Great to kick off a busy day in Stockholm with British Ambassador, Judith Gough to discuss Swedish families’ access to high-quality childcare, employment and economic support.
Sweden has one of the highest employment rates for working mothers among OECD countries and high take-up of childcare places – I’ve said we need to look at best practice from other countries, to make sure our policies are effective and reaching as many families as possible.
Thanks to Emma Ölmebäck, State Secretary for early years education and childcare, my counterpart in Sweden, for a helpful meeting about the pioneering ‘Nordic model’ used here and how we can learn from this to tackle the costs for working parents in England.
It was a pleasure to present Emma with a copy of the Department for Education book to mark and celebrate HM The Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
In a country with no enforced childcare ratios, it was interesting to meet with Skolinspektionen - Sweden's equivalent to Ofsted – to discuss the different ways of providing high-quality care and education without compromising safety.
This afternoon I visited 4 types of Swedish childcare in Solnastad – state-run, independent, one run by the Swedish Outdoor Association & a parent co-operative. The ‘Solna model’ is seen as an example of best practice in how it supports families and offers wide choice.
I really enjoyed meeting the staff and children at Råsundagårdens, a municipality pre-school in Solnastad - 71% of providers in Sweden are state-run like this one. Great to hear how language development is prioritised – and to join them for lunch - on very little chairs!
Next stop – Swedish church run Näckrosgårdens pre-school in Solnastad where children develop language skills in small reading groups, and learn digital skills. It was lovely to see the games and the early years educator leading the children in traditional songs with a guitar.
Amazing to see the outdoor ethos at Ur och skur Grönlingen pre-school run by Frilufts where children have all their lessons in the woods, rain or shine. Great to see how active the kids are, enjoying maths lessons among the trees.
Finally, Lingontuvan pre-school Solnastad, run by parents and teachers. Teachers focus on the curriculum, while parents serve on the board, manage budgets, cover staff absence & take on cleaning duties. Great to speak to parents about their hands-on role here.