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Make early education free like schools, says academic

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Author: 
Morton, Katy
Format: 
Article
Publication Date: 
26 Nov 2009

 

EXCERPTS

Early childhood education should be made a public responsibility, according to leading academic Peter Moss of the Institute of Education, London.

Speaking at the Daycare Trust annual conference last week, the Professor of Early Childhood Provision argued that early education should be funded the same way as schools in order to deliver highquality care.

This would mean nursery education would be free to parents and there would be no funding role for employers, and no need for Working Tax Credits or childcare vouchers.

Professor Moss said, 'The current system is a chaotic mess and a shambles. We should look at early years and schools together and help build up the welfare state to redeem the mess we have got ourselves into,' he said.

In response to a delegate's question on how early education should be funded, he suggested that taxes could be increased for higher-income families.

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- reprinted from Nursery World

 

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