News
NDNA gives MPs ten priorities for childcare
17 Dec 2009
The top priority was the need to resolve funding shortfalls on the free entitlement, while other priorities included ensuring that funding follows the child, promoting partnerships with local authorities, committing to long-term support for workforce development, and promoting more personalised services that meet the individual child’s needs.
The seminar was chaired by Barry Sheerman, MP and chair of the DCSF select committee, and also included presentations from Kathy Silva of Oxford University, Max Wind-Cowie, researcher for think-tank Demos, and shadow minister for the family, Marian Miller.
In her presentation, Kathy Silva examined how qualifications matter to quality and quality matters to children, saying how The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education project gives very clear indicators of what benefits children; vocabulary is one of the most important indicators, and practitioners must have the ability to provide a rich and extended language for children.” She also stressed how, despite the recession, “we must invest in early years because it gives a return. We need to see a raising of status for all staff.
More information can be found at www.ndna.org.uk.
(Nursery World, 17 December 2009)
