Mudiad Meithrin responds to the Senedd’s report
During the last year, the Senedd’s Children, Young People and Education Committee have conducted an investigation to discover if children and Young people have equal access to Childcare and education. It’s a huge question, and as part of their investigation the Committee invited responses from parents, carers, practitioners, schools and organisations to understand if children receive the equity enshrined in law by the Equality Act 2010.
On July 16th, the Children, Young People and Education Committee published their interim report and Mudiad Meithrin congratulates the Committee on their thorough investigation which has led to 32 recommendations for Welsh Government to consider. The significance of this report cannot be overemphasised, especially if these important recommendations are implemented, as the chair of the Committee – Buffy Williams MS – says in her forward statement: ‘I believe this report is an important moment for policymakers to acknowledge this, and start to make the changes to deliver more inclusive childcare and education.’
Mudiad Meithrin agrees with the Committee’s findings that the current situation is serious, and hearing about the lived experience of children and their parents/carers has shown the impact of the inequity they currently face.
If the Committee’s recommendations are implemented, there is a real opportunity to transform the situation so that childcare and education can become more inclusive. Cylchoedd Meithrin and day nurseries are ready to play their part in ensuring that the recommendations become a reality and have a far-reaching effect on the lives of disabled children and their families.
Looking at the recommendations in more detail, we agree that collecting better data about gaps in provision and the reasons why children move from one provision to another is vital to ensure services are reviewed and improved. We would add that identifying gaps in Welsh-medium provision is also a priority, so that children with additional learning needs have the same rights to Welsh medium education (Ciaran Fitzgerald recently highlighted the battle facing disabled children / neurodivergent children and their parents/carers who want equal access to Welsh education in and excellent programme on S4C which was broadcast on June 5th: Y Gymraeg: Hawl Pob Plentyn | 5 June 2024 (s4c.cymru)
As we noted in our evidence to the inquiry, inconsistency in support and systems across Wales has a direct impact on the provision at a grassroots level, so we agree that the Welsh Government and local authorities need to work together strategically to ensure positive steps are being taken to provide sustainable and inclusive childcare in all parts of Wales.
Too many children are excluded from childcare and education due to complex funding systems and financial cuts from local authorities. The problem is that the Childcare Offer is offered based on the parents/carers’ eligibility, not that of the child. This will exclude disabled and neurodivergent children from equitable access to childcare and education, when play opportunities and interaction with people and children may be one of the interventions that would make a real difference to that child.
We agree with the Committee that better guidelines should be shared with childcare settings to explain the expectations and duties placed upon them by the ALN Code, and the provision of examples across Wales to ensure consistency and clarity.
We also welcome the recommendation to develop a training programme and resources to upskill the workforce in understanding how to support children with various conditions and create an enabling environment where all children can thrive.
It is alarming that Welsh-medium ALN provision is still a postcode lottery, and parents are still hearing from professionals that English-medium education would be more suitable for their child. This is fundamentally unjust and an attitude that needs to be changed through strategic intervention by the Welsh Government to ensure high quality Welsh-medium ALN provision from the early years and throughout a child’s education journey.
We are at the beginning of the summer holidays, what can be a challenging time for parents and carers with no childcare options available, and we heard during the investigation about the impact of the lack of childcare provision on parents and carers’ mental health. We call on Welsh Government to implement the recommendations as a matter of urgency – recommendations Mudiad Meithrin are ready to partner with others to realise – a through these actions ensure rights and equity for disabled children.
