Mission opportunity: turning early-years policy into practice
www.nesta.org.uk/event/mission-opportunity-turning-early-years-policy-into-practice/
www.nesta.org.uk/event/mission-opportunity-turning-early-years-policy-into-practice/
Event recording
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The new Labour government’s ‘opportunity mission’ sets out an ambitious vision: breaking the cycle between a child’s background and their outcome, and giving every child the best start in life. With 80% of parents struggling to access services, childcare costs rising, a teaching retention crisis and growing school absence rates, there’s never been a more urgent time to act.
The mission’s milestone is bold. By 2028 the UK government aims for the proportion of 5-year-olds who start school ready to learn to 75% – that means an additional 40,000-45,000 children a year hitting developmental goals. How can this vision be turned into reality and improve young children’s lives?
On Tuesday 4 March 2025 we were joined online by Dr Julian Grenier CBE a leading voice in early-years policy and practice debates, and explored the practical policy solutions and on-the-ground approaches needed to achieve this milestone. Julian brought a wealth of expertise, including frontline experience working in a Sure Start centre and leading integrated family support initiatives.
Together with Nesta’s fairer start mission manager Lizzie Ingram, Julian delved into the importance of integrated family support in the early-years system, exploring how it can be better designed and funded, and how Nesta’s work on a new era for integrated services in England can offer practical pathways forward.
This event offered a vital opportunity to discuss how policymakers and practitioners can work together to ensure disadvantaged children have access to high-quality early education, professional development for the workforce, and the support they need to thrive.
Lizzie Ingram was joined by Dr. Julian Grenier, who highlighted several critical aspects of early years policy and practice. Recent governmental shifts include expanding free entitlements to childcare for children as young as two, increasing the early years pupil premium, and striving for 75% of children to achieve a good level of development by the end of their reception year by 2028. Good Level of Development (GLD) was discussed as an assessment based on educators' insights into a child's achievements in personal, social, emotional, communication, and mathematical development. However, Grenier and Ingram noted that a noticeable outcome disparity exists between children from wealthier families and those eligible for free school meals.
During the event, a potential pitfall of aiming for the 75% GLD target was identified as the risk of increasing inequality by overlooking children with complex needs. To counter this, Grenier emphasised that it is essential to trust educators' expertise, acknowledge the GLD's limitations, and prioritise thorough conceptual understanding. Smooth transitions from reception to Key Stage One were considered crucial, focusing on each child's capabilities and support requirements.
Grenier’s experiences in areas such as Newham underscored the discussion. He explained the significance of rejecting negative assumptions about children's potential, offering targeted support for those learning English, and fostering collaboration among families and services.
The conversation then touched upon the challenges that exist when increasing childcare funding. Grenier and Ingram explored addressing workforce issues like high turnover and ensuring educators are well-prepared. Policies should promote inclusivity, enabling parents to work while prioritising quality childcare, especially for disadvantaged children. There was a noted danger that children of non-working parents may be excluded from new entitlements, thus widening existing inequalities. Grenier discussed that enhancing quality in early years settings should involve utilising the early years pupil premium for staff development, focused support, promoting collaboration across the early years sector, improving educators' pay and conditions, and providing professional growth opportunities.
The discussion concluded on reasons for optimism which included a current governmental focus on early years education and tackling child poverty, as well as the positive effects of organisations like Thrive at Five and projects such as the Leap project in Lambeth, which offers personalised care to mothers. Parental involvement was deemed vital, but approaches should avoid putting parents under pressure and should target those who would benefit most from support. Inter-agency collaboration was also noted as key, particularly for struggling families, requiring enhanced information sharing and community-level cooperation.
