The early years sector is increasingly moving towards ‘childcare at the expense of high-quality education’, the Sutton Trust warns.
In a policy briefing published today (24 January) by the Trust, education and social mobility experts state that current Government plans not only risk exacerbating inequalities but worsening the quality of education for all young children.
Reviewing the widespread evidence of the mounting pressures facing the early years sector, the Trust warns of a ‘major deterioration in the education of disadvantaged young children’.
It states that current Conservative plans to treat the sector primarily as childcare, with less focus on its role as education, ‘puts quality at risk’ and ‘widens gaps in access’.