Amanda Spielman is the head of Ofsted and yesterday she spoke at the Pre-school Learning Alliance annual conference. The words below are her opening and closing remarks which help to explain how vital Pre Schools and Nurseries are in our nation. The rest of her speech is available here. Such words will no doubt have encouraged the people on their half term break this week or indeed those who work in settings that operate 52 weeks a year. However let us hope that the imbalance between Government promises and Government provision will have registered somewhere beyond those people. Let us hope that Nadhim Zahawi when he gets sent a transcript of this speech will also get a handwritten note from Amanda pointing out that if his department does not work hard in the next 8 weeks to put right the failings of their previous actions over the last 8 years that the level of provision available in September will be incapable of delivering the necessary quantity of good work she has referred to. This is because of the poor pay allocated to individual workers compared to their equivalents in Schools coupled with the major funding gaps to organisations to enable them to offer what the Government has promised to parents. As things stand when they offer 30 hours free childcare each week to parents, as promised by George Osborne in 2015 yet the only way to deliver this is for businesses or charities to fund most of those hours themselves. Schools are currently under huge funding pressure in our nation, but this is modest compared to the challenge facing the early years sector.

Amanda said:

At Ofsted we know just how important the early years are. They go by so fast, but they are the very foundation of a happy, successful future. And the right education and care at this time have a profound impact on children and their life chances.
We all know that the greatest opportunity to make a real difference to a child’s life happens between the ages of 0 and 5, when children’s brains develop faster and they learn more rapidly than at any other age.
Pre-schoolers are amazing. People often say that children absorb knowledge like ‘sponges’. That seems so apt! Even on the more, shall we say, ‘challenging’ days, seeing the way young children learn new things and take in the world around them is quite wonderful. Each day brings new experiences and possibilities.

In the past year I’ve had the privilege of visiting some excellent early years settings and have seen first-hand what you do. Standards in the early years are consistently high and this is a testament to your hard work and dedication.
Inspection too has its part to play here. I do firmly believe that Ofsted is a force for improvement. And, working with you, we will continue to use your knowledge and insight to focus our inspections where they will make the most difference.
There’s no doubt yours is a tough job. Often challenging, even frustrating. But I don’t doubt, even on the worst days, always rewarding. Thank you for all that you do.