Free nursery places for 2-year-olds to be extended to all low income families

onlyroz

The "free fifteen hours" of nursery is to be extended to all two-year olds in low-income familes. The criteria would be if you would be entitled to free school meals when the child reaches school age.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-15675494

Do you think this is good news? Will it impact on your own life? Do you think pre-schooling is good for two-year-olds, and will it enable you to return to work earlier than previously planned?

brians_daughter

Yes its a brilliant idea IF it was extended to all children IMO. It makes my really angry in all honesty.

I realise some people are 'disadvantaged' through no 'fault' of their own but i have 3 children am a single mother a full time uni student and work 60 hours a week so i dont need to claim things like tax credits etc. I do claim child benefit though - (this is alos something i have struggled with claiming)

My children miss out on a lot of mummy time just so i can support my own family - but thats the way i have been brought up. Inact a few weeks ago i did ask for advice on mse forums about cutting my hours and what the implications for TC etc would be but i have decided to carry on as i am for now. My work ethic and determination to support my family will (i hope) rub off on them and they can also learn to be 'self funding'

Things like this make me think 'whats the point' i could work 16 hours get free school meals and then my youngest would be entitled to funded nursery 12 months earlier .

Anyway rant over. Yes i do think its a good idea but should be extended to all.
ETA - it states one of its aims is to make it easier for parents to go to work... i doubt for the majority this funded nursery time would help or motivate them to gain employment.

vroombroom

wow brian's daughter and I thought I had it hard!! lots of respect to you and no doubt you are setting a great example to your kids:)

I think its a goo idea, but think it should be extended to all families - help lower childcare costs and get people back into work x

nottslass_2

I dont understand the logic behind this - why would you need put a toddler in childcare if you don't need to go to work

As I understand it (in my area) you only get FSM if you are on a low income & DONT get working tax credits (ie on income support / JSA).

Gillyx

nottslass wrote: »

I dont understand the logic behind this - why would you need put a toddler in childcare if you don't need to go to work

As I understand it (in my area) you only get FSM if you are on a low income & DONT get working tax credits (ie on income support / JSA).

I think a big part of it, children from disadvantaged backgrounds don't generally do as well academically, as others and it's been proven that attending pre-school, nursery etc helps develop children and prepare them for education. Well that was the jist I got of it when reading the article this morning, although I'd just woken up, and was bleary eyed.

adamantine

it would be good if it was rolled out all over the country not just england. if the funding was for the parents to take courses, attend interview etc to get back to work that would be even better. i know i cant afford childcare to take my ECDL and other courses available in order to help me get back to work so i have to wait until my youngest starts school meaning even longer on benefits but just giving them the 15 hours for nothing is wrong IMO.

brians_daughter

Gillyx wrote: »

I think a big part of it, children from disadvantaged backgrounds don't generally do as well academically, as others and it's been proven that attending pre-school, nursery etc helps develop children and prepare them for education.

Yes this is one key theory that has been around a while. IMO education does not stop at school. I spend (as does my ex hubby) many hours working each week on our childrens education and learning -many studies argue that the reason children from low income families did./do not excel in school is due to the fact parents buy into the notion education is schools responsibilty as well as looking at the possibility that the heads of families from a low income background do not possess the basic skills needed to assist their children with simple homework activities How will the funded places rectify this notion? It wont.

I am actually writting a 10000 dis on the educational attainment of children from low income families so have been researching the topic indepth for 10 months now

re the above i would like to point out i am not stereotyping families from low income backgrounds but the stats say more low income families fit this description than any other type of family unit. I am mearly pointing out what i see to be flaws in the basis of the lowering of the age of funded palces for such income brackets.

But from a personal (maybe selfish) angle why should others children (mine) not be party to this early access to education just because i work my bloody a**e off.

SORRY for typos my brain is engaging quicker than my fingers today

Gillyx

brians_daughter wrote: »

Yes this is one key theory that has been around a while. IMO education does not stop at school. I spend (as does my ex hubby) many hours working each week on our childrens education and learning -many studies argue that the reason children from low income families did./do not excel in school is due to the fact parents buy into the notion education is schools responsibilty

Some studies look at the heads of families from a low income background do not possess the basic skills needed to assist their children with simple homework activities How will the funded places rectify this notion? It wont.

I am actually writting a 10000 dis on the educational attainment of children from low income families so have been researching the topic indepth for 10 months now

re the above i would like to point out i am not stereotyping families from low income backgrounds but the stats say more low income families fit this description than any other type of family unit. I am mearly pointing out what i see to be flaws in the basis of the lowering of the age of funded palces for such income brackets.

But from a personal (maybe selfish) angle why should others children (mine) not be party to this early access to education just because i work my bloody !!!! SORRY for typos my brain is engaging quicker than my fingers today

I do agree btw, I was only saying what I read in the article I live in N.I and before that Scotland, so it wouldn't even apply to me or my future children anyway. I don't think it will help much, if at all.

onlyroz

The benefits should be two-fold - the children get early experience of mixing with other children in a pre-school setting, which would give them a boost when it comes to starting school properly at 4-and-a-half. Also, the parent(s) get an extra 15 hours a week in which to persue a job/training etc, which might not have previously been possible. This in turn will boost the economy because there will be a greater number of tax-payers.

However, these benefits would apply equally to higher earners, who currently have to pay out for large childcare bills if they want to work. My daughter turns three in December and so currently qualifies for her 15 free hours in January - this will reduce my childcare bill by around £250 a month, which will make things MUCH easier for us. If this funding had been available for the last year it would have had a big impact on us - for example we deferred having our second child because we could not afford to have two children in nursery at the same time, but this might have been possible if we'd have had an extra £250 a month at our disposal.

nottslass_2

brians_daughter wrote: »

Yes this is one key theory that has been around a while. IMO education does not stop at school. I spend (as does my ex hubby) many hours working each week on our childrens education and learning -many studies argue that the reason children from low income families did./do not excel in school is due to the fact parents buy into the notion education is schools responsibilty as well as looking at the possibility that the heads of families from a low income background do not possess the basic skills needed to assist their children with simple homework activities How will the funded places rectify this notion? It wont.

I am actually writting a 10000 dis on the educational attainment of children from low income families so have been researching the topic indepth for 10 months now

re the above i would like to point out i am not stereotyping families from low income backgrounds but the stats say more low income families fit this description than any other type of family unit. I am mearly pointing out what i see to be flaws in the basis of the lowering of the age of funded palces for such income brackets.

But from a personal (maybe selfish) angle why should others children (mine) not be party to this early access to education just because i work my bloody a**e off.

SORRY for typos my brain is engaging quicker than my fingers today

Past reading of a couple of threads in relation to free school meals has highlighted that although working parents can in theory actually be on a lower income than those not working,they are not entiled to the fee school meals (and now nursery places) simply due to the fact that they are in reciept of WTC.

I'm intrested whether or not the stats are based soley on income or whether the children in low income families still do less well even if the parents are working but have a low income...

brians_daughter

nottslass wrote: »

Past reading of a couple of threads in relation to free school meals has highlighted that although working parents can in theory actually be on a lower income than those not working,they are not entiled to the fee school meals (and now nursery places) simply due to the fact that they are in reciept of WTC.

I'm intrested whether or not the stats are based soley on income or whether the children in low income families still do less well even if the parents are working but have a low income...

I do have access to studies that highlight different concerns - i can dig them out when i get home later if of interest to you? Many point towards low income non working single parent families and others show a disadvantage for simply low income families. the key point running through the research i am reading (I am only reading research that is relevant to my research ) is parental educational attainment - Basically if you have poor key skills then you arent equiped to give your children the 'peg up' they may need to ecxel.

Saying that my sister 'fits' into such catergories (god i hate grouping people like that) but her son is 17 and left school with 12 GCSE's 7 A* 4 A's and 1 B and is expecting 4 x A* in A Levels.