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The Independent - One in five parents in homes earning under £50K quit jobs over childcare costs
A study, by Pregnant Then Screwed, found that one in five parents in households which take home less than £50,000 a year are quitting their jobs over the cost of childcare.
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BBC News - Childcare: Nursery chain's concern over government's funding plans
There are fears that the rising number of nurseries closing and a simultaneous staffing crisis will mean the planned government funding increase will fail to help parents. According to the National Day Nurseries Association, the number of childcare places has dropped by 24,000 in the past financial year.
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The Guardian - Childcare is broken: is the UK failing its future? Video
The Guardian's Alexandra Topping speaks to parents and campaigners to find out whether more free childcare hours will fix the problems in the childcare sector or simply heap more pressure on an industry already on the verge of collapse.
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The Independent - Lib Dems promise to double statutory pay for parental leave
The Liberal Democrats will commit to doubling pay for parental leave and increase the amount of time parents can take off work by nine weeks.
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Children and Young People Now – Poor access to dentists, nurseries and clean air prompts drop in pupil attendance, report warns
Lack of access to early years education, dentists and ventilated classrooms are causing a fall in attendance among disadvantaged pupils in the North of England, a parliamentary report is warning.
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Sky News - Cost of living crisis leaves parents spending less time with their children, poll finds
Nearly three-quarters of parents say they feel it is harder being a parent now compared to their parents' generation due to the rising cost of living.
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The Guardian - ‘It feels unfair’: the UK childminders being refused permission to start businesses
For many people, dreams of becoming a childminder are being scuppered by local authorities despite the childcare shortage.
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Nursery World - Early years workforce must grow by 8 per cent to deliver the expansion of the 30 hours
The sector will need 27,500 staff to meet increased demand when the extended entitlement comes in, new research from nesta finds.
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The Independent - Covid recovery scheme boosts children’s language development ‘by four months’, study finds
The Nuffield Early Language Intervention was offered to all state primary schools in England. Children in Reception who took part in a Covid catch-up programme made four additional months’ progress in their language development compared to pupils who did not participate.
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Nursery World - MP proposes changes to Healthy Start sign-up process to ensure ‘no baby or infant goes without’
A Labour MP is calling for new powers on Government departments and agencies to ensure that families eligible for the Heathy Start scheme are automatically registered for it.
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Children and Young People Now – Qualified early years teacher numbers plummet over last decade
The number of qualified early years teachers in England has dropped by more than three quarters over the last decade, analysis by nesta has found.
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The Parenting Daily - National campaign calls for urgent action to modernise early years education
A new report by the Children’s Alliance, has revealed that drastic and urgent government action is required to resolve the ongoing shortcomings in early years education. As the biggest funding crisis in its history forces yet more nurseries to close their doors – there has been a 50% increase in closures in the last year alone.
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iNews - ‘I’m spending nearly £800 more a month on childcare after moving to UK from Sweden’
Parents says the UK has a lot to learn from other countries in supporting families. iNews speaks to one parent who say when they return to work, a full-time nursery place will cost her £1,400 a month. In comparison, if she was still living in Sweden, she would only pay a maximum of around £118 for childcare.
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Huffington Post - We Can't Afford To Have Kids – And No, Avocado On Toast Isn't What Got Us Here
The pursuit of parenthood is rarely a straightforward road. Especially when you consider the impossible nature of the housing market, unaffordable rents and job instability. And now it seems the cost of living crisis is leaving a segment of the UK population unable to afford to have children.
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Evening Standard - Childcare ‘unaffordable’ for half of London parents as many families are pushed into debt
Government must step in to help working parents with the childcare ‘juggling act’, business groups say. Londoners are spending more than a third of their monthly personal income on childcare. The cost of childcare in London has pushed almost half of parents into debt.
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Liberal Democrats - A Better Start in Life for Every Child
The Lib Dems have announced their vision of 'Transforming Parental Leave and Early Years Education'. This includes doubling parental pay (after the initial six weeks) to £350 per week and tripling the Early Years Pupil Premium to £1,000 per year.
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New Economics Foundation - Childcare for every generation
Children, parents and grandparents are all suffering because of our broken childcare system. The New Economics Foundation reviews what needs to change and asks how we can learn from childcare activists of the past.
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Early Years Alliance - Nutrition support programme launched by the Alliance for early years providers
The Early Years Alliance has launched its tailored Nutrition Support Programme for early years providers, with free nutrition resources and training events available.
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The Guardian - Is Finland the best place in the world to be a parent? Video
Finland is a world leader when it comes to early years education. Childcare is affordable and nursery places are universally available in a system that puts children's rights at the centre of decision-making. Now the country is applying the same child-first thinking to paternity-leave policies in an attempt to tackle gender inequality in parenting.
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nesta - How many early-years professionals do we need?
Nesta’s research assesses how many early-years professionals are needed to meet increased demand following the expansion of free childcare hours to under-3s announced in the Spring Budget 2023.
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Theirworld - Diverse voices unite to join the Act For Early Years campaign
Leaders, experts, businesses, celebrity champions and activists have committed to join the global Act for Early Years campaign.
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Nursery World - LONG READ: Closure of childminder agencies sparks doubts about the future of the model
The imminent closure of one agency and the move to' suspend' its service by another, means childminders must re-register with a new agency or Ofsted, as questions are asked about the agency model’s viability. Katy Morton reports.
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Central Bylines - Malnutrition in early childhood and its long-term effects
Children deprived of food will suffer long-lasting consequences: the government must ensure an end to food poverty.
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The Institute for Fiscal Studies - Early years spending update: Budget reforms and beyond
The 2023 update analyses change in early years spending in the last 25 years and looks ahead to implications of major reforms announced in the Budget. In this report, the IFS examine how total spending on the early years system and on the free entitlement has changed; explore the impact of demographic changes; set out forecasts for how total spending and spending per hour might change going forward; and analyse some of the opportunities and challenges with the Budget reforms.
Read the report here
nesta - The missing graduates in England's nurseries
The Labour Party recently proposed increasing the number of graduates in early years settings as an evidence-led way to help reduce early years inequality. However, nesta’s findings show that there is a vast gap to fill.
Read the report here
Children’s Alliance – The Role of the Family in Early Years Education
‘The Role of the Family in Early Years Education’ report brings together individuals and organisations to work together to provide brighter futures for children throughout the UK. It makes a number of specific ‘demands’ to ensure early years education is fit for the challenges of the 21st century.
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City of York - Pioneering speech and language programme shortlisted for national awards
City of York Council and York and Scarborough NHS Foundation Trust’s Early Talk for York programme is shortlisted in the ‘Early Years’ and ‘learning’ categories at this year’s Children and Young People Now Awards. The programme was rolled out across the city last year following a successful pilot in the west of York and is already improving the communication and language outcomes for children aged 0 to 5 years.
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Nuffield Foundation - Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) extended
Thousands of primary schools across England are delivering another year of the Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme which has been shown to effectively boost young children’s language skills by four months.
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Ofsted – Guidance: Childcare on domestic premises
Guidance for applicants and registered providers of childcare on domestic premises.
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The Child of the North - Addressing Education and Health Inequity report
The Child of the North: Addressing Education and Health Inequity report highlights how children born into the poorest fifth of families in the UK are almost 13 times more likely to experience poor health and educational outcomes by the age of 17.
Read the report here
Child Abuse & Neglect - Childhood verbal abuse as a child maltreatment subtype: A systematic review of the current evidence
On the back of new research, experts say that talking extremely harshly to children (childhood verbal abuse, CVA) should be recognised as a form of abuse because of the huge damage it does.
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Department for Education – Guidance: Assessment only route to early years teacher status (EYTS)
Criteria and advice for accredited early years initial teacher training providers offering the assessment only route to EYTS.
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Children in Scotland's Early Years Conference 2023
Mon, 6 Nov 2023 09:00 - 16:00 GMT £50-£150 | This conference will explore the current landscape of the Early Years sector in Scotland and share learning on how we can ensure the diverse needs of children and families are supported. The theme of the day, ‘building blocks for change’, reflects the aim for this conference to be an active learning experience, and one that equips practitioners, managers and service providers with practical strategies they can apply to their role.
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