Early Years Policy Development Board: Final Report for the Chief Minister

EARLY YEARS POLICY DEVELOPMENT BOARD

Final Report for the Chief Minister

28th September 2021

R.156/2021

Contents

1  Executive summary ................................................................................................................. 6

1. Policy ambitions ................................................................................................................... 6
2. Policy principles .................................................................................................................... 6
3. Policy Overview .................................................................................................................... 7

2  Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 9

1. Early Years Policy Development Board .................................................................................. 9
2. Rationale ............................................................................................................................ 10

3  Background ........................................................................................................................... 12

1. Evidence of the benefits of good quality Early Childhood Education ................................... 12
2. Government Strategic Priorities .......................................................................................... 13

1. Common Strategic Policy (2018 – 2022) and Government Plan (2020 – 2023) ........... 13
2. Future Jersey (2017-2037) and Jersey Performance Framework (2020) ...................... 14
3. Children and Young People's Plan (2019 -2023) ........................................................... 14
4. Children's legislation developments ............................................................................. 15

3. Links to other key policy development areas ...................................................................... 15

4. Best Start Partnership ........................................................................................................ 16

4  The Jersey Early Years Landscape in 2020 ............................................................................... 17

1. Demographics and Jersey Context ...................................................................................... 17
2. Family Nursing and Home Care (FNHC) ............................................................................... 20
3. Types of Early Years settings .............................................................................................. 20  States Nursery Classes Provision................................................................................... 21  Private Provision ........................................................................................................... 22  Registered childminders and nannies ........................................................................... 23  Informal childcare ......................................................................................................... 24
4. Sources of funding for Early Years Provision ....................................................................... 24

1. Best Start Plus Nursery Places (age 2-3y) ..................................................................... 24
2. Special Needs Inclusion Programme ............................................................................. 24
3. JCCT ............................................................................................................................... 24

4. The Nursery Education Fund (NEF) (pre-school)........................................................... 25
5. Jersey Premium (pre-school) ........................................................................................ 26
6. Income Support (all ages) ............................................................................................. 27
7. Child allowances within the personal tax system ......................................................... 28
8. Family Friendly Legislation ............................................................................................ 29
9. Take-up of funded nursery education .......................................................................... 30

5 Engagement and consultation ............................................................................................... 32

1. Previous work ..................................................................................................................... 32
2. Early Years Engagement Event (July 2019) .......................................................................... 33
3. Parents/Carers Focus Groups: 4Insight (December 2019) ................................................... 33
4. Early Years Market Analysis and Modelling: Oxera (March 2020) ........................................ 34

6 Policy proposals .................................................................................................................... 36

1. Policy 1: Integrated Early Years Best Start' Offer ................................................................ 36

1. Why is this important? .................................................................................................. 36
2. Evidence for change ...................................................................................................... 36
3. How could we do this? .................................................................................................. 38
4. Outcomes ...................................................................................................................... 39

2. Policy 2: Family Friendly Measures...................................................................................... 40

1. Why is this important? .................................................................................................. 40
2. Evidence for change ...................................................................................................... 40
3. How could we do this? .................................................................................................. 41
4. Outcomes ...................................................................................................................... 41

3. Policy 3: 'Best Start Plus' ..................................................................................................... 42

1. Why is this important? .................................................................................................. 42
2. Evidence for change ...................................................................................................... 42
3. How could we do this? .................................................................................................. 44
4. Outcomes ...................................................................................................................... 44

4. Policy 4: Establishing an integrated progress review............................................................ 45

1. Why is this important? .................................................................................................. 45
2. Evidence for change ...................................................................................................... 45

3. How could we do this? .................................................................................................. 46
4. Outcomes ...................................................................................................................... 46

5. Policy 5: Consolidation of educational entitlement .............................................................. 47

1. Why is this important? .................................................................................................. 47
2. Evidence for change ...................................................................................................... 47
3. How could we do this? .................................................................................................. 49
4. Outcomes ...................................................................................................................... 49

6. Policy 6: Introduction of a transformation fund .................................................................. 51

1. Why is this important? .................................................................................................. 51
2. Evidence for change ...................................................................................................... 51
3. How could we do this? .................................................................................................. 53
4. Outcomes ...................................................................................................................... 53

7 Overarching requirements .................................................................................................... 54

1. Strategic Approach ............................................................................................................. 54
2. Headline timeline ............................................................................................................... 54
3. Improving Metrics and Performance Management ............................................................. 56
4. Education Law .................................................................................................................... 57
5. Implementation of proposed policies.................................................................................. 57

Appendices .................................................................................................................................. 58

Appendix 1: Review of Early Childhood Education in Jersey' (2017) by the Early Years Childhood Partnership (EYCP) Task and Finish Group ...................................................................................... 59

Appendix 2: Jersey Community Relations Trust: Cost of Childcare Research Report (2017)................ 61 Appendix 3: Engagement Day Insights: Providers, Agencies, Parents & Voluntary Sector (July 2019) . 62 Appendix 4: Parents/Carers Focus Groups: 4insight (December 2019) ............................................. 66 Appendix 5: Market Review and Analysis: Oxera Report (Jan 2020).................................................. 67 Appendix 6: Key Population Outcome Measures in the Children and Young People's Plan................. 68

Appendix 7: Children and Young People's Plan (2019 -2023) – Specific Detailed Outcomes for Early Years ........................................................................................................................................... 70

Appendix 8: Future Jersey' 2017-2037 .......................................................................................... 77 Appendix 9: Jersey's Performance Framework: measuring sustainable wellbeing (2020) ................... 78

List of figures

Figure 1:Number of residents aged under 5 years by vingtaine........................................................... 17 Figure 2: Number of live births to Island residents per calendar year, 2010-2019 .............................. 18 Figure 3: Pre-school year - predicted number of children in cohort .................................................... 19 Figure 4: NEF hourly rate compared to inflation and change in average earnings over time .............. 25

Figure 5: Updated NEF hourly rate compared to inflation and change in average earnings over time including September 2021 rise in NEF hourly rate. .............................................................................. 26

List of tables

Table 1: States Nursery Classes............................................................................................................. 21 Table 2: Private Pre-Schools ................................................................................................................. 22 Table 3: Private Day Nurseries .............................................................................................................. 22

1  Executive summary

The Early Years Policy Development Board (EYPDB) was approved on 23 January 2019 when the Chief Minister signed a Ministerial Decision (MD-C-2019-0007) in response to the commitment given by Council in their Common Strategic Policy Statement. The EYPDB was formally established on 8 April 2019 acting as an advisory panel for the Chief Minister to develop a strategic policy position relating to Early Years (defined as the period from conception up to the age of five years). The EYPDB met for the remainder of 2019 through to the Autumn of 2020, engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, examining evidence of need and effective practice. Through a review of research into what works from around the world, including the UK, Crown Dependencies and locally, the development of key insights and wider public engagement, the EYPDB formulated a suite of six inter- related policy proposals designed to ensure the best start in life for all children in Jersey.

The policy proposals reflect the ambition of the EYPDB to develop a system that provides all young children from conception to five with accessible, affordable, high quality, enjoyable education and care provision within their community. It is proposed that a reformed early education offer, based on an ethic of care, should be designed to promote children's development and well-being whilst facilitating an acceptable work-life balance within their family by recognising the valuable role of childrearing and meeting their parents' childcare needs.

The policy proposals will require implementation through a comprehensive delivery plan with a wide range of stakeholders. The Best Start Partnership is well placed to bring together key partners to work together to deliver the remodelled early education offer through further engagement, consultation and collaboration to achieve transformation in the early years.

1. Policy ambitions

The creation of a strategy for the development of a reformed early education offer which is transformational and sustainable, giving every child the best start in life.

The development of a system that:

- improves the experiences and outcomes for all children during the Early Years

- by providing all young children from conception to five with accessible, affordable, high quality, enjoyable education and care provision within their community and

- promoting children's development and well-being whilst facilitating an acceptable work-life balance within their family by recognising the valuable role of childrearing and meeting their parents' childcare needs.

The engagement of the Best Start Partnership to take forward the policy proposals, addressing the identified gaps in early years legislation, through the development of a robust Delivery Plan and a clear timeframe for reporting.

2. Policy principles

- Outcomes for children come first in all policy and provision

- Parents are children's first, and most important, educators

- Families and communities are valued in promoting children's well-being and quality of life

- Early investment addresses inequalities and supports inclusion, early identification and intervention

- All environments for childcare and early education offer the highest standards of safety and care

- Partnership working is key to the design, development and delivery of a reformed early education offer

- Quality assurance is provided through monitoring, supporting and challenging the delivery of high levels of quality in the Early Years and Childhood sector

3. Policy Overview

There are six inter-related policy proposals which constitute a reformed early years education offer. They form the building blocks for a child's early years by following a child's journey from conception through to school.

An integrated Best Start early years offer for all families is complemented by family friendly measures to give children the best start in life. As they get to two, those children at risk of disadvantage would have the opportunity of a Best Start Plus early education offer. In time this would be extended to all children. Young children would be offered an integrated development/progress check to review their health and wellbeing and the prime areas of learning (communication and language, physical, social and emotional). All three / four-year olds will have their educational entitlement during term time consolidated with this rising to 30 hours in future. Wrapping around children and families will be a high-quality workforce supported by a transformation fund.

Key recommendations are detailed below.

Policy 1

The Board recommends the establishment of a universal integrated Best Start' offer to children and families from conception to five. This offer would be accessed from community hubs ensuring that from the start of life children and families are at the heart of delivery of joined up services.

Policy 2  

The Board recommends that the vital role of families is recognised through the continued adoption of family friendly policies which enables parents to have choice in relation to parenting (childrearing) particularly during the first year of life.

Policy 3

The Board recommends a Best Start Plus part-time early education offer for 2 – 3-year olds, initially to children at risk of disadvantage.

Policy 4

The Board recommends the establishment of an integrated progress review for young children involving the child, parents, health and early education services.

Policy 5

The Board recommends the consolidation of an educational entitlement for all 3 – 4year olds during term time with a future extension to 30 hours[1].

Policy 6

The Board recommends the introduction of a transformation fund to recognise and enable a graduate workforce in private nursery settings providing pedagogical leadership within each setting.

2  Introduction

1. Early Years Policy Development Board

In response to the commitment given by Council in their Common Strategic Policy Statement, the Chief Minister signed a Ministerial Decision (MD-C-2019-0007) on 23 January 2019 to approve an Early Years Policy Development Board (EYPDB). The EYPDB was formally established on 8 April 2019 to examine the provision of Early Years services from conception to age five and to develop a shared strategic policy position across Early Years.

The purpose of the EYPDB is defined in its terms of reference which are as follows:

bring forward policy development proposals in four areas across the term of government. The four policy areas to be progressed include:

- Establishing a shared strategic policy position across Early Years, based on a consistent vision and set of agreed principles and outcomes that evidence improvements and progress

- Developing a regulatory framework to ensure all childcare provision is of a high quality and offers a safe environment for children

- Setting out funding options that deliver equitable access to high quality childcare

- Describing approaches to developing an Early Years learning framework that supports a shared pedagogy for early childhood education that is aligned to workforce development, home learning programmes, and the nursery education funding programme.'

The EYPDB acts as an advisory panel for the Chief Minister to develop a strategic policy position relating to Early Years (defined as the period from conception up to the age of five years). It is not a decision-making body. The policy ambition was focused on how, drawing on evidence of need and effective practice, to create the best start in life for every child in Jersey.

Board members

Senator Tracey Vallois – Education Minister (chair) Deputy Jeremy Maçon – Assistant Education Minister Senator Sam Mezéc – Children's Minister

Deputy Louise Doublet – Gender Pay Gap Review Panel

Lead Executive Support

Andrew Heaven – Head of Policy Nicola Mulliner – Head of Early Years

Wider Stakeholders

Dr Cathy Hamer – Independent Chair of Best Start Partnership Best Start Partnership strategic group

Government Policy Officers

The Board has sought to be transparent in its work and has published all the data collected, reports produced, and minutes of its meetings online at www.gov.je/Government/PolicyDevelopmentBoards/Pages/EarlyYearsPolicyDevelopmentBoard.aspx.

2. Rationale

The EYPDB recognise that whilst every child is unique, parents/carers, family and the wider community all have a key role to play in realising every child has the best start in life. A focused ambition from Government to improve the whole early years system would support parents in their vital role as they bring a child into the world and its brain is shaped by the experiences and care received in the first few years of life.

The early years of a child's life are the optimum time to address inequalities to avoid their life chances being undermined. Good physical and mental health, a strong early home learning environment and early years education are the cornerstones of social mobility and promotion of gender equality. Children with strong foundations will start school in a position to progress, but too many children still fall behind early, and it is hard to close the gaps that emerge. It is vital to tackle development gaps at the earliest opportunity, particularly the key early language and literacy skills, so that all children can begin school ready to thrive and succeed.

The development of a child's brain architecture[2] depends on the quality of their early relationships, which lay the foundation for outcomes that matter – self-confidence and sound mental health, motivation to learn, achievement in school and later life. The following graph clearly illustrates the impact of early experience on key areas of young children's development which provides a one-off window of opportunity for intervention.

Invest to save - Investment in Early Years Education and Childcare can be seen as a long-term intervention that aims to narrow the gap in attainment between the most disadvantaged children and their peers, and to raise the attainment of all children. Interventions typically represent good value for money as early intervention can reduce future costly and damaging social and health problems.[3]

As Nobel Laureate James Heckman has stated:

"We can invest early to close disparities and prevent achievement gaps, or we can pay to remediate disparities when they are harder and more expensive to close. Either way we are going to pay. And, we'll have to do both for a while."[4]

The following diagram provides a visual representation of the "Heckman Curve".

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) includes articles relating to non- discrimination (Article 2), the best interests of the child (Article 3), parental guidance and a child's evolving capacities (Article 5), life, survival and development (Article 6), respect for the views of the child (Article 12), parental responsibilities and state assistance (Article 18), health and health services (Article 24), social security (Article 26), the right to education (Article 28) along with Article 29 (Education must develop every child's personality, talents and abilities to the full. It must encourage the child's respect for human rights, as well as respect for their parents, their own and other cultures, and the environment.)

[5]3  Background

1. Evidenceofthe benefits of good quality Early Childhood Education567

Evidence is clear that children's early years experiences shape their development, educational attainment and life chances. There is a wealth of research that shows the importance of their Early Years' experience on a child's development[6].

Less advantaged children are more likely to fall behind and struggle to catch-up. While in 2017 84% of 2-year-old children in Jersey assessed by Ages and Stages' were developing normally in the 5 domains,16% were not. It was the area of communication that was the main contributor to children not reaching their milestones overall. Strong language skills are a determinant of progress through education. In 2018 57% of reception children in Jersey met or exceeded ALL 17 Early Learning Goals at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage and in 2019 this rose to 62%, with Communication and Language rising to 82% in 2019. Children with strong foundations start school in a position to progress, however, too many children do not have this advantage. Disadvantaged children underperform, and even when they experience success in education, they achieve poorer career outcomes than their more affluent peers with the same qualifications. Data shows that children in receipt of Jersey Premium do less well than their peers year on year, although the gap is beginning to close. We also know that the number of children referred to the early years inclusion team is rising year on year and high quality, universal inclusive practice is key to their success.

Key aspects of children's skills, capabilities, behaviours and wellbeing emerge in early childhood9101112 These factors can significantly impact on a child's trajectory through the rest of childhood and well into adulthood13 1415

Children who receive high quality early childhood care, education and health services from conception onwards are more likely to have a positive attitude to learning when they start school, be more resilient, and have better learning, development and health outcomes overall. They are

more likely to complete secondary school and secure jobs with wage progression. They are also less likely to rely on the welfare system and are significantly less likely to become involved in the criminal justice system.

In addition to formal Early Years settings, the quality of the home learning environment (HLE) is also critical to a child's development.16 17

Evidence indicates that investment in preventative and early intervention approaches not only raise standards from early years to post 16 and beyond, but also provide value for money in the long term: Greater access to Early Help for families to services improves early identification and intervention which eliminates or reduces costly and damaging social problems.

International research by UNICEF suggests that the financial case for investing in children's early years is strong. The rate of return on investing in early childhood programmes can be about 13.7 per cent.[7] The benefits are reaped in better education and health outcomes, lower crime and higher individual earnings.[8] Investments in children's early development can lead to better individual adult incomes of up to 25 per cent.[9] Investing in early childhood development also benefits nations – supporting a more skilled workforce that is better prepared to take on the future challenges of a global and digital economy.

As set out in the Review of Early Childhood Education',[10] a strong Early Childhood Education and Care market can have a positive impact on the labour market as it better enables parents to work, re-enter the labour market, undergo training, and increase their working hours if they wish, thus, it can play a role in improving family income, reducing welfare dependency and poverty, and improving social mobility for families – and later for the children themselves'.[11]

2. Government Strategic Priorities

Prioritising children, and in particular the early years, is a theme that runs through many recent overarching government commitments. For example, the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative has been

adopted in Jersey and is a commitment in the Government's Food and Nutrition Strategy.

1. Common Strategic Policy (2018 – 2022) and Government Plan (2020 – 2023)

This Common Strategic Policy has five headline priorities for the government. Its first priority is children. The Policy states that we will put children first by protecting and supporting children, by improving their educational outcomes and by involving and engaging children in decisions that affect

16 UK House of Lords (2015), Affordable Childcare', Select Committee on Affordable Childcare, Report of Session 2014–15.

17 Barbour, L. (2020), The home learning environment has never been more important. Sutton Trust. Available at: https://www.wuttontrust.com/news-opinion/all-news-opinion/home-learning/

their everyday lives.' More specifically the policy statement confirms its commitment to early years by stating we recognise the critical importance of children's experiences in the first few years of their lives; this lays the foundation for their future development and can be predictive of future outcomes.' The Government Plan priority of "Putting Children First" is now a shared government and community pledge.

2. Future Jersey (2017-2037) and Jersey Performance Framework (2020)

The long-term community vision for Jersey was described in Future Jersey (2017-2037) through ten community, environment and economy outcomes. Measuring progress towards these outcomes allows identification of what is doing well, and what needs attention. The outcome learn and grow' identified a number of indicators with a direct relevance to early years, including birth weight and breastfeeding rates.

At the launch of Future Jersey in 2018, it was acknowledged that the framework would evolve over time. New, improved indicators would be developed, and the framework could also be extended to track the contribution and performance of public services. Jersey's new Performance Framework, launched in January 2020, represents the first step in this evolution.

Key outcome and indicators within the Jersey Performance Framework relate to early years, in particular:

- Children enjoy the best start in life

- Children develop as expected in their early years (aged 0 to 5 years)

- Children enter school ready to learn

3. Children and Young People's Plan (2019 -2023)

The Children and Young People's Plan (2019-2023) has been developed with a clear vision that "all children should have an equal opportunity to be safe, flourish and fulfil their potential". The ambition is that the Plan becomes the single intergenerational policy vehicle, which describes the government's improvement agenda for children. Maintaining close alignment between the priorities for children identified in the Children and Young People's Plan and the recurring Government Plan (as established in the Common Strategic Policy), will enable a future-focused set of priorities for children to remain at the forefront of Government's commitment to children and families.

During the development of Putting Children First: The plan for Jersey's children, young people and their families (the Children's Plan), key practitioners from across the system set out a clear, common framework from which to deliver improvements in children's lives. A set of four headline outcomes for all children were also agreed to describe the ambition that all children in Jersey:

- Grow up safely

- Live healthy lives

- Learn and achieve

- Are valued and involved

Early years represents an important and explicit element of the Children's and Young People's Plan.

The Children and Young People's Plan will enable evaluation of policy that is developed and implemented. It has been developed using Outcomes Based Accountability (OBA) which has a focus on measurement of any difference made (turn the curve) focusing on specific population outcomes. The priority population outcomes for early years policy include Outcome 2, Indicator 2 and Outcome 3, Indicator 2.

4. Children's legislation developments

In relation to Early Years a legislative gap analysis commissioned by the Children's Commissioner has identified that "While there is provision for nursery education in the year before the child reaches compulsory school age, there is no legislative framework for provision in early childhood, including education. The Jersey Curriculum applies from Key Stage 1 and does not cover Early Years/early childhood. However, the early years foundation stage curriculum (non-statutory) is taught up to the end of the Reception year."[12]

The Children's Legislation Transformation Programme (CLTP) will support government and practitioners to help make Jersey the best place for children to grow up. It will deliver a legislative framework that: 1. underpins and drives delivery of the Children's and Young People's Plan outcomes 2. establishes governance arrangements and strengthens accountability 3. defines and makes provision for an integrated services structure that delivers those outcomes for Jersey's children, young people and their families. This will include core children's legislation that works in parallel with, and drives the policy objectives, of associated legislation in fields such as family law, education, justice and housing.

The CLTP schedule is available at: https://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government%20and%20administration/ID%20Childre ns%20Legislation%20Transformation%20Programme%20%20- %20Schedule%2020190104v2%20FW.pdf

3. Links to other key policy development areas

The Board is keen to ensure that key connections are made to existing areas of policy work and related projects.

4. Best Start Partnership

The Government's Common Strategy Policy and a commitment to putting children first is embodied in the Pledge to Children and Young People. The Best Start Partnership is a key asset to help deliver the Common Strategic Policy intentions for Early Years as well as the proposed actions in the Children's Plan, through its contribution to the Policy Development Board for Early Years and the Children and Young People's Strategic Partnership.

The Best Start Partnership has a focus on children, and their families, from conception to five whilst recognising both the need to provide healthcare, education, opportunities for play and child care, support across transitions and to think holistically for families who have children of different ages.

The Partnership's priorities[13] focus on areas in early years where it can deploy its multi-agency and child and family perspectives most effectively. It is a significant resource with an independent chair and a prospectus based on the delivery of Best Start for all children, Best Start Plus to achieve equity of outcomes and Best Start Together bringing all key stakeholders together.

4  The Jersey Early Years Landscape in 2020

1. Demographics and Jersey Context[14]

At the end of 2019, Jersey's population was estimated by Statistics Jersey to be approximately 107,800.[15] At the end of 2018, the segment of the population aged up to four years old was estimated to be 5,400.[16] This equates to c.1,000 children in each year group (be that by age or academic year).

The below map shows the distribution of children and young people aged under 5 years by vingtaine. Although this data is from the 2011 Census there is no reason to expect that the distribution of children across the island has changed significantly in the intervening years (e.g. there have not been any new schools or housing developments outside the areas where children are already present).

Figure 1:Number of residents aged under 5 years by vingtaine[17]

The number of live births in the Island each year is used in the planning of school places and the number of classes needed.

Figure 2: Number of live births to Island residents per calendar year, 2010-2019[18] 1150 1124

1100 1077 1075

1050 1029 1021 1021

1000 985

954

950 942

Number of live births

900 890 850

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Year

Note: The annual number of live births to Jersey resident mothers since 2010. This includes births that occurred off-Island for medical reasons.

The predicted cohorts for academic years are calculated based on the actual number of children born per month in the academic year of birth prior to starting school, e.g. for those who commenced reception in September 2020 it was based on the actual number of births between 1/9/15-31/8/16. This figure is then amended to reflect estimated net migration for that age group (currently estimated at 0.003% per year). The model also assumes that the proportion of children attending non fee-paying education will remain the same relative to cohort size.

In 2019 there were 890 live births in Jersey, corresponding to a crude birth rate (CBR) of 8.3 per 1,000 resident population. The number of live births was the lowest annual total since 1983 and the crude birth rate was the lowest since at least 1950. The total fertility rate (TFR) over the three-year period 2017-2019 was 1.32 births per woman and was the lowest recorded since at least 2001-2003. The 30 - 34 age group of women had the highest age-specific fertility rate. The proportion of mothers aged 35 years and over at delivery has increased from around one in four (24%) in 2001 to one in three (33%) in 2019. The proportion of births by caesarean section (33%) was similar to that recorded in each year of the previous two decades and was greater in Jersey than in England (27%). 3% of new born term babies in Jersey were classified as 'low' birthweight, similar to England. Three- quarters (75%) of babies were being breastfed at discharge from maternity care; by 6-8 weeks this proportion was 58%; and at the 1-year check almost one in four (23%) babies were receiving breastmilk. Over the period 2016-2018 infant mortality in Jersey was 2.4 deaths per 1,000 live births in infants under one year of age, a similar rate to that in England.

The birth rate is continuing to decline. In the academic year 2019/20 there were 865 live births. Hence the predicted number of children in the pre-school year cohort will decrease.

Figure 3: Pre-school year - predicted number of children in cohort[19]

1200

1183

1150

1100

1062 1047 1048

1050

1008

1000

Predicte9d nu5mb0er of children 900

2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 Academic year

Employment information at December 2019 records the highest December figure to date with a total number of 61,500 jobs[20]. There was an annual increase of 1.1% from December 2018.The increase in both the private and public sectors was predominantly due to an increase in the number of full-time positions. In December 2019, three-quarters (75%) of all jobs filled were full-time. There were 5,840 jobs filled on zero-hours contracts, representing 11% of total employment. The remaining 14% of jobs were predominantly part-time. On a six-monthly basis, the number of jobs in Jersey exhibits seasonal variation.

In December 2019 the finance sector (13,800 jobs) accounted for more than a fifth (22%) of all jobs; private sector education, health and other services (8,140) and the public sector (8,060) each accounted for 13% of all jobs; wholesale and retail (7,380) accounted for 12% of all jobs.

The All Items Retail Price s Index (RPI) is the main measure of inflation in Jersey. It measures the change from quarter to quarter in the price of the goods and services purchased by an average household in Jersey. The March 2020 report[21] shows:

"during the twelve months to March 2020 the All Items Retail Price s Index (RPI) for Jersey increased by 2.7% to stand at 182.1 (June 2000 = 100) most groups saw prices increase, on average, on an annual basis the largest contributors to the annual increase in the RPI were the Housing, Household services and Leisure services groups the increase in the RPI over the twelve months to December 2019 was 2.5%; hence, the annual rate of inflation increased by 0.2 percentage points (pp) in the latest quarter."

2. Family Nursing and Home Care (FNHC)

Family Nursing and Home Care is commissioned by the Government to provide Child and Family Services. In the early years these are delivered by a team of Health Visitors, Community Nursery Nurses, Paediatric Liaison Health Visitor, Looked After Children's Nurse, Mental Health Practitioner, Child Accident Prevention, Community Nurse Team, Paediatric Care workers and the Baby Steps team. Services are based in Le Bas Centre, The Bridge, Samares Pathways Child and Family Centre, Gervais Le Gros, the Child and Families Hub, Child Health Clinics in churches, parish halls, schools and community centres and, most importantly, in family homes. Health Visiting is a population-based service which delivers the Healthy Child Programme (HCP) through Universal Services, Universal Plus Services and Universal Partnership Plus.

Transition to parenthood is delivered through Baby Steps as a universal programme of antenatal and postnatal contact. Maternal mental health, the Unicef Baby Friendly Initiative with a focus on support for breastfeeding, support for healthy weight, nutrition and physical activity along with managing minor illness and reducing hospital attendances/admissions are key elements of the service. Child Accident Prevention informs Health Visitor practice.

The Universal health visiting standard offer is antenatal contact, new birth visit, 6 to 8-week review, 1-year review and 2-year review. The health, wellbeing and development surveillance of the child is universally offered at 9 – 12 months and 2 –2 ½ years using the ASQ 3 and ASQ social and emotional measurement.

The Universal Plus health visiting service offers additional support where required. The Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Visiting (MECSH) programme works at a partnership plus level of the HCP providing a structured, time framed sustained home visiting programme working in partnership with parents to support child development to support confident and aspirational parenting and promote positive infant mental health. It is an early intervention, partnership model which can be single and multi-agency offering intensive Health Visiting Support.

FNHC also has a charity purpose raising funds to complement services that are commissioned for islanders.

3. Types of Early Years settings[22]

Not all children in a cohort will attend formal Early Years settings. Many families choose to reduce their working hours after having children in order to be able to provide care at home, or rely on other family members or more informal childcare.

Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is therefore provided in a number of ways, including:

- States nursery classes (which are attached to States primary schools)

- Private Early Years settings (including pre-schools and nurseries)

- Registered childminders and nannies

- Informal childcare (including by family members)

 States Nursery Classes Provision

The Government directly provides Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) through its 20 States nursery classes. Most States primary schools now have a nursery classof the 22 States primary schools there is now only one (Les Landes) that does not have a nursery class (or a funded plan to open one). Springfield, Trinity and St Luke's opened nursery classes in 2016, 2018 and 2019 respectively. St Mary's is due to open its new nursery class in 2021.

The 20 funded hours for each child at a States nursery class are spread evenly across the week, in the mornings, i.e. five sessions of four hours each.

In addition to the 20 core funded hours, some children are eligible for ten additional funded hours per week.[23] This includes children who are entitled to Jersey Premium, twins, those with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and families in receipt of income support. Unlike the core provision of 20 funded hours, these additional funded hours can only be taken at States nursery classes and not in private settings.

For other families, one or two additional hours per day (for lunch or afternoon sessions) may be purchased at an hourly rate.[24]

Table 1: States Nursery Classes

In addition to the 20 States nursery classes, there is also a specialist SEN school, Mont à l'Abbé, which is state-funded and has a small number of children attending in its pre-school year.

 Private Provision

There are 26 registered Early Years settings in Jersey, and these divide into 17 private day nurseries and 9 pre-schools (including four pre-schools attached to private schools).[25]

Table 2: Private Pre-Schools

Table 3: Private Day Nurseries

Private providers are eligible to claim a fixed amount of funding from the government for each funded' hour provided via the Nursery Education Fund (NEF). Providers have to apply to become a NEF-registered provider as per the conditions set out in the NEF Partnership Agreement.[26] Little Dragons Nursery, attached to St George's Preparatory School, is the only registered Early Years setting that is not NEF-registered. The other 25 Early Years providers are all NEF-registered.

In addition to the 26 registered Early Years settings, St Christopher's School is an independent private school that takes children from the age of three. It is not a registered Early Years setting and is not NEF-registered, but does have children of pre-school age attending.

Private providers have some flexibility in how they offer NEF-funded hours across the week, subject to a minimum of three and a maximum of six hours per day, up to a maximum of 20 hours per week[27]

 Registered childminders and nannies

In July 2020, there were 59 registered childminders (offering 217 places).[28]

The Nanny Accreditation Scheme was introduced to the Island by the Jersey Child Care Trust in 2002. The purpose of this initiative was to help close the gap' which exists in recognised registered childcare as specified in the Day Care of Children (Jersey) Law 2002. Whilst this legislation refers to the Registration of day care accommodation and day carers, the law excludes nannies in respect of their registration. This means therefore that anyone in Jersey can look after children and call themselves a nanny irrespective of qualifications, experience, skills, knowledge and criminal check clearance. The JCCT Nanny Accreditation Scheme is designed to benefit nannies, employers and children; all elements are based around the safeguarding arena. The Scheme is recognised by the Tax Office and Income Support so eligible parents may apply for Childcare Tax Relief or for the childcare component of Income Support, depending on their circumstances.

The Accreditation process ensures that Accredited Nannies are professionally qualified: hold a Level 2 or Level 3 Children and Education (Level two has additional criteria which is required), First Aid and Safeguarding Trained, DBS checked, background and reference checked, Insured (both for personal liability and motor).

In 2019 86 children were cared for by 42 Accredited Nannies. In August 2020 there are 44 Accredited Nannies. There are many more nannies working in Jersey who are not accredited. Nannies are paid a salary for the position, not an hourly rate per child, as with other forms of childcare, often making nannies the most affordable form of childcare for families with more than one child. The current average rate for an accredited nanny is £12.50 per hour (it should, however, be noted that nannies' salaries vary considerably according to their circumstances).

 Informal childcare

The role of parents is paramount for all children. In addition, families may provide kinship care, e.g. grandparents and friends may provide informal childcare.

4. Sources of funding for Early Years Provision

Funding for early years provision includes both direct and indirect funding.

1. Best Start Plus Nursery Places (age 2-3y)

The Best Start Nursery Funding Programme, provided by Jersey Child Care Trust, (JCCT) is funded entirely through charitable donations. It finances a part-time (up to 12 hours a week) nursery place for children, aged 2 – 3 years of age, from lower income families who are presenting with developmental delay in at least one key area. In 2019, 84 places were funded. By early August 2020 71 children had been offered access to the programme with a further 16 applications in progress. On the basis of the number of enquiries received an increased demand is anticipated as a result of Covid-19 as more families face financial adversity.[29]

2. Special Needs Inclusion Programme

This JCCT programme provides specialist one-to-one support for children in private nursery settings who need additional help to comprehensively access all learning opportunities within a mainstream setting. Of the 71 children who have their nursery place funded through the Best Start Plus Nursery funding programme 20 children require additional support.

3. JCCT

JCCT receives a grant from the Government. In 2018 this was 30% of overall income. In 2019 the grant remained the same at £179K and charitable income rose significantly with the grant making up 21% of budgeted income

4. The Nursery Education Fund (NEF) (pre-school)

The NEF was introduced in 2009 to provide funding for a universally available government-funded nursery education for children in their pre-school year (up to 20 hours a week in term-time).[30]

For the academic year 2019/20, the amount paid by the government to NEF-registered providers is £5.36[31] per hour (the NEF hourly rate'). This is paid for each qualifying child for up to 20 hours per week, during term-time only.

Figure 4 below shows the growth in the NEF hourly rate over time, in comparison to changes in the level of prices (inflation) and wages.[32] The NEF rate remained flat between 2014/15 and 2017/18 but has since been increased.[33]

Figure 4: NEF hourly rate compared to inflation and change in average earnings over time[34]

140 10.00

9.00 120

8.00 100 7.00

80 6.00 5.00

60 4.00 40 3.00

2.00

20

1.00 0 0.00

NEF hourly rate rate (£) RPI Index Average Earnings Index NEF rate Index

• Note: The NEF hourly rate applies for an academic year. The Average Earnings Index is based on a calendar year. We have compared the NEF hourly rate for 2009/10 to the Average Earnings Index in 2009. RPI data is available quarterly. We have used the RPI statistic for December in order to represent the value for the relevant academic year.

• Source: EYCP (2017), Review of Early Childhood Education in Jersey', November; Government of Jersey (2020), Jersey RPI and RPIX'; and Government of Jersey (2020), Average Earnings Index', accessed 23 January 2020.

As of September 2021, the number of funded hours for the universally available government-funded nursery education for children in their pre-school year went up to 30 hours a week during the academic term. It was accompanied by a rise in the NEF hourly rate of £6.70. These changes are not shown on the graph below (see explanatory note).

Figure 5: Updated NEF hourly rate compared to inflation and change in average earnings over time including September 2021 rise in NEF hourly rate.

160 10.00

140 9.00

8.00

120

7.00

100 6.00

80 5.00

Inde6x 0 4.00

3.00

40

2.00 NEF hourly

20 1.00

0 0.00

NEF rate RPI Index Average Earnings Index NEF rate Index RPI for 2021/22 is the FPP forecast for 2022

• Note: The NEF hourly rate applies for an academic year. The Average Earnings Index is based on a calendar year. We have compared the NEF hourly rate for 2009/10 to the Average Earnings Index in 2009. RPI data is available quarterly. We have used the RPI statistic for December in order to represent the value for the relevant academic year. For the year 2021/22 the RPI forecast figure (dotted line) is for the calendar year 2022, rather than specifically for December (all the other RPI figures in the chart are for December).

• Source: EYCP (2017), Review of Early Childhood Education in Jersey', November; Statistics

Jersey (2020), Jersey RPI and RPIX'; and Statistics Jersey (2021).

5. Jersey Premium (pre-school)

Jersey Premium is a targeted funding programme for schools which has been introduced to ensure all children get the very best from their education. Schools choose how they allocate funding and pupils do not receive money themselves. Eligibility for Jersey Premium is based on meeting any one of the three criteria:

- Pupils who are currently or have previously been Children who are Looked After (CLA)

- Pupils from households which have recently claimed Income Support

- Pupils from households with 'Registered' status that would qualify to claim Income Support if they had lived in Jersey for five years

Jersey Premium includes children from Pre-school age up to the end of Year 13 (Years 12 and 13 have only been included in the current 2019/2020 academic year).

As of January 2019, there were 2,248 pupils (pre-school to Year 11) in receipt of Jersey Premium. Approximately 200 of these children were in the pre-school year. Children from households recently claiming income support made up 95%, while 3% were current or past CLA and 2% being pupils in households with registered status.[35]

Pre-school aged children eligible for Jersey Premium are also entitled to claim a direct benefit of 10 additional hours in a States Nursery Class (if they already attend for 20 hours per week).

6. Income Support (all ages)

Income Support[36] is a single, means-tested benefit that provides support towards the costs of housing, living, health needs and child care. It recognises the role of informal carers. It is available for those on a low household income, pass the Income Support residence test and are working, looking for work or exempt from looking for work.

The amount of benefit received depends on the household income and assets. It includes incentives so that families in work are always better off than those without work. The benefit is exempt from income tax.

Provided the above criteria are met, anyone looking after a very young child can claim Income Support whether or not they are working. This applies until the 1st September that is or precedes the child's 4th birthday. Only one adult in an Income Support Household can be completely exempt from work on this basis. Other people may not always need to work 35 hours per week; the hours they will be expected to work can depend on their individual situation and the decision of a determining officer. The following people can claim Income Support and do not need to be in full time work.

- Looking after a child after the 1st September that is or precedes the child's 4th birthday. (This can only be applied to one adult in an Income Support Household)

- Parents sharing the care of a very young child between them

- Having a health condition that limits the capacity to work

- Undertaking approved education or training

- Caring for someone with a serious health condition – including people who qualify to be cared for through Flexible Personal Care or the Long-Term Care scheme

For each adult who passes the residence test and each child in the Income Support Household, a basic sum of money is allocated to daily living expenses. This covers costs such as food, clothing, toiletries, transport, doctor's fees etc. If the Income Support Household rents or owns a property, it is also allocated a set amount (household component) to cover general household expenses, which are less dependent on the number of people in the household.

The Government and local GPs have worked together to create the Health Access Scheme. The Health Access Scheme covers:

• all members of an Income Support household

• people in receipt of the Pension Plus scheme

Under the scheme most appointments with a doctor or nurse in General Practice will be charged at fixed, low fees. Most services and treatments will be included in the scheme so patients will know beforehand how much you have to pay for your care. Eligibility is automatically checked at the beginning of each month.

Child day care covered by Income Support includes registered day carers, preschool nurseries, after school clubs, holiday activity clubs and nannies. The care provider must be registered with the Education Department under the Day Care of Children (Jersey) Law 2002 or be a nanny accredited by the Jersey Child Care Trust. The component is available in respect of children below the age of 12 – above this age the care provider is no longer required to be registered.

The childcare component is set at two separate levels depending on the age of the child. 1. Children aged 0 - 2 years old 2. Children aged 3 and older. The total childcare component for the Income Support Household is the actual average weekly cost of the day care provided to the child up to a maximum of the hourly rate for the child's age (see above) multiplied by the average number of hours a week for which day care is needed.

If a child qualifies for either of the two higher fixed levels of the personal care component (personal care 2 or 3) this payment is made outside the means testing calculation for Income Support as a separate Child Personal Care benefit. This means that the level of this separate payment is not affected by changes in household income, and can continue to be paid even if the household stops being entitled to Income Support. This only applies where the condition continues to qualify the child for the award of personal care. Children cannot qualify for the flexible personal care component or for the long-term care scheme. Children with significant illnesses or disabilities are supported directly by the Health and Social Care Department.

The mobility component is available for those who have an illness or disability which seriously affects their mobility outside their home environment for children 3+ years.

7. Child allowances within the personal tax system Child allowances

The current tax regime provides some support for the majority of taxpayers with children. A fixed child allowance (not a relief) of £3,000 per child can be deducted from taxable income. This is only available to marginal rate taxpayers. A claim can be made for a child if they are under the age of 16, or if over the age of 16 receiving full-time instruction at any school. The child must be:

- through marriage or civil partnership

- born out of marriage, but marriage takes place after the child's birth

- resident with the claimant

- legally adopted

- a step-child

- a child that the claimant has custody of and maintain at their own expense (living with them, making decisions, paying towards upbringing).

There is also an additional allowance for children (often referred to as a single parent's allowance). This is a fixed amount of £4,500 per taxpayer that can be deducted from taxable income. It is only available to marginal rate taxpayers. This allowance is only due to taxpayers who are not entitled to the married or civil partnership exemption threshold – i.e. unmarried taxpayers. A taxpayer can claim this if they are entitled to the basic child allowance; or has a child under the age of 25, in further education, who has not been living independently for the last three years and is not married or in a civil partnership. The child must be resident with the taxpayer.

In both the above cases if 2 or more taxpayers are claiming for the same child, the allowance is divided in accordance with a written agreement or a factual split.

Child Care Tax Relief

The government provides tax relief to families paying for childcare in order to increase the marginal benefit of work for parents and to support families financially.

Subject to a number of conditions, the costs of childcare can be deducted from taxable income when a household tax liability is calculated. In general, this is the case when both of the child's guardians work.[37] For young children (before they start school), the maximum annual amount of childcare costs that are tax-deductible is £16,000 (2019), and this reduces to £6,150 once a child starts school.[38] This reduction reflects the reduced requirement for childcare. These values have remained constant since 2017 and apply per child.

This tax relief applies to marginal rate' taxpayers only and so the value of this benefit is up to 26% of a family's expenditure on childcare. Standard rate taxpayers (higher earners) are not eligible for this relief. In addition, it is noted that those working families with income that does not exceed the level over which tax is payable (this number will vary based on household circumstances) will not benefit from this policy.[39]

In 2019 there were 2,140 Child Care Tax Relief claims at an overall cost of £3M.

8. Family Friendly Legislation

Changes to the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003 incorporating Employment (Amendment No. 11 (Jersey) Law 2020 introduced new family friendly legislation with effect from 28 June 2020.[40] This included new entitlements for birth mothers in relation to pregnancy and breastfeeding[41] and from 5th July 2020 an entitlement to take up to 52 weeks of parental leave following the birth of their baby, including 6 weeks of paid parental leave for both parents. The same benefits were introduced for adoptive and surrogate parents along with new entitlements to time off for ante-natal or pre- adoptive appointments.

The Social Security Minister is committed to reviewing the impact of the changes to the Employment Law after 2 years[42].

On 17th November 2020 the States Assembly approved the Draft Social Security (Amendment of Law No. 14) (Jersey) Regulations 202- au Greffe[43]. These draft Regulations were the final step in a major ministerial project to establish a more family friendly labour market, one which recognises the role of all parents in the care of their children.

As a result of the States Assembly decision, new regulations to the Social Security (Jersey) Law 1974 was updated on the 24th November 2020 and parents with babies due to be born or adopted on or after 1st January 2021 could apply for the new Parental Benefits. These benefits replaced the previous maternity benefits with a set of more modern parental benefits that are available to both parents. There were 3 contributory benefits which helped parents with the cost of having and caring for a new child, they were:

- Maternity Grant

- Maternity Allowance payable for up to 18 weeks

- Adoptive Parent Grant. Currently, only birth mothers can claim the first 2 benefits.

The new Parental Benefits replace these with two new benefits. The Parental Allowance allows both parents to claim for up to a total of 32 weeks, which can be split between them. Adoptive and surrogate parents are able to claim as well as birth parents. The Maternity Grant has been updated to include adoptive and surrogate parents, becoming the "Parental Grant". The contributory eligibility requirements for parents, the weekly amount of the allowance and the total amount of the grant remain the same under these changes.

9. Take-up of funded nursery education

Pre-school year (3-4 years)

The Government of Jersey (GOJ) currently subsidises places in Early Years settings for children in their pre-school year by providing 20 hours of funded nursery education per week during term-time (i.e. 38 weeks per year).[44] These funded hours can be accessed by families in a range of settings, including States nursery classes (attached to States primary schools), pre-schools, and day nurseries (that typically offer longer hours, year-round).

Current take-up of places in pre-school settings (Autumn 2019)

Note: All figures are for children in their pre-school year. Other settings include five children at Mont a L'Abbe, 12 children at St Christopher's School, and 22 children at Little Dragons Nursery (at St George's Preparatory School).

Source: Data provided by Government of Jersey.

As shown above States nursery classes currently provide places for over half of the current cohort of pre-school age children, with the private sector fulfilling the remaining demand.

5  Engagement and consultation

In order to develop policy proposals that generate insight and evidence, with particular relevance to the Jersey experience, the Board studied all relevant national and international research and revisited previous local reviews (EYCP:2017, JCRT:2017). In addition, the Board commissioned three further pieces of work:

- Early Years Engagement Event (July 2019)

- Parents/Carers Focus Groups: 4Insight (December 2019)

- Early Years Market Analysis and Modelling: Oxera (March 2020)

1. Previous work

1001 Critical Days and Early Years Taskforce

In 2015 Jersey supported the 1001 Critical Days Manifesto highlighting the importance of acting early to give children a positive start in life. In 2016 the Chief Minister established a 1001 Critical Days and Early Years Taskforce which commissioned a review of the operating model of the Bridge and Samares Pathway, reformed the Early Years Childhood Partnership, evaluated the Early Help project, embedded the MECSH (Maternal Early Child hood Sustained Home visiting programme), piloted a universal antenatal offer (Baby Steps) and engaged with UBS Optimus via National Children's Bureau to commence an Early Childhood Development programme.

Review of Early Childhood Education in Jersey' (2017) by the Early Years Childhood Partnership (EYCP) Task and Finish Group

During Autumn 2017, the Early Years Childhood Partnership (now called Best Start Partnership) was requested by the Minister for Education to:

- review the education funded services available to children in the academic year in which they turn 4 years of age

- identify how services for pre-school children (0 – 5 years) should be structured in the future to ensure the needs of the child and family are best met.

A task and finish group comprising representatives from Children's Policy, Childcare and Early Years Services, Jersey Early Years Association, a Primary School Headteacher and JCCT met from April to October 2017. Dr Cathy Hamer, (Chair of the Early Years Childhood Partnership), chaired the group.

The group reviewed the evidence for what matters in promoting children's learning and wellbeing in the early years, the benefits of early investment and an overview of the Jersey context including the early years workforce, capacity, demand and funding. The recommendations were set out according to three high level principles. See Appendix 1.

Jersey Community Relations Trust: Cost of Childcare Research Report (2017)

In 2017 the Jersey Community Relations Trust commissioned BDO Greenlight to research the costs of childcare in Jersey and its social and economic impact on the local community. The report focused on five core areas each with associated recommendations. See Appendix 2.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)

In 2014 the States agreed to pay "close attention" to the Convention under a "due regard" model. In March 2019 a report was commissioned by the government to help it decide if it would make a "full and direct" incorporation of the UNCRC into Jersey law. Research by the Observatory on Human Rights of Children at Swansea University found that while the island was compliant with "the majority of UNRC articles", there were "major pieces of legislation" falling short.

2. Early Years Engagement Event (July 2019)

A public engagement event was held on 12.7.19 to generate local insight and thinking to assist the Early Years Policy Development Board in the development of future policy. Two drop-in sessions were attended by a wide range of stakeholders including parents, professionals and providers of Early Years Services. The event was externally facilitated with practitioners setting the agenda and local convenors supporting the identification of particular themes in order to identify key issues and elicit statements for the attention of the Board.

The themes explored were:

- What is available and who provides what?

- Who is in charge? Accountability/Responsibility and Government Subsidies

- Choice

- Attachment/Anxiety/Feeling secure/Maternal Mental Health

- Training

- Food/Nutrition/Weight/Obesity and Breastfeeding

- Providing a service for everyone – inclusion/disabilities/people who are hard to reach

- Language and Communication in the Early Years

The issues raised and areas for consideration are detailed at Appendix 1. The findings are incorporated into the evidence for the policy proposals.

3. Parents/Carers Focus Groups: 4Insight (December 2019)

To understand more about the opinions and experiences of Parents/Carers during their child's Early Years (from conception to five years old) the EYPDB commissioned 4insight to run 6 focus groups with parents and carers from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds.

The aim was to understand parental viewpoints and experiences of Early Childhood Care and Education, identify the key themes for parents and identify potential areas for policy change.

Specific objectives included exploring:

- What support is or should be available?

- What services do families have or should have access to?

- What advice or information is considered important and whether it is easily located/accessed or not?

- What do parents/carers understand Early Childhood Education to be and to what extent and what elements do they see the Government being responsible for?

- What challenges do parents/carers face in the period from conception to five? (including emotional, social, financial)

- When do parents/carers believe they need help most and who do they think is best placed to offer it?

The findings are incorporated into the evidence for the policy proposals. The report is available at Appendix 4. It shows that four key themes emerged:

• Costs – Childcare, financial cost of working vs not working

• Breastfeeding – Lack of support

• Lack of support – Access to information, emotional and practical support

- Parental leave - Lengthen paid maternity leave

4. Early Years Market Analysis and Modelling: Oxera (March 2020)

In support of its overarching objectives, the EYPDB commissioned Oxera to assess the impact of changing some aspects of the current Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) policy. Specifically:

• extending funded hours for pre-school children from 20 to 30 per week

• extending funded hours for pre-school children to year-round (rather than term-time only)

• extending funded hours to 2–3-year-olds

In addition, Oxera were asked to consider the potential impact of government policy that sought to encourage ECEC settings to take on more highly qualified staff (including, potentially, qualified teachers or Childhood Studies graduates).

The work was undertaken in two phases. Phase 1 of the work involved a diagnostic analysis of the state of the ECEC sector in Jersey. This was based on discussions with ECEC providers and the EYPDB, as well as research of publicly available information. Phase 2 examined the potential impact on the ECEC market of the potential policy changes set out above.

Oxera were not able to obtain sufficient data to analyse quantitatively the potential impact of government policy that sought to encourage ECEC settings to take on more highly qualified staff, but noted the observations made by providers in the sector in relation to this policy area.

The Phase 1 initial review led to the following conclusions:

- The current mixed model of ECEC settings provides choice for families

- Most children in Jersey attend a formal ECEC setting in their pre-school year

- The sector requires holistic policymaking

- Provision of NEF-funded hours makes it more affordable for parents to return to work

- States nursery class capacity is well-matched to demand, but there are geographical variations

- There is spare capacity in States nursery classes in the afternoons

- The current NEF hourly rate may not be sufficient to cover costs

- If the NEF hourly rate is below the cost of providing ECEC, published prices are likely to be higher than they might otherwise be

- Settings recognise the value of staff qualifications, but feel that these must be relevant to ECEC and that experience is also important

In Phase 2 the analysis of the likely impact of the potential policy changes, was divided into general observations, and more specific observations in relation to a potential expansion of the NEF scheme.

General observations:

- A key driver of the impact of any change to the NEF scheme on an ECEC setting is how the NEF hourly rate relates to the underlying average cost of provision

- Utilisation of capacity in private ECEC settings is a key driver of financial sustainability

- Pre-schools are less resilient to changes in the NEF policy

- In relation to a potential expansion of the NEF scheme:

- An expansion of the NEF scheme from 20 to 30 hours a week would not lead to significant cost for States nurseries.

- Expansion of the NEF scheme to year-round could create market distortions

- The cost of providing ECEC to 2–3-year-olds is significantly higher than for 3–4-year-olds

- There are a limited number of settings currently able to accept 2–3-year-olds

Oxera's report is available at Appendix 5.

6  Policy proposals

1. Policy 1: Integrated Early Years Best Start' Offer

The Board recommend the establishment of a universal integrated Best Start' offer to children and families from conception to five. This means that from the start of life children and families are at the heart of delivery of joined up services.

1. Why is this important?

- There is a lack of support (40% families have no family support on the Island), lack of affordable or free opportunities to create support networks.

- There have been repeated requests for universally available community-based hubs.

- There is a mixed market economy of part-subsidised private sector and fully funded States sector provision along with charitable funding.

- There is a need for the overall coordination of services and information.

- Currently there are structural issues of access, funding, workforce and type of provision with fragmented services. This creates unnecessary discontinuity for many children and inconvenience for parents.

2. Evidence for change

Key insights from commissioned work:

"every family to have easy access to integrated services through Children's Centres in their local community, offering information, health, family support, childcare and other services for parents and children" 10-year strategy 2004 UK

High-quality local services for children, parents and families should be founded on the following six principles:

- "proportionate universalism", so services are available to all but targeted in proportion to the level of need,

- prevention and early intervention,

- community partnerships,

- a focus on meeting the needs of marginalised groups,

- greater integration and better multi-agency working,

- evidence-based provision.[45]

The quality of the early home learning environment (HLE) is critical to a child's development in addition to high quality Early Years settings.

An integrative approach understands Care' as an ethic of care' defining how children and adults should relate to each other in all services and is an intrinsic part of all services for all children, irrespective of their parents' employment status.[46] All early childhood services should as a matter of course recognise the needs of employed parents. Overall to echo the goals of the Swedish preschool curriculum, early childhood services should be equally concerned with enhancing children's care and security, self-esteem and well-being, and development and learning.[47]

3. How could we do this?

Recognising the centrality of health to an integrated early childhood system, and that education and care are inseparable, requires the bringing together all partners with parents to co-produce a Best Start offer, which is accessible and inclusive, based on giving all children the best start in life, Best Start Plus to achieve equity of outcomes and Best Start Together recognising the strength of children, families and services working in partnership to achieve the best possible outcomes for all children. The Best Start Partnership with its strong stakeholder and multi-agency representation could provide oversight from policy through to practice to ensure continuous improvement. Typically, this would include coordination to ensure effective and holistic planning, piloting, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of a range of programmes to create a family journey from parents-to-be through to children settled in school.

Learning from Samares Pathways Child and Family Centre should be reviewed to inform future integrated service development. Clear links with Closer to Home, Right Help Right Time and the Children and Families Hub are vital in ensuring an offer which works for all children and families.

Identify a clear role with responsibility and capacity for driving forward a strategy to achieve a Best Start for ALL children, developing an early years journey map' with points to measure, experiences to improve and an effective accountability framework. The provision of a Jersey offer' would enable families to understand the services available and their entitlement.

4. Outcomes

• Improved experience of children and families throughout their early years.

• Improved outcomes for all children during the early years impacting on future life outcomes.

2. Policy 2: Family Friendly Measures

The Board recommends that the vital role of families is continued to be recognised through a family friendly legilsation which enables parents to have choice in relation to parenting (childrearing).

1. Why is this important?

The Board broadly welcome the current measures but are concerned that it is not financially viable for the majority of parents to stay at home for child rearing, particularly when children are in their first year of life and this would be of the greatest benefit.

The childcare / education division is accentuated by different forms of public funding – services providing early education' are funded directly by the Government. Childcare' is part funded by tax or benefit-based subsidies and parental leave is paid for by employers.

2. Evidence for change

Key insights from commissioned work:

3. How could we do this?

The Board were particularly interested in universally improving the financial support made available to parents in the first years of a child's life. Further policy consideration should be given to extending financial support to parents who want to rear their child at home during the first year of the child's life.

This policy area should be included as part of previous Government commitments to review the wider current tax and benefits system. The Board does recognise that these reviews would require long term planning and partnership work across Ministerial portfolios (particularly in view of the connection with childcare tax relief) as well as working closely with stakeholders and industry groups.

In conjunction with fiscal measures, the Board were supportive of further evidence-based improvements in the quality of home-based support for new parents and families. For example, Health Visitors, from Family Nursing and Home Care, have successfully attained Level 1 of the UNICEF Baby Friendly Standards. Further development of this work, supporting breastfeeding and good infant nutrition will help parents to develop close and loving relationships with their babies.

4. Outcomes

- Child / parent bonding and attachment are strengthened, supporting family wellbeing

- Parents are able to exercise choice in their work / life balance

- Investment in the early home learning environment creates a commitment to outcomes for children creating savings in later services

3. Policy 3: 'Best Start Plus'

The Board recommends an early education offer for 2-3-year olds, initially to children at risk of disadvantage.

1. Why is this important?

- Currently there is no government education offer for 2-3-year olds.

- Best Start Plus nursery places are available through Jersey Child Care Trust's charitable offer.

- The outcomes for children from different groups vary at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Evidence shows that those children identified as being eligible for the Jersey Premium are not doing as well as their peers. Earlier access to a high-quality offer of early childhood education could ensure the achievement gap between those groups is narrowed and more children attain the Early Learning Goals.

2. Evidence for change

Key insights from commissioned work:

The cost of providing ECEC to 2–3-year-olds is significantly higher than for 3–4-year-olds There are a limited number of settings currently able to accept 2–3-year-olds

Several studies evidence the negative impact of ECEC marketisation on disadvantaged children's equitable access to good-quality provision656667

3. How could we do this?

While the Board's aspiration is to provide a universal early education offer for 2 – 3-year olds it is recognised that this will be a longer-term goal. In the first instance, a funding infrastructure would be required along with a scoping programme to consider how children of this age at risk of disadvantage could be identified, placements sourced and offers made to families. While the initial focus is on children with identified developmental needs, extension to a universal offer is proposed as part of a longer-term plan.

Eligibility for the funded hours could be from the start of the Autumn Term (September) after a child turns 2 until they start at school the academic year after they turn 4.

Scoping of a range of providers could provide information about the availability of places which would also be informed by the Best Start Plus nursery places currently organised by JCCT and funded from multiple charitable sources. Determinants of quality provision, the rate of funding, commissioning and administration arrangements would need to be put in place.

4. Outcomes

- Children have the benefit of part-time good quality early education from the age of two

- Reduction in inequalities in foundation stage development

65 Blanden, J., Del Bono, E., McNally, S. and Rabe, B. (2016) Universal preschool education: The case of public funding with private provision'. The Economic Journal, 126 (May), 682–723.

66 Paull, G. and Xu, X. (2017) Study of Early Education and Development (SEED): The potential value for money of early education; Research report. London: Department for Education. Online. https:// assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/ file/627095/Frontier_SEED_VfM_Report.pdf (accessed 21 August 2020).

67 Campbell, T., Gambaro, L. and Stewart, K. (2018) "Universal" early education: Who benefits? Patterns in take-up of the entitlement to free early education among three-year-olds in England'.

British Educational Research Journal, 44 (3), 515–38.

4. Policy 4: Establishing an integrated progress review

The Board recommends the establishment of an integrated progress review for young children involving the child, parents, health and early education services.

1. Why is this important?

At present the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ3)[54] is completed at 2 years as part of the health and development review in the Healthy Child Programme. It is undertaken by a Health Visitor in conjunction with the parent/s. There is a lack of any further consistent information on children until they are in school.

Early identification of difficulties is key to providing early intervention and effective support to children at risk of poor outcomes, having the potential to resolve issues prior to a child starting school.

2. Evidence for change

Key insights from commissioned work:

3. How could we do this?

An integrated approach to the review is required to ensure it is holistic and provides a complete view of the child. This would involve the child, parents, health visitor and early years setting as well as any additional services.

The focus would be on the health, development, wellbeing and needs of the child along with identifying any areas for support i.e. to review the child's progress, strengths and needs in order to promote positive outcomes in health and wellbeing, physical, personal, social and emotional and communication and language.

The aims are:

- to facilitate appropriate intervention and support for children and their families, especially those for whom progress is less than expected

- to generate information which can be used to plan services and contribute to the reduction of inequalities in children's outcomes.

Planning would need to consider child and family engagement, the location, staffing, recording of the findings of the review and the use of information generated along with support services as required.

Exploration of the incorporation of other checks e.g. dental check / oral health / healthy weight could be undertaken to provide added value.

4. Outcomes

- Children's needs identified in a timely way and intervention provided prior to starting school

- Parents have the opportunity to raise concerns they may have and receive support

- Transition to school improved.

5. Policy 5: Consolidation of educational entitlement

The Board recommends the consolidation of an educational entitlement for all children (3 – 4-year olds) with a future extension to 30 hours during term time[55].

1. Why is this important?

- Good coverage and take up of nursery places

- Mixed market offers choice for parents

- The determination of the Nursery Education Fund (NEF) rate is important for childcare businesses

- There is inequity in the workforce and ratios between the States and Private sectors.

2. Evidence for change

Key insights from commissioned work:

start of secondary school).[58] In addition, the amount of time spent in Early Years settings also had positive effects in terms of higher GCSE scores in English and Maths.[59] This effect was found to be stronger for students whose parents had lower qualifications, suggesting that high quality pre- school has the potential to narrow the equity gap in achievement between those from well- educated families and those whose parents have more modest qualifications'.[60]

The existing evidence shows that improvements in child development at age three and age four can be linked to later monetary benefits from reduced SEN, truancy, school exclusion, crime, smoking and depression and from improved employment rates and earnings. Thus, education benefits become economic benefits.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimated that those who attended some pre-school would earn £27,000 more over their lifetimes than those who didn't, and an additional £12,500 on top of this if they attended a good pre-school. This translates into a saving of £16,000 to the Exchequer in terms of more tax paid or fewer benefits paid, per child who attends a high quality pre-school compared to none.[61]

3. How could we do this?

Maintain the current level of Early Years provision offered through the NEF, making the top-up a permanent part of the base budget.

The under use of school nursery classes should be reviewed to consider increased take up at no significant additional cost. This could be achieved by reviewing the criteria for additional hours and / or giving consideration to flexibility of provision e.g. through the provision of wraparound care provided by partnerships between School nursery classes and the Private sector based on the term time offer. Models could be piloted to decrease the spare capacity of afternoon nursery places and increase flexibility for families. In the medium term, an extension of the NEF would provide access for all children to a high-quality setting placement and assist the delivery of wider initiatives with integrated early years services and a strong local Early Help offer.

Private nurseries registered under the terms of the Daycare of Children (Jersey) Law are subject to a quality and compliance review at least once every two years. This robust process looks at their levels of compliance with the statutory requirements for early years providers and also appraises their standards of quality against a recently introduced (2019) Quality Framework. This would ensure that high quality practice and provision could be monitored, challenged and supported through the review system, meaning that children could experience the same offer across both States and private sector nurseries. The funding rates to allow parity and equity across the system would need to be considered in order for a consistent experience to be mirrored, e.g. graduate/Qualified Teacher in each setting, levels of support for children with Special Educational Needs and Disability.

4. Outcomes

- Children are well prepared for transition to school

- Parents have choice of provision

- Providers have clarity regarding the rate of funding for places

6. Policy 6: Introduction of a transformation fund

The Board recommends the introduction of a transformation fund to recognise and enable a graduate workforce in private nursery settings providing pedagogical leadership within each setting.

1. Why is this important?

- Early Years workforce is a key influence on provision quality and hence children's well-being, enjoyment and developmental outcomes.

- Education settings comprise an almost entirely graduate workforce whereas in the private sector there are few graduates.

- Pay and employment conditions for qualified teachers in Government funded schools contrast starkly with those of childcare workers in the private sector.

- Promoting professionalism within the early years and childcare sector through recognition and registration are important underpinning principles.

Degree level training is already available in Jersey as Highlands College currently offer:

- BA(Hons) Childhood Studies

- FdA Childhood Studies

- CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Childcare and Education

- CACHE Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship for the Children and Young People's Workforce – Early Years Educator Pathway

- CACHE Level 2 Certificate for the Children and Young People's Workforce

- CACHE Introduction to Early Years settings

2. Evidence for change

Key insights from commissioned work:

teacher. The goal is that 100% of the workforce should hold a benchmark, graduate qualification. [67]Already about three-quarters (76 per cent) of early childhood practitioners in licensed teacher- led services hold this qualification, making the New Zealand

ECEC workforce the best qualified in the world.

In Denmark where all children from the age of 6 months to 6 years entitlement to a full-time place in an early childhood centre. The main occupation in Danish centres is a pedagogue, who holds a bachelor's degree. Around 60 per cent of staff in centres are pedagogues; the remainder are pedagogue co-helpers, who are often gaining experience before undertaking the bachelor degree programme.

Jersey is similar to England in that those working in early years education are primarily female and hold a degree level qualification. Childminders and workers in childcare settings comprise few graduates and are even more likely to be female.[68]

The latest official survey of ECEC providers in England (DfE 2018a, 9) confirmed that 11 per cent of practitioners aged over 25 years working in group-based childcare settings earned hourly wages below the mandatory national living wage. [69] Specific research and analysis is required to identify how this finding compares to the sector in Jersey.

3. How could we do this?

Achieving pedagogical leadership in private settings through graduate / teacher engagement would require the establishment of criteria for consideration for funding eligibility, e.g. setting numbers, practitioners working directly with children and levels of quality and inclusive practice.

Creating an early years' workforce working party would facilitate investigation of key requirements for the implementation of the transformation fund ensuring that evaluation and impact of the investment were monitored in relation to outcomes both for children and staff. Capacity, capability, skill mix of staff and considerations of different providers across government, private, community and voluntary.

Through the validation of the professional and educational achievements of early years professionals, a registry would help raise the status of the profession by promoting a well-trained, educated, supported and fairly compensated workforce.

4. Outcomes

• Improved outcomes for children based in graduate based settings

• Graduates staying within the early years sector for longer

• Greater cross-over of staff between parts of sector

7 Overarching requirements

The Government will need to make a legislative commitment to early years education.

- The policy proposals will require political agreement and oversight.

- Support and buy-in is required through collaboration and consultation with key stakeholders.

- Transparent and effective governance and accountability of implementation will be required to support improved outcomes.

- Clarity of leadership is essential with a focus on prevention and early intervention.

- Shared metrics and data sharing need agreement across agencies and services.

1. Strategic Approach

The Best Start Partnership is well placed to oversee the putting of policy into practice reporting to the Children's Strategic Partnership Board.

Strategic priorities:

- Improving health and development outcomes for babies and young children

- Support for parents to nurture their child's development

- Keeping children safe and building family resilience

- Continue to improve the quality of all our services for children and families

- Build a high-quality Early Years workforce

Thus, the strategy will contribute to raising standards by:

- Being grounded in evidence

- Having a key focus on improving practice

- Having stronger governance arrangements to drive forward improvement

- Building on a strong partnership acknowledging the vital importance of all partners' commitment to improving outcomes

- Establishing clear and consistent priorities based on shared metrics

- Addressing inequality

- Focussing on inclusion, prevention and early intervention

2. Headline timeline

The proposals are mapped on a short, medium- and long-term basis with costings where direct funding is identified and additional funding is required linked to the Government Plan bid. Where costings are known these are included below.

3. Improving Metrics and Performance Management

The Children and Young People's Plan and Future Jersey enable evaluation of any policy that is developed and implemented. Both documents were developed using Outcomes Based Accountability (OBA) which has a focus on measurement of any difference made (turn the curve) focusing on specific population outcomes.

At the launch of Future Jersey, it was acknowledged that the framework would evolve over time. New, improved indicators would be developed, and the framework could also be extended to track the contribution and performance of public services. Jersey's new Performance Framework, launched in January 2020, represents the first step in this evolution.

4. Education Law

The inclusion of an Early Childhood Education entitlement should be made within the current review and revisions to the Education Law for Jersey. This would enable early years to be recognised as a significant and integral part of Jersey's commitment to supporting the educational rights of all children in their formative years.

5. Implementationof proposed policies

A comprehensive action plan will be required to implement the proposed policies with an emphasis on task and finish groups to deliver the policy proposals through setting clear workstream objectives.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Review of Early Childhood Education in Jersey' (2017) by the Early Years Childhood Partnership (EYCP) Task and Finish Group

During Autumn 2017, the Early Years Childhood Partnership (now called Best Start Partnership) was requested by the Minister for Education to:

- review the education funded services available to children in the academic year in which they turn 4 years of age

- identify how services for pre-school children (0 – 5 years) should be structured in the future to ensure the needs of the child and family are best met.

A task and finish group comprising representatives from Children's Policy, Childcare and Early Years Services, Jersey Early Years Association, a Primary School Headteacher and JCCT met from April to October 2017. Dr Cathy Hamer, (Chair of the Early Years Childhood Partnership), chaired the group.

The group reviewed the evidence for what matters in promoting children's learning and wellbeing in the early years, the benefits of early investment and an overview of the Jersey context including the early years workforce, capacity, demand and funding.

The recommendations were set out according to three high level principles: Principle 1: High Quality for All

Children and parents should be able to access high quality early years provision defined by the following characteristics of quality to establish child and family focussed Early Childhood Education.

A highly qualified diverse workforce: Multiple studies have shown that having highly qualified staff is the biggest indicator of quality.

Consistent standards and benchmarking with quality assurance through external monitoring. This should include long-term impact evaluation to support continuous improvement.

Parents are supported to promote early home learning: The impact of the early home learning environment and high-quality settings (and the collaboration between the two) will determine successful outcomes for children beyond the early years. How this is developed by practitioners and providers is a measure of quality.

Principle 2: Accessible

Parents/carers and children should have free access to early childhood education that meets their needs

A universal offer: Every child aged 3 – 4 years in the year prior to their entry to statutory schooling (Reception) as a minimum.

Responsive to parent and child voice: This voice' should inform policy development and not be sought after policy implementation.

Locality: Capacity should also be considered where demand is greatest

Inclusive: Access should be granted to all families regardless of circumstances, financial or social background, individual child need or any other categorisation. Parity and equity of access is paramount.

Parity: Private, public and community provision must co-exist in the interest of meeting the needs of working and/or disadvantaged families and those whose children have specific needs.

Reactive to demographics: As with school planning, this should be transparent and ongoing, providing long term projections to inform policy and infrastructure requirements.

Principle 3: Choice and flexibility

The offer should be pertinent to family settings, work patterns and personal preference with parents and carers able to understand the options available.

Information: A diverse range of providers in the private, public, voluntary or community sector should be encouraged and supported in an effort to deliver flexibility and choice across the pathway.

Providers working in partnership: Information regarding any published and promoted universal offer must be up to date and clearly available. Advocates for families and children, charities and government agencies must be regularly and actively consulted if any policy deviation is to be considered.

Flexibility and responsivity: Wrap around provision including flexible opening hours, staggered start times and session options must be available to support take up of the core universal offer.

Appendix 2: Jersey Community Relations Trust: Cost of Childcare Research Report (2017)

In 2017 the Jersey Community Relations Trust commissioned BDO Greenlight to research the costs of childcare in Jersey and its social and economic impact on the local community. The report focused on five core areas each with associated recommendations. These were as follows:

Area of Focus 1: Strategy

The appointment of a Children's Commission and the development of a clearly defined strategy to support the most vulnerable families to ensure children have affordable access to quality pre-school childcare.

Area of Focus 2: Communication

The development and implementation of a communication strategy with input from all stakeholders in the development of a cohesive "family-centred plan" along with the development of a single source of easy to understand and accessible information regarding childcare in the Island.

Area of Focus 3: Social implications

The undertaking of further research on the support required by lower income parents and the challenges they face with regard to childcare with the long-term aspiration of subsidised childcare given to parents of the most vulnerable children from birth to school age for the full calendar year.

Area of Focus 4: Commercial

The gathering of information on the availability of trained staff and industry specific training available in the Island to develop a consistent stream of professional childcare providers. A framework for childcare staff with support for employers with staff training costs and consideration of the introduction of wrap-around care for children up to five and beyond.

Area of Focus 5: Research

Further research into a) capacity and demand in relation to the childcare market b) the current statutory leave and pay available to parents and c) support for students with English as an additional language.

Appendix 3: Engagement Day Insights: Providers, Agencies, Parents & Voluntary Sector (July 2019)

A public engagement event was held on 12.7.19 to generate local insight and thinking to assist the Early Years Policy Development Board in the development of future policy. Two drop in sessions were attended by a wide range of stakeholders including parents, professionals and providers of Early Years Services. The event was externally facilitated with practitioners setting the agenda and local convenors supporting the identification of particular themes in order to identify key issues and elicit statements for the attention of the Board.

The themes explored, issues raised and areas for consideration were as follows: What is available and who provides what?

(Convenor: Alice Bennion, Jersey Parent Carer Forum)

Issue: Do all parents/carers understand the processes and provisions along the Early Years Pathway?

Responses: The goal must be to formulate a Jersey Offer' which provides accurate and timely information about services and their entitlement to parents and is deliverable.

Early years policy for 3 – 4 years old should explore increasing school special educational needs and disability (SEND) budgets to include the nursery years. Funding and support should be provided across both private and public nurseries to address disparity.

Who is in Charge? Accountability / Responsibility and Government subsidies

(Convenors: Gillian Arthur, Every Child Our Future; Tanya Brint and Paul Rourke (Nursery owners); Mell Le Cornu (Centre point Trust)

Issues: With so many strands, who is ultimately responsible for delivering' the result and what exactly does the result look like? Government subsidies for early years. Social workers experience difficulty finding funding for children who do not meet age or other criteria.

Responses: Appoint an individual with ultimate responsibility to drive the stated goals to achieve a Best Start for ALL children to ensure a strategy with clear objectives (living and breathing) that can be driven forward even after this Council of Ministers leave.

Define and unravel the Early Years Roadmap revealing all the agencies that touch' a family and child along the journey. Provide points to measure, experiences to improve and ultimately an effective accountability framework for Government.

Government commitment to facilitate access to Early Years provision for all children from 0 – 5 by providing families with sufficient funding.

Provide clarity on longer term (3 – 5 years) financing to allow family and provider planning and to ensure equity of funding in the current, and any future, system between States and non-States sectors.

Give consideration to funded nursery places for all two year olds.

Focus on the recruitment and retention of social workers, upskilling the childcare sector to achieve parity with the teaching profession including appropriate pay.

Choice

(Convenor: Tanja Haynes, Centre Point Trust)

Issue: Parental choice in choosing a nursery that is best for their family (and the pressure they receive from Income Support)

Responses: Recognition that families need a fair choice to access additional hours where they choose.

Understand the pressure faced by working parents to very young children including childcare allowances (tax/income support), support from employers (breastfeeding etc.), all year round need (extended funded nursery hours, continuity of care for the child

Attachment/Anxiety/Feeling secure/Maternal mental health

(Convenors: Susan Devlin, Children's Services; Tricia Tumelty, Parenting Services; Belinda Lewis , Jersey Early Years Association; Dawn Cresswell, Family Nursing and Home Care (FNHC))

Issues: How can we support positive and secure attachment, e.g. knowledge skills, etc, practical tools and engagement with parents? Think Family: Help parents be free from anxiety in order that the child can also be free from anxiety. Early Years Mental Health – access to perinatal and maternal mental health.

Responses: Every decision the policy board makes will work towards encouraging the development of positive attachments for Jersey's children in their earliest years, building a society where everybody understands attachment. Steps to take include making care giving and parenting an easier choice (e.g. children friendly employment practice, tax incentives, flexible hours, working from home, parental leave etc.); recognising that many families in Jersey are unusually isolated; providing training for teachers, parents and professionals etc.; recognise and take seriously, make courageous decisions about the reality of our divided society and the impact it has on the Early Years (current policy often undermines our ability to form attachments).

There needs to be more meaningful involvement with, and a voice for families – a universally accessible, safe, joined up, independent, child and family hub.

Inclusive polices for families with a Minister for children and families to oversee the design and development of family policies across government through ongoing consultation with families and the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Recognition that mental health challenges in the perinatal stage and early years are normally and to be expected and resourced with a dedicated, fully resourced perinatal mental health service including open/unrestricted referral system, clinical psychologist, specialist nurses and psychiatrist.

Training

(Convenors: Sophie Moulson and Janine Dayell-Baker, Highlands College; Gail Sparrow, Bethesda Pre-school)

Issues: High quality training available and accessible for all e.g. voluntary sector and all those working with children 0 – 3 before they start nursery. Quality of training for Early Years staff.

Responses: More Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training available for all.

Pulling together in one place (a portal) where all resources and courses are available for all working in the sector (e.g.'s Safeguarding Partnership Board website and Skills Jersey's work with other industries)

Interviews for full time childcare students

Upskilling of nursery staff hosting placement students with a resourced coaching development/training CPD offer.

Food/Nutrition/Weight/Obesity and Breastfeeding

(Convenors: Susan Burry, Public Health; Louisa Lempriere, Parent Rep; JCCT, Susan Wright, FNHC)

Issues: How to address the issue of 20% children in reception being overweight or obese? Breastfeeding – recognised benefits for child's outcomes

Responses: There is a lack of consistent nutrition information (signposting), advice and education – pre-natal, children, parents and professionals, Jersey and beyond

Create a consistent Early Years nutrition framework (similar to the Early Years Foundation Stage) that works for children, parents and professions.

Better signposting to nutrition information (single source)

More education and training for children, parents and professionals (like Health, Exercise & Nutrition for the Really Young (HENRY) programme)

The opportunity to increase support for continued breastfeeding by ensuring its inclusion in the curriculum on childcare course.

Explore how Childcare regulations can be utilised to ensure staff knowledge and practice, and that facilities support parents with continued breastfeeding.

Providing a service for everyone – inclusion/disabilities/people who are hard to reach

(Natalie Spooner, Children's Services; Fiona Vacher, JCCT; Caroline Costello, Autism Jersey; Claire Harvey, FNHC; Shane Jennings, Child Development Centre

Issues: Better support, resources and educational provision for children with hidden disabilities. Statutory right for children with SEN and/ord disabilities to access the private and voluntary mainstream day nurseries and pre-schools from birth. Early help for pre-school children. No family support worker for pre-schools, limited availability of nursery funding for 0 – 3 year olds especially where English is not first language. How do we ensure that services are inclusive of children with the most complex development needs?

Responses: The Board should take notice of the diverse make-up of the Island and ensure services are targeted to meet specific needs (celebrate diversity), providing greater access to support from conception onwards and better representation amongst professionals of other cultures and languages with consistent messaging regarding English as an Additional Language. The current system is defined by inequality (parent choice/geography/funding stream/inconsistent quality.

The Board should also take notice of recruitment issues negatively impacting on children, demand and referral routes increasing with insufficient resources to meet the needs of children and families (staff and funding). Spend in the Early Years is preventative – invest to save. The SEN Code of Practice is not fully implemented and not statutory. Transitions are vulnerable times for families with children with complex needs.

Develop a local offer for Jersey, based on the principle of equity, which is co-produced with families and which features: defined entitlement, a clear system and process map to understand pathways, increased transparency of offer across public/private and voluntary sectors, a lead worker for children with a team around them.

Explore and fund SEND training requirements to build capacity in all day care settings.

Amend Day Care of Children Law registration to expand SEN Code of Practice to private nurseries as a registration requirement.

Ensure smooth transitions between support services i.e. Health to Education'.

Access to Family Support Workers for under 3s aligned to Early Help (conception to 18) Targeted access to the Nursery Education Fund from 2 years.

Language and Communication in the Early Years

(Convenors: Jennifer McDonald and Cathy Sandlant, Speech and Language Therapists (SALT))

Responses: Understanding that education does not start at nursery. Some families don't access traditional play groups as their child is different and they feel judged by other parents. JELLY clubs used as a resource to support children and families pre-nursery. They offered a judgement free playgroup'.

Access to interpreting services in school nurseries to provide a differential diagnosis between EAL and language learning difficulties allows timely identification of difficulties.

Ensuring that the most vulnerable children attend two year development check so timely referrals to SALT are made.

Understand the importance of early communication and interaction (what does good look like?

A whole system approach to planning and developing services in the Early Years. Early Years SALT to have joint initiatives with Education, e.g. ideas to maximise – communication skills from pre-birth.

Foundation skills for education are communication skills. This needs an overall vision from Health and Education. An overall plan to ensure appropriate stimulation and opportunities at an early age.

Appendix 4: Parents/Carers Focus Groups: 4insight (December 2019)

Please see accompanying reports on the Early Years Policy Development Board website which can be found here:

https://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government%20and%20administration/R%20EYPDB %204insight%20Focus%20Groups%20Summary%20Presentation.pdf

Appendix 5: Market Review and Analysis: Oxera Report (Jan 2020)

Please see accompanying reports on the Early Years Policy Development Board website which can be found here:

https://www.gov.je/SiteCollectionDocuments/Government%20and%20administration/R%20EYPDB %20Update%20on%20OXERA%20Board%20Report.pdf

Appendix 6: Key Population Outcome Measures in the Children and Young People's Plan

The Children and Young People's Plan will enable evaluation of policy that is developed and implemented. It has been developed using Outcomes Based Accountability (OBA) which has a focus on measurement of any difference made (turn the curve) focusing on specific population outcomes.

Outcome 1: All Children in Jersey Grow Up Safely

Children live in families that live in parishes that make up our Island of Jersey. Ensuring that all children grow up in loving families is fundamental to children growing to be fulfilled adults. When some families need help, we know that a timely non-judgemental approach is key to building trusting relationships that support families to work through challenges. Where children cannot live with their family then government needs to step in to provide the love and nurture every child needs as well as ensuring equal life chances.

Indicator 1: Reduce the number of children being bullied

Indicator 2: Reduce the number of children experiencing high-risk domestic abuse environments Indicator 3: Safely reduce the number of looked after children

Indicator 4: Children who are recorded as victims of crime

Outcome 2: All Children in Jersey Learn & Achieve

Today's children will determine Jersey's future as they become tomorrow's citizens. Development in a child's early years is an important predictor of success in later life. Children who access a high- quality early learning experience are likely to achieve better results at the end of both primary and secondary school. Education plays a key role in determining how someone spends their adult life. Young people leaving education and training prematurely run a greater risk of struggling to find employment and are more likely to work in insecure and low-paid jobs or experience longer periods of unemployment later in life.

Indicator 1: Percentage of pupils demonstrating persistent absenteeism

Indicator 2: Children achieving expected Early Learning Goals

Indicator 3: Percentage of Jersey pupils achieving five or more standard GCSEs

Indicator 4: Percentage of Young People who are not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET)

Outcome 3: All Children in Jersey live Healthy Lives

Good health is an essential foundation for children's quality of life. Often healthy behaviours (e.g. a balanced diet, regular exercise avoidance of tobacco and alcohol) established in childhood can last into adulthood and reduce the chances of developing a chronic condition later in life. Timely access to health services is important in securing a healthy start to life. In addition, wider factors such as good quality housing, active transport, and access to parks and countryside are recognised as having a key role to play in supporting healthy childhoods.

Indicator 1: Children who are a healthy weight

Indicator 2: Percentage of children reaching their developmental milestones at age two Indicator 3: Children who had dental extractions

Indicator 4: Children's Quality of Life

Outcome 4: All Children in Jersey Are Valued and Involved

Only by listening to children's experiences of growing up in Jersey will we be able to understand their achievements and challenges. We know that not all children in Jersey enjoy the same opportunities and life chances due to a variety of circumstances. Jersey has now committed to the incorporation of the UNCRC into domestic law, meaning that all children should enjoy the same rights. A rights-based approach will inform how disadvantage in its variety of forms can be overcome and equality of opportunity for all achieved in Jersey.

Indicator 1: Children who feel their community would act on their ideas Indicator 2: Children who feel their school would act on their ideas Indicator 3: Children's awareness of their rights under the UNCRC Indicator 4: Children's experience of living in a low-income family

Appendix 7: Children and Young People's Plan (2019 -2023) – Specific Detailed Outcomes for Early Years

The priority population outcomes for early years policy include Outcome 2, Indicator 2 and Outcome 3, Indicator 2.

Outcome 2: All Children in Jersey Learn & Achieve

Indicator 2: Children achieving expected Early Learning Goals

Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and Early Learning Goals (ELGs)

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) sets standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to five years old and forms the basis of the curriculum in the foundation stage of primary school (Nursery and Reception).

The Early Learning Goals (ELG) are divided into three prime areas of development and four specific areas of learning. The three prime areas of development consist of:

1. Communication and language,
2. Physical development, and
3. Personal, social and emotional development.

The specific areas of learning are literacy, mathematics, understanding the world and expressive arts and design.

The seventeen Early Learning Goals are:

1. listening and attention,
2. understanding,
3. speaking,
4. moving and handling,
5. health and self-care,
6. self-confidence and self-awareness,
7. managing feelings and behaviour,
8. making relationships,
9. reading,
10. writing, 1
11. numbers,
12. shape space and measures,
13. people and communities,
14. the world,
15. technology,
16. exploring and using media materials, and
17. being imaginative.

Local implementation of Early Learning Goals (ELGs)

- This indicator was first introduced to Jersey in 2015/16 as a pilot study

- Fast growth has already been demonstrated in Jersey between the initial pilot year and 2016/17, and a good upward trend is likely to be seen again for at least 2017/18

- 93% of the 2016/17 Reception cohort (1,084 of 1,168 children) were assessed against the Early Learning Goals. A more holistic picture of children's learning and development can be developed using this analysis and can be used to inform and develop the curriculum in Key Stage 1. Future potential for comparisons with Guernsey and the Isle of Man

- Current focus is on all areas of learning, including characteristics of effective learning. Initial school data shows positive response to increased awareness and analysis of individual children and their learning characteristics in their Reception year

- FNHC s Health Visiting Team lead and deliver on the two-year developmental assessment. This is completed in partnership with the parent/carer and child using the Ages and Stages Questionnaire. This standardized tool used across the U.K. on the Healthy Child Programme. It measures the child's development in five domains. These domains are a focus of the 17 Early Learning Goals. There is therefore an opportunity to correlate the trajectory of children between age two and at the end of the Reception year

- In addition, there is an opportunity, as occurs in areas of the U.K., to integrate the two-year assessment between Health, Education (nursery) and parent/carer and child

- The Early Excellence Assessment Tool (ExAT) an online assessment tool has been purchased for all schools. This provides a sound pedagogical tool which will support the effective tracking of children's progress through the developmental milestones of Development Matters.

National context

When the indicator was introduced in the England in 2013 49% of children were achieving expected or above in all goals. By 2017, 69% of children were achieving expected or above in all goals. The measure was accompanied by investment in early years for example Sure Start and Children's Centres.

What works? A rapid review of evidence

Approaches to improve early learning commonly focus on:

- Improving the home learning environment: evidence consistently points to the importance of the home learning environment in early child development.

- Supporting interaction between early years practitioners and parents

- Addressing parental barriers to supporting their child e.g. poor self-esteem, lack of confidence in own knowledge/abilities

- Early identification and intervention for developmental delays (e.g. at two-year check).

Improving the home learning environment

How parents interact with their children is more important than who parents are. The literature identifies seven key activities that comprise an effective home learning environment. These include:

- Reading with the child

- Singing songs and nursery rhymes

- Painting and drawing

- Playing with letters and numbers

- Visiting the library

- Teaching the alphabet and numbers

- Creating regular opportunities for them to play with their friends at home.

Home-school relationships

Early years education practitioners and settings have a key role to play in supporting parents to develop a good home learning environment (HLE). However, the necessary structural features must be in place to facilitate this. Practitioners' also require a wide range of skills in order to effectively engage with parents to develop a good HLE. These include:

- Good communication skills

- Good knowledge about the importance of a positive home learning environment and how to support parents in developing this

- Ability to engage with parents in a supportive and confident manner

- Ability to recognise which groups of children are vulnerable to learning delay and undertake creative outreach activities to reach these families

- Ability to identify difficulties early and know when and how to involve other specialist services

- Ability to reflect on practice

- Skills in responding to a diversity of families and parents (different countries of origin and cultural background, social class, educational level, fathers and mothers) and to families' changing needs and circumstances

- Make informed, responsive decisions about appropriate activities, pace them to suit individual parents and work flexibly to take account of the stresses parents may be facing in their life.

A number of programmes with a strong evidence base that can be delivered by early years practitioners to promote a good home learning environment through parental engagement, these include:

- Bookstart Plus

- Bookstart Corner

- PEAL

- Making it REAL

- Early Head Start

- Head Start

- Parents As First Teachers.

Whilst these programmes differ in terms of structure and scope, their common components include:

- Home visits

- Development of good quality relationships between practitioners, children and parents

- Information shared between practitioners and parents

- Exchange of free literacy materials

- Parents actively involved in settings, i.e. through volunteering or participating in decision making process

- Group sessions delivered directly to parents in settings.

Addressing parental barriers

Wider parenting skills programmes can better equip parents to support their child's learning. The relevant components will depend on individual circumstances of the parent- for example a focus on parental literacy, self-esteem/confidence, communication skills etc. A range of evidence-based programmes are available, such as Incredible Years.

Early Intervention

Universal and targeted programmes can be employed to improve development when delays have been identified. Again, these will be dependent on the delays identified.

What is already happening in Jersey to address this issue?

- Best Start Partnership re-purposed and advising the Education Minister on Early Years Policy

- Inception of Early Years Policy Development Board

- NCB three-year programme of work via philanthropic investment has led to projects such as Making it REAL literacy programme, Early Year Learning Network and training to support Outcomes Based Accountability

- FNHC established regular reporting on ASQ 2-year check

- Early diagnosis pathway for communication disorders established

- Family Support Workers trained in Triple P programme

- Training in Jersey's Children First – Practice Framework

- Post 1001 days agenda - Parent Infant Psychotherapy Service and Baby Steps Programme established

- Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home Visiting Service established

- Common ante-natal care pathway implemented.

Turn the curve ideas for policy and practice

- Develop approaches to improve home learning environments including the role of children's centres

- Plan and deliver a 3-year development check for those children presenting with developmental delay at age two

- Implement Jersey's Children First – Practice Framework

- Implement Early Years Quality Framework (2018)

Outcome 3: All Children in Jersey live Healthy Lives  

Indicator 2: Percentage of children reaching their developmental milestones at age two Key insights

- Percentage of two-year olds reaching their developmental milestone is already good

- Home learning environment critical during early years

- Delay in communication domain is the most common factor in child not reaching their milestones

- Progress towards universal coverage of the check will increase the number of children measured.

Jersey compared to the UK

- The local indicator of 84% is favourable compared to the UK's most recent report of 75%