Investing in the Early Years: priorities and challenges
26 March 2024, 5:00 pm–6:30 pm
The UK government’s latest policy on childcare will see more parents offered free access to provision from April 2024 with the intention of helping them stay in work (HM Treasury 2023). However, the increasing demand for affordable childcare services is happening in an evolving socio-economic landscape marked by a cost of living crisis and rising levels of child poverty. Against this backdrop, panel speakers will discuss what the priorities should be if we are to build a sustainable and high quality early childhood care and education sector that ensures that early years provision is accessible, affordable and benefits all young children, enabling them to flourish.
This event is free.
Event Information
Open to
- All
Availability
- Yes
Cost
- Free
Organiser
-
ESRC Education Research Programme
Key areas of concern
At a time when many household incomes are under severe pressure, there are challenges in the accessibility, affordability and quality of childcare provision. Inequalities in access and complexities of needs have been exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, with vulnerable families with children, especially those with special education needs, most likely to miss out on support.
ÌýDiscussion will focus on how funding and provision can be built in such a way that those with the highest needs are targeted first and will benefit the most. To enable this to happen, aÌýÌýcould usefully begin by lookingÌýmuch more carefully at aÌýfunding system thatÌýsupportsÌýquality of provisionÌýacross a range of different dimensions.
Join us to hear the panel discuss ways forward for the Early Years in the run up to a general election in the UK.
Send in your questions for the panel by emailingÌýedresprog@ucl.ac.uk
Ìý
What matters in education?
ThisÌý'What matters in education?' seriesÌýis jointly organised by the UCL Institute of Education, Pro-Director Research and the ESRC Education Research Programme (ERP). It aims to create a space for a range of different voices to be heard, and to spark new thinking across education, social research and the wider social sciences on how research, policy and practice can most productively interact.  Ìý
Co-Chair: Professor Gemma Moss, Director, ESRC Education Research Programme, Professor of Literacy at the UCL Institute of Education, Faculty of Education and SocietyÌý
Co-Chair: Professor Lynn Ang, Pro-DirectorÌýand Vice-Dean Research at the UCL Institute of Education, Faculty of Education and SocietyÌý
Moderator: Dr Becky Taylor,ÌýAcademic Head ofÌýEngagementÌýandÌýImpactÌýatÌýthe UCL Institute of Education
About the Speakers
Peter Moss
at Thomas Coram Research Unit, UCL
Sarah Klaus
at Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development
Christine Parker
Researcher and Writer in Early Childhood
Neil Leitch
CEO at Early Years Alliance