Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that early years educators can have long, fulfilling and fairly-paid careers in the early years sector.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The early years workforce is at the heart of the government’s mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver our Plan for Change. The Best Start in Life strategy sets out our plans to work with the early years sector and local authorities to tackle challenges in recruitment and retention and make early years a career people are proud to start and rewarding to pursue.

This includes investing in opportunities to become an early years teacher, by aiming to more than double the number of funded places on early years initial teacher training by 2028. It also sets out financial support for employers delivering the new degree apprenticeship route, and financial incentives for early years teachers working in disadvantaged areas. Plans to co-design a new professional register are designed to raise the value of the profession and give all early educators the recognition they deserve.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the role of early years settings is in helping to identify and support the needs of SEND children.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The government recognises the important role the early years sector plays in early intervention to ensure the right support is put in place for children as soon as possible

The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow. It stipulates that providers must have arrangements in place to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and that all providers who are funded by the local authority to deliver early education places must have regard for the SEND code of practice.

On 7 July, we published our commitment to giving every child the best start in life. This means a stronger focus on early identification, inclusive access to early years education, and tailored family support.

We have already invested in the Early Language Support for Every Child programme, as well as the Nuffield Early Language Intervention, supporting children in the early years with their speech and language.

We are looking at wider SEND reforms and interventions to give children and young people the opportunities they need to achieve and thrive.

Found: present: Clive Efford, in the Chair Phil Brickell Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown John Glen Tom Hayes