Early Years Providers: Government Support

Juliet Campbell Excerpts

Wednesday 9th July 2025 Westminster Hall

[Juliet Campbell (Broxtowe) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh) for securing this important debate. I welcome the Government’s efforts to make early years provision more accessible, and I am proud that they have taken the necessary steps to better support young families and give every child the best start in life.

The importance of early years providers is well understood. Studies have shown that high-quality early years support influences later wellbeing for both mental and physical health, as well as building resilience. We know that high-quality early years support affects attainment during the early years and future education. However, families in disadvantaged areas tend not to access early years services as frequently as families in more affluent areas. Currently, only 36% of families in the lower income bracket use formal childcare services during the early years, compared with 73% of those from higher earning families.

Children who do not receive early years education and support can be significantly disadvantaged. They are more likely to experience developmental deficiencies and deficits, leaving them lagging behind. That should not be the case. The economic gap in accessing early years provision can mean that some children begin primary school or early education without the necessary skills they need to effectively transition to that stage.

The early years foundation stage statutory framework sets out the specific skills that children should have developed by the time they arrive at school, including being toilet trained, simple letter recognition, and socialising with their peers. Children who do not access early years provision are less likely to be equipped with those skills, which means that teachers face increased pressure to bring those children up to the required standard.

When children arrive without the necessary skills, teachers are forced into the role of parent in an environment where their role is to be an educator. That can reduce the quality of teaching for the whole classroom, and the delivery of the curriculum is slowed down. I therefore welcome the Government’s commitment to ensure that every child has the best start in life. That involves providing support to parents, and children, from pregnancy to age five, and making early years services more accessible to lower-income families. To echo the words of my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest, someone’s background should not determine their outcome.

However, there is still work to be done. For example, I would like to see dedicated outreach efforts in areas of deprivation to help close the inequality gap between those who access early years services and those who do not. Every child should arrive on their first day of primary school with the skills that they need to thrive. Will the Minister therefore commit to implementing dedicated outreach and parenting programmes for the most deprived areas, as an essential part of making sure that support reaches families who need it the most? In doing so, we help both parents and teachers provide the best start in life for every child.