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Proceeding contribution from Earl of Listowel (Crossbench) in the House of Lords on Wednesday, 19 April 2006. It occurred during Debate on bill and Committee proceeding on Childcare Bill 2005-06.


Childcare Bill

Perhaps I may ask the Minister about inspection of early years childcare, which I hope is relevant to this debate. As he will be aware, inspection of early years settings take place once every three years and last for about three hours. On Second Reading, we heard that the degree of expertise, understanding and sensitivity of the inspectors sometimes does not meet the standards that we would expect. Minimum standards are applied to those settings, but they do not include an assessment of whether there is a key person role in place in the early years setting. The key person role is essential in ensuring that children in the early years setting get consistent, affectionate, reliable care. Does the Minister consider that inspections of that kind are really an effective way to ensure quality in the early years setting? Should I be thinking of other means of inspection to promote equality because, to my mind, a triennial, three-hour inspection cannot offer much reassurance about the quality of early years provision?


Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
680 c506GC 
Session
2005-06
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords Grand Committee
Subjects
Childcare Age Childminding Employment Equality Finance Families Inspections Local government Qualifications Low incomes Parents Pre-school education Local government services Quality control Staff Nurseries Standards Training Sure Start programme
Legislation
Childcare Bill 2005-06
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk