What constitutes good quality childcare? Lords question OFSTED and academics
Ofsted's Deputy Director for Early Childhood and the author of an influential report on the qualifications in the childcare sector, will be questioned by the House of Lords Committee on Affordable Childcare on Wednesday 15 October.
At 10.35am, the Committee will be hear from:
- Gill Jones, Deputy Director for Early Education, Ofsted;
- Sandra Mathers, Senior Researcher, University of Oxford; and
- Ivana La Valle, Research Consultant, University of East London.
The Committee will use the session to explore what are the characteristics of good quality childcare, and what is required to deliver it; what is the role of regulation and inspection in ensuring quality is maintained; what variations in quality exist between different types of providers; and the impact of the current levels of funding for free early education on the sector's ability to deliver high quality places.
Following on, at 11.30 am, the Committee will question Professor Cathy Nutbrown, Head of the School of Education at the University of Sheffield and author of Foundations for Quality: The independent review of early education and childcare qualifications, published in June 2012.
Questions the Committee are likely to put to Professor Nutbrown include:
- Would improving the qualifications and status of the childcare workforce make a significant difference to quality?
- Can such improvements be achieved within current funding levels?
- Was the Government right not to pursue a policy of lower child to staff ratios?
- What should the Government be doing to improve quality in childcare?
The evidence session will take place on Wednesday 15 October at 10.35am in Committee Room 4A of the House of Lords.
The session will be webcast at www.parliamentlive.tv and is also open to the public. Journalists wishing to attend should go to Parliament's Cromwell Green Entrance and should allow time for security screening.
