Early Years Providers: Government Support

Michelle Welsh Excerpts

Wednesday 9th July 2025 Westminster Hall

[Michelle Welsh (Sherwood Forest) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered Government support for early years providers.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Pritchard. I requested today’s debate on Government support for early years providers because too often the early years are left out of the discussion on education, and the impacts that they have on children’s lives and futures are not always given the respect that they deserve. I agreed with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State during Monday’s statement when she called early years providers

“the hidden heroes of our communities.”—[Official Report, 7 July 2025; Vol. 770, c. 682.]

I am determined to see them hidden no longer.

Just over a year ago, I made the decision to stand to be a Member of Parliament because I believe that where people start in life should not determine where they end and what opportunities they should have. I spent many years in Nottinghamshire and Derby setting up Sure Start centres under the previous Labour Government. Then I had to watch Sure Start centres being dismantled and the most disadvantaged children having their support ripped away from them. That is the very thing that drove me to stand to be a Member of Parliament.

The injustice should never have been allowed to happen, and it is time to deal with the legacy of 14 years of a Conservative Government. In the UK, 4.5 million children are living in poverty; there are more than 4,000 in my constituency of Sherwood Forest. Almost 2.2 million children are on free school meals—just over one in four children in England. Half of those children will not reach a good level of development by the age of five. According to the Sutton Trust, the attainment gap between children on free school meals and their peers has widened to 20%.

Before I was elected, I worked with vulnerable children and I saw day in and day out how influential a child’s start in life can be on their future. I also saw how incredible Sure Start centres were in changing the lives of families in disadvantaged communities. I cannot express how excited I am to learn that the Government will be modelling their family hubs in a similar way and that they will be rooted in disadvantaged communities.

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

Ellie from Wincanton in my constituency has autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and a specific learning disability. She was not diagnosed during her early education and did not have the support framework around her, so I am really pleased that the Government’s Best Start family hub expansion could help early identification, particularly of special educational needs and disabilities, but does the hon. Member agree that the strategy must be matched with sufficient funding, especially after the Tories trashed early years provision?

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[Michelle Welsh]

I thank the hon. Member for that point. What happens on SEND in early years is vital. I actually saw that and how it happens. Some of it is about funding, but a lot of it is also about changing how we work. At the moment, how we work is not for the benefit of the child and the family. Services that surrounded families and children for years and years were taken away and dismantled, and now parents and children are left in a very lonely position, especially when they have SEND.

We have to look more broadly. We could throw as much money as possible at this, but actually we have to fundamentally change how we work and think about what support services we really need to surround the child. I am hoping that my hon. Friend the Minister might be able to confirm whether any of the family hubs might be in my constituency of Sherwood Forest—a little cheeky question there.

It is well established that the first few years of a child’s life are critical in supporting their physical, mental and emotional development in the long term. Children’s brains grow and adapt so quickly, particularly in the first few years. The experiences that they have can have lifelong effects, which is why interventions at that stage of life are crucial, especially for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

One of the most key elements of a Sure Start centre was the pathway from birth to childhood. Ensuring that families had access to midwifery and maternity services and health visitors meant that families were prepared and equipped with essential skills and even basics such as how to feed their child. At a time when maternity services across the country are under immense pressure, ensuring that families and children are supported in the community by these hubs is vital. I hope that under this Government and the new “best start in life” strategy, there will be a clear pathway from birth and that the Department for Education will link up with the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure that.

I was particularly excited to see childminders included in the strategy, as my mum was a childminder for many years. For too long, childminders have been treated separately and not taken as seriously as more formal educational settings. Growing up watching my mum, I have seen at first hand the impact that childminders can have on a child’s life and how important they are to supporting families. Would the Minister reassure me on the role that childminders will play in the Best Start programme?

Early years also impacts a child’s future through school readiness. Attending an early years provider, whether a private nursery, a school nursery, a childminder or something else, can prepare children for not only the academic side of school but the social element. Allowing children to meet and interact with others of the same age helps them to socialise and it supports their ability to engage with structured learning environments. It also helps children to build confidence, curiosity and resilience, which are all strengths needed for later education and life. By addressing developmental needs early on, early years education can reduce disparities in achievement and promote more equitable outcomes for all children.

A key element of early years provision, which I feel is often left out, is the power of play: 20% of a child’s week is spent in the playground. Play is so important for a child’s imagination, creativity and confidence in interacting with other children. I want to highlight the OPAL—outdoor play and learning—programme, which is a mentor-supported school improvement programme that aims to help schools to improve the quality of play. By ensuring that early years providers have the necessary equipment and staff training, children have time to play, which is effectively utilised to build skills in language, problem solving and teamwork. It can be as simple as giving children the blocks to build their own fort or a bucket and spade for a sandcastle.

Preparing children with as many skills as possible, as soon as possible, only increases their opportunities in school and, ultimately, their opportunities when they are adults, yet access to high-quality early years provision is not equal for all children across the UK. Disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs and disabilities are more likely to struggle to access early years provision in England. The Education Policy Institute found that, for children in reception with an education, health and care plan, the attainment gap in 2023 was 19.9 months compared with children without one. That is more than a whole school year. The gap only widens. The gap for pupils at the end of primary school is around 27 months, and by the end of secondary school, the gap reaches almost 40 months. That is over three years. If we do not attempt to address that gap at the earliest stage, children with SEND will always be on the back foot, and that is not right or fair.

I am concerned about the rising costs of childcare and the impact that it will have on children who are already starting from behind. Childcare must be affordable for both families and providers. The Government’s decision to deliver an entitlement of 30 hours’ funded childcare a week for working families will be key to driving children out of poverty and it will massively improve their outcomes in life.

I was pleased that two nurseries in Sherwood Forest were among the 300 schools that the Government announced are to receive the school-based nursery grant: Samuel Barlow primary academy in Clipstone and Lake View primary and nursery school in Rainworth. However, I have heard concerns from some private nurseries in Sherwood Forest that the Government funding does not cover the costs of the free days of care. That leaves nurseries no choice but to pass those costs on to paying parents; in the worst cases it means that they must close entirely. It is vital that providers are able to stay open at a time when we so desperately need them. Have the Government investigated concerns that the funding from Government does not go far enough to cover the costs faced by nurseries?

Investment into our early years providers makes a difference; there is no doubt about that. Little Elms in my constituency provides a fantastic early years learning environment to children in the Dover Beck and Lowdham wards, and it has recently been granted permission and capital funding by the council to expand and build an extra building, allowing it to offer 17 more spaces for children in the community. That extra space will mean they can employ more early years workers, too. It will make an incredible difference in just one community in Sherwood Forest.

Across the country, there are so many providers doing incredible work for our children, including Busy Bees in Vicar Water in Clipstone, which was rated outstanding by Ofsted. I want to say a heartfelt thanks to all those workers in Sherwood Forest and across the country. As we push forward with ensuring every child has the best start in life, I remind the Government of the importance of taking early years providers with us and urge them to give providers the support and tools they need to succeed.

--- Later in debate ---

[Michelle Welsh]

I thank everyone who has taken part in today’s debate. What is fabulous about this Parliament is the breadth of knowledge and experience regarding early years and childcare, women’s health and all those subjects. Although we may disagree sometimes on how to do this, I think there is a united vision to ensure that every child gets the best start in life. There have been moments of déjà vu in this debate when people have talked about outreach workers linking with social workers and ready-to-go-to-school programmes, because all those were around in the late 1990s under Sure Start and were sadly dismantled in front of my eyes.

I will close by saying two things. First, I think we need to move from talking about school readiness to talking about learning readiness—that is really important. Secondly, and notwithstanding everybody else’s contributions, we have a real chance with the Best Start strategy to make a real difference, and the more voices that can be heard on that, the better. Where you are born should not determine your future, and I am convinced that this Labour Government will make sure that is the case.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered Government support for early years providers.