Childcare Bill

I shall follow up what the noble Baroness said about playgroups and shall comment on Amendment No. 23, tabled by the noble Earl, Lord Listowel. I also have first-hand experience of playgroups, as I used to run one with a friend when my children were small. In those days, it was a condition that for a child to come to a playgroup, the parent had to commit to attending with the child. I saw many parents who came and developed their skills of talking to children and playing with them. Many parents developed great self-confidence and went on to have careers in childcare or otherwise because of the confidence they gained. However, not all did so. Some parents would come along with their child and be quite content to sit and watch. They did not interact in language development or in developmental play with other children. Watching is not a sufficient condition for them to gain a qualification to go on to other things, as the amendment suggests. I know that active participation is required, but if we are to have such an amendment, we need to build in pre-school playgroup training and not just attendance at the playgroup.