Implementing the Children Act: The Regulation of Day-care Services for Young Children

Abstract

This article presents the findings of the first stage of a study undertaken by the Thomas Coram Research Unit at the University of London for the Department of Health. The study aims to monitor and evaluate the implementation of Parts III and X of the Children Act, which relate to the provision of dhy-care and pre-school education for children under eight. The article reports the findings of the first stage of the study on the aspects of implementation involved in the regulation of children's services, which is one of the most significant of the changes heralded by the Act for under-eights' services. Based on the findings of a study in eighteen English authorities and eight Welsh counties, the article outlines the different approaches taken to regulation in terms of organizational structures, degree of consultation with providers, and overall approach to implementing the new system. The response of providers as reported by local authority staff is also discussed. The findings of the study are set in the context of the current policy debate about the role of regulation and the status of the recommendations in the Guidance accompanying the Act. As well as outlining the degree of vanation found among authorities and indicating some of the ‘pressure points’ in implementation, the article raises issues of critical concern about the role of regulation in the context of the private market of day-care provision.