaro, Ludovica and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2015-07 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this topical book, leading experts from eight countries examine how early education and care is organised, funded and regulated in their countries.

Download or read book The SAGE Handbook of Early Childhood Policy written by Linda Miller and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2017-10-02 with total page 665 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent authoritative evidence suggests that an estimated 200 million children under five fail to achieve their developmental potential due to factors including poor health and nutrition and the lack of stable high quality care. A significant number of the world’s children today lack the basic rights to health, development and protection. In light of such statistics, early childhood services for young children have expanded around the world. The SAGE Handbook of Early Childhood Policy draws critical attention to policy in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) its relationship to service provision and its impact on the lives of children and families. The perspectives of leading academics and researchers from Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Australasia and Asia have been arranged around five key themes: Part 1: The Relationship Between Research, Policy And Practice: Country Case Studies Part 2: Equitable Early Childhood Services: Intervention to Improve Children’s Life Chances Part 3: Extending Practice: The Role of Early Childhood Services In Family Support Part 4: Participation, Rights and Diversity Part 5: Future Directions for Early Childhood Policy This handbook is essential reading for practitioners, stakeholders and others committed to working within early years services to achieve an awareness of policy and its implications for services and practice.

Download or read book Providing a Sure Start written by Eisenstadt, Naomi and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2011-09-28 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book tells the story of Sure Start, one of the flagship programmes of the last government. It tells how Sure Start was set up, the numerous changes it went through, and how it has changed the landscape of services for all young children in England. Offering insight into the key debates on services for young children, as well as how decisions are made in a highly political context, it will be of keen interest to policy academics, senior managers of public services and all those with a keen interest in developing services for young children.

Download or read book Early Childhood Care Education written by Edward Melhuish and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006-09-27 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout the world the number of working mothers with young children has continued to grow. This has important consequences for social policy decisions, particularly in the fields of parental leave, childcare and pre-school services provision. Some countries are far more successful at combining high quality early childhood services with high percentages of mothers in employment, whereas others continue to struggle. This edited volume examines the ways in which different countries across the world are tackling early childhood services and how these services affect young children’s experiences and development, for better and worse. Some of the recurring questions of childcare provision are tackled, including: Is pre-school childcare detrimental to children? Does the quality of childcare matter? Why are some countries succeeding in providing quality childcare services, and others are not? How can we best organise parental leave, employment regulations and childcare provision?

Download or read book Women s Changing Lives written by Great Britain. Government Equalities Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2008 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report (Cm. 7455, ISBN 9780101745529) sets out the Government's progress against the Ministers for Women priorities, as set out in July 2007. The priorities concerned the following areas: (1) supporting women and families who are caring for children and elderly relatives; (2) tackling violence against women and changing the way women offenders are treated; (3) increasing the representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic women. The report also outlines activity which the Ministers for Women and Equality and Ministerial colleagues intend to make a reality before the end of the current Parliament. For the original report, Priorities for the Ministers for Women, see (Cm. 7183, ISBN 9780101718325).

Download or read book Parliamentary Debates Hansard written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 762 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Early Action written by Great Britain: National Audit Office and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-01-31 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Early action is the early deployment of resources by public bodies to prevent problems occurring or getting worse in service provision, rather than spending money reactively once those problems have occurred. Determined leadership is necessary to divert resources away from pressing and highly visible current needs, in line with public expectations, towards long-term early action programmes, particularly at times of fiscal austerity. Evidence of early action's impact and cost-effectiveness is thin and since information on costs within most departments is also patchy, specifying an amount that could be reduced within the estimated £377 billion spent on 'social' spending in 2011-12 is not possible. However, projects with the strongest evidence base show that some early action projects can achieve returns of up to 4 to 1. The Government has adopted the principle that early action is important in public service provision but does not plan a significant shift in resources. The total amount spent each year by the Department of Health, Department for Education, Home Office and Ministry of Justice on early action intervention programmes has remained fairly constant at around £12 billion, about 6 per cent of the departments' spending in 2011-12. The NAO has identified four key challenges the addressing of which could help in the design and implementation of early action programmes: namely, more consistent and robust gathering of evidence of what works; overcoming short-term thinking and other practical barriers; effective cross-government coordination of early action; and strengthening departments' capacity to innovate and take bold long-term decisions.

Download or read book Children Families and States written by Cristina Allemann-Ghionda and published by Berghahn Books. This book was released on 2011-03-01 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Due to the demand for flexible working hours and employees who are available around the clock, the time patterns of childcare and schooling have increasingly become a political issue. Comparing the development of different “time policies” of half-day and all-day provisions in a variety of Eastern and Western European countries since the end of World War II, this innovative volume brings together internationally known experts from the fields of comparative education, history, and the social and political sciences, and makes a significant contribution to this new interdisciplinary field of comparative study.

Download or read book Early Learning and Child Well being in England written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2020-03-12 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report sets out the findings from the International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study in England. The study assesses children’s skills across both cognitive and social-emotional development, and how these relate to children’s early learning experiences at home and in early childhood education and care.

Download or read book Progress Change and Development in Early Childhood Education and Care written by Elizabeth Coates and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-02 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2000, the Millennium Development Goals set out targets aimed at creating a safer, more prosperous, and more equitable world. If these goals were to be achieved, children’s lives would indeed be transformed. In this collection, achievements against these targets are identified, with each contributor examining the progress made in early years provision in Australia, China, England, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, and Sweden. They highlight the priorities and agendas of their respective governments, and focus on the trends and issues which are particularly relevant to each situation, thereby revealing the social and educational inequalities that persist across countries. A common theme running through this volume concerns the political tensions that arise when governments and educators hold fundamentally different views about the nature and purpose of early years education and the needs of children and families. It is clear that although the past two decades have seen many changes in attitude towards the importance of the early years of life; politically, economically, and environmentally, much still remains to be done if the Millennium Development Goals for young children and their families are to be fully met. Despite this, this volume demonstrates that those who work in this area continue to experience a deep concern for the well-being of young children, which transcends cultures, frontiers, and political and sectarian divides. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Early Years Education.

Download or read book Health for All Children written by Alan Emond and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2019-02-28 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The foundations of health and wellbeing are laid down in pregnancy and the early years. Health for all Children takes a life course approach to child health, starting in pregnancy and extending to the age of seven to include transition into school, and to cover the foundation years in education. This new edition summarizes the evidence supporting preventive health care and health promotion; providing an effective, community-based response to the needs of families and children. Each chapter summarizes evidence of effectiveness in the topic area, in health promotion, and in universal and selective interventions. The fifth edition starts in pregnancy and runs until age seven taking into account Government policies and different models of delivery of the child health programme. Evidence from all over the world is critically appraised and referenced to UK policy and practice. Health for all Children summarizes the evidence about 'why' and 'what works' in health promotion and health surveillance with children and families, providing guidance on how to implement and quality assure a programme, and the competencies needed. Each chapter includes 'learning links' to online training materials and e-learning for health, or to resources freely available to practitioners. This established, evidence-based book continues to be essential reading for all health professionals who work with children. It will also provide vital background knowledge for those charged with the responsibility of planning, commissioning, and monitoring child health.

Download or read book Multi agency Working in the Early Years written by Michael Gasper and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2009-12-15 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does working in partnership look like in practice? Getting multi-agency working right is an exciting but challenging goal in early years care and education; this book suggests ways to draw together the different professional ideas, methods and targets. Enhancing the delivery of services to children, parents and communities is essential if we are to address the detrimental effects of poverty and exclusion. Looking at the Birth to 8 age range and drawing on interviews with Children′s Centre leaders, the book considers: - the benefits, and complexities, of multi-agency working; - what enables, and impedes, good practice; - examples of successful multi-agency working; - what the ′new professionals′ look like; - international perspectives. Suitable for all pre-school and early years practitioners working in, or organizing, multi-agency practice at any level, this book is relevant to all those working in Children′s Services and useful for anyone studying early childhood or multi-agency working in practice. Michael Gasper is an educational consultant and researcher. He has over 30 years of experience in early years education and research, including roles as a mentor, assessor and tutor on the National Professional Qualification in Integrated Centre Leadership (NPQICL).

Download or read book HL 117 Affordable Childcare written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Lords. Select Committee on Affordable Childcare and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Affordable Childcare (HL 117) examines the Government's provision of early years education and childcare for younger children. The Government currently invests 5.2 billion annually in early education and childcare, set to rise to 6.4 billion in the next Parliament with the implementation of the tax-free childcare scheme and the roll-out of Universal Credit.

Download or read book Contemporary Issues and Challenge in Early Childhood Education in the Asia Pacific Region written by Minyi Li and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-10-26 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book investigates the unique and dynamic approaches to key issues of changing images of child and childhood, by different countries in the Asia-Pacific. Key concepts considered are re-conceptualizing early childhood education and care, re-eaxming early learning standards and redefining professionalism. The Asia Pacific region includes countries belonging to both the Majority and Minority worlds and which vary widely in terms of their cultural geography, social-cultural beliefs, and levels of development, demographic profiles, political systems and government commitments to early childhood services. An international team of experienced researchers from different countries guarantees diverse perspectives. By examining different countries’ policy choices and evidence-based practices, the authors show how best to provide for young children based on their countries’ strategies.

Download or read book The early years single funding formula written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Children, Schools and Families Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2010-03-24 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Early Years Single Funding Formula is intended to replace the different methods currently used to fund early years settings in the maintained sector and in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector. Each local authority will in future use the same criteria for every setting in its area when allocating funds for education and care provided under the free entitlement for three and four year olds. But the Formula has resulted in winners and losers, and the greatest losers will be maintained nursery schools, which provide a quality of education and care which is very high and sets the standard for others to follow. Overall the difficulties encountered so far with the Single Funding Formula have arisen because of the way in which it has been implemented, rather than because of the concept. Local authorities were encouraged to offer settings a supplement to the basic hourly rate of funding to recognise high quality provision, but many have not done so. A quality supplement should be made mandatory. The Government was correct in deciding to defer full implementation until April 2011 and the year's delay must be used to restore stability and to rework funding formulae where necessary. Sir Jim Rose's proposals to encourage entry to primary school in the September following a child's fourth birthday will have far-reaching consequences for early years funding, but blur the distinction between early years and primary education. The Government should examine whether a unified funding system should be introduced for all children aged from 2 to 11 years old.