Summary:
Daycare Trust has always insisted that quality is one of the foremost necessities of early years provision but, while great strides have been made in expanding services, it is now generally accepted that quality remains the lat piece of the jigsaw to be fully addressed.
"Quality Costs" aims to identify the elements required for high quality provision of ECEC and to establish and cost a high quality model. Crucially, the current costs and levels of funding for ECEC are identified, and funding options for the high quality model are explored in depth, to identify ways in which ECEC can be subsidized to ensure that the fees do not become prohibitive for parents.
The final report suggesting alternative models for high quality universal education by 2020, and recommendations for how this can be funded, is accompanied by five working papers:
- Working Paper 1: What is high quality early childhood education and care? - Maxine Hill and Emma Knights, Daycare Trust
- Working Paper 2: What is the cost of quality? - Sandra Gruescu, Social Market Foundation
- Working Paper 3: What do parents pay? - Kate Goddard, Daycare Trust
- Working Paper 4: International comparisons of high quality early childhood education and care - Sandra Gruescu, Social Market Foundation
- Working Paper 5: Funding options for high quality early childhood education and care - Mike Brewer, Institute for Fiscal Studies