Nurseries 'fed up' of early years being used as political football, says ex-children's commissioner

Sir Al Aynsley-Green, who was appointed as England’s first children’s commissioner in 2005, has hit out at the current landscape of early years education, which he believes has been diminished by a series of bad political decisions and a lack of respect for practitioners and the work that they do.

He tells daynurseries.co.uk how large numbers of early years practitioners have spoken to him about how demotivated and stressed they are and that they are fed up with early years education being used as a political football. He believes this is leading to an unprecedented amount of people leaving the profession.

An independent national inquiry into early childhood

Recently, Sir Al Aynsley-Green has been meeting with a lot of early years practitioners at talks he has been holding in Nottingham and Wolverhampton. Speaking with parents and practitioners, he feels that something urgently needs to be done about the lack of morale in the early years sector.

He tells daynuseries.co.uk: "I would be interested in asking your readers what they think of a need for an independent national inquiry into early childhood. I would argue that this should be independent and not a Government-led organisation, asking what are the facts about early childhood here today?"

Sir Al Aynsley-Green has campaigned for nearly 46 years “with and for children” in various guises, being selected as England’s first-ever children’s commissioner in March 2005.

He says: “My mission now can be summarised succinctly: I’m finding ways to celebrate new ways of improving the lives of children and young people – it really doesn’t have to be like it is now”.

Recently he was invited as a keynote speaker at the ‘Pedagogy, curriculum and the art of teaching in early childhood’ conference at Wolverhampton University aimed at early years professionals and students. The event was to celebrate the first set of graduates from its early year’s studies course, the first partnership to roll out the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) pedagogy as part of an early years studies degree.

Two or three days later he was in a lottery-funded programme in Nottingham Trent University to perform a formal review of their ‘Small Steps Big Changes’ programme, working in some of the most deprived parts of Nottingham to improve access to early years and help support parents.

He says: “In two days or so I was in two very different academic locations hearing more about what’s going on in the early years, and I have to say, much of what I saw I have seen in my previous work as children’s commissioner, but I came away with two emotions.

“The first was exhilaration at some of the fantastic practitioners in the early years arena but this was coupled with deep dismay at the circumstances practitioners reported to me of their lives and of the standing of early years childcare and education today.”

‘You are really important people’

Sir Aynsley-Green recently addressed a room of early years practitioners, saying: “You are second only to parents and families for having the greatest influences on children and their outcomes in life. You are really important people - and can I say thank you for all you do.”

He wasn’t expecting the response he got. He added: “They told me I was the first senior person to say to them thank you for what they were doing.”

Sir Aynsley Green thinks the country is undergoing “unprecedented political turmoil” and “the consequences in the early years sector are that people are fearful, and they feel beleaguered". However, the children’s campaigner also believes practitioners “need to have courage”.

“Yes there are undoubted challenges – we have to recognise that, but there are opportunities and we need to think outside of the box, and I understand why people don’t feel they have the energy or the support to do this, but they do need to see what is going on elsewhere.

“I also find what’s being done in one place is not known about down the road," he says.

Sir Aynsley-Green has recently been particularly impressed with the model for the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) group of nurseries. He says of its founder June O’Sullivan, “I have the highest regard for her philosophy of being a social enterprise model, building generations together, building the community and giving, for example, apprenticeships for young people to work in the early years sector.

Learning through play is ‘not just itsy-bitsy, wishy-washy kid’s stuff’

Sir Aynsley-Green believes practitioners, teachers, people in children’s services and those in society in general, need to step up their game to improve outcomes for all children, across the board, even if it is under very difficult circumstances.

He says: “We need to be absolutely sure what we are trying to achieve for all our children. I’m hearing appalling stories from parents of children with disabilities and about how they have to wade through treacle to get someone to listen to them let alone address their needs," he says.

What Sir Al Aynsley-Green has picked up from talking to over 400 staff and parents at the two recent speeches is that there are “very motivated, passionate and enthusiastic early years practitioners”.

He says: “There are some examples of truly great practices - for example, some of the amazing forest and beach schools.

“When I was children’s commissioner I went to some seaside localities and was told that some children had never been to play on the beach, despite living in a busy port so I think these initiatives of forest school and beach school are truly wonderful and they are building their practice on the science of play. It’s not just some itsy-bitsy, wishy-washy kid’s stuff, play is vital for child development."

Sir Aynsley-Green has also had many early years practitioners speaking to him about stress, demotivation and despair, which he partially credits to “the lack of stature and professional credibility that they are doing a good job”.

He "finds it odd" that people who are looking after babies are unable to look after their own babies in the nurseries in which they work, saying: “That makes you think that something serious is going on here.”

The former children's commissioner is convinced politicians and the wider education community need to grasp the importance of early years education in general.

He says: “I’m absolutely fascinated by recent developments in neuroscience looking at the biology of the brain of the baby and how it attaches to its carers; in the first couple of years of life there’s this amazing development”.