In 2004, the Government launched a 10 Year Childcare Strategy that set the policy agenda for a decade. Today (4 June 2014), the Family and Childcare Trust launched a review of the achievements of the last ten years of childcare policy. This examines developments under successive administrations and identifies key policy lessons for the future.

The new report 'Where next for childcare policy? Learning from the 2004 childcare strategy’ was launched at a joint event with Resolution Foundation this morning. The Rt Hon Margaret Hodge MP, Chair of the Public Accounts Committee and the then Minister responsible for the Childcare Strategy, gave the keynote speech. This was followed by a panel discussion with Dr Samantha Callan, Associate Director for Families and Mental Health at the Centre for Social Justice, Ben Black, Director of My Family Care, Carey Oppenheim, Chief Executive of the Early Intervention Foundation, Carole Edmond, Managing Director of Bright Horizons, and Kitty Stewart, CASE, before finishing with a Q&A session.

A few key points from the event:

• Parents in England still pay the highest price for childcare in Europe. Anand Shukla, Family and Childcare Trust
• Every child matters agenda has been disappointing and not been sustained for long term.  Margaret Hodge MP
• Children’s centres, and supply side funding, should only be focusing on deprived areas and should be challenged by private providers. Ben Black, My Family Care.
• Taxpayers money spent on childcare must have strings attached to improve quality. Kitty Stewart, CASE
• Home learning and domestic settings are very important, it is not just about institutions. Dr Samantha Callan, Centre for Social Justice
• Legislation alone cannot create a family friendly Britain, employers must be engaged to change culture. Carole Edmond, Bright Horizons

See more of the conversations and live tweets from on our Twitter account @FamChildTrust.
You can also watch the entire event on Youtube.
View the event's photo gallery on Flickr.

To read more about the ‘Where next for childcare?’ report and to download a copy, click here.