Families with young children face a unique set of challenges which, if not addressed, could have a long-term impact on today’s generation of under-fives.
The first five years of a child’s life are crucial to their healthy development and well-being in later life. But the concluding report in our Changing face of early childhood series reveals that early childhood is increasingly characterised by inequality and uncertainty, compounded by the impact of the pandemic and rising poverty amid the cost of living crisis.
An estimated two-fifths of children are not reaching their expected level of development by age five and more than a third of families with young children are living in poverty. Almost all children now rely on the early childhood education and care system, which is not fit for purpose and is in need of urgent reform.
The Nuffield Foundation is calling for an ambitious early childhood strategy, underpinned by clear objectives, sustained investment, joined up services and the principle of early intervention. Our report, Bringing up the next generation: from research to practice, sets out four goals that should underpin an early years strategy and a series of recommendations for a more holistic and joined up approach to early years policy and services.
Significant changes in the lives of children under five
Being a young child or their parent is a strikingly different experience today from that of a generation ago. Over the past 20 years, how young children are looked after, how parents combine work and care, the form that care takes, and children’s living arrangements have all changed. The COVID-19 crisis has fundamentally changed the way a generation of young children have grown and developed.
Virtually all children now experience some form of state-financed formal early education and childcare before they start primary school. In 2022, 92% of three- and four-year-olds took up the universal entitlement to 15 hours of term-time state-funded early education.
At its best, this provision is transformative for both children and their families, but the current system is not working. Access to early education is not yet universal and the most disadvantaged families are less likely to access their free entitlement. On average, 38% of disadvantaged two-year-olds are missing out. Provision needs to be accessible, affordable and of good quality so that all young children can benefit from the system.
The majority of mothers with young children under five are now in paid work, with the steepest rises among mothers with a child aged one to two. The employment rate for mothers whose youngest child is under four years old increased from 50% in 1996 to 67% in 2018.
While there were increases in the amount of time fathers dedicated to childcare during the pandemic, mothers still undertake two-thirds of childcare for the under-fives. The pandemic highlighted the difficulties many parents face when trying to balance work and childcare, whilst experiencing a lack of support.
Rises in early childhood poverty since 2013/14 are being exacerbated by the current cost of living crisis and the two-child limit. Over half (52%) of families with three or more children where the youngest child is under five are living in poverty. Experiencing poverty at the start of life can be highly damaging in itself and poses major risks for children’s learning, social and emotional and physical development throughout childhood and later life.
Children from some ethnic minority groups, children living in some geographical locations and families where a child or parent have a disability are at higher risk of poverty. Despite this, poverty reduction strategies rarely feature as part of an integrated approach to the early years.
Four goals for an ambitious early childhood strategy
Despite the importance of the first five years of a child’s life, public policy continues to focus on school-age children much more so than babies and young children. Policy and practice has not kept pace with changes in both the reality of early childhood and the lives of families with young children.
We are calling on the government to lead the development of an early childhood strategy based on four goals:
Goal 1: Services understand and respond to the needs of all families with young children in the round. These services need to provide a continuum of support for parents, from light-touch universal information and guidance to more intensive, sustained support for those in need of additional help.
Goal 2: All parents have a choice about how they care for their young children. Empowering choices requires parental leave entitlements and creating family-friendly workplaces, requiring action from both government and employers. It also requires a step change in enabling both mothers and fathers to balance work and care.
Goal 3: An early education and care system supports all young children’s learning – in the broadest sense – with a focus on tackling disadvantage. Formal education and childcare is now a near-universal experience for young children. Given the rapid growth of this sector, its complexity and tensions between its objectives, we conclude that a whole system review is needed.
Goal 4: A societal commitment to tackling the causes and effects of early childhood poverty. Rates of poverty have risen since 2013 and are highest for families with a child under five – standing at 36%. Addressing early childhood poverty includes quality jobs for parents that enable work-care balance, improving social security benefits and support for parenting and mental health.
Carey Oppenheim, author of the review and Early Childhood Lead at the Nuffield FoundationA child’s early years are crucial for their future life-chances. The Best Start for Life has opened up the possibility of a more ambitious, integrated approach to early childhood. We have strong foundations to build from and a growing evidence base of what works in supporting young children and their families.
“We need an early years strategy that prioritises family-focused, joined up services that take account of the complexity and dynamism of family lives. To be effective, systems of support should empower families of young children and meet their evolving needs today and into the future. Working together to get the fundamentals right in early childhood is part of creating a more resilient, productive and just society for us all.”
