Nursery World - Coronavirus: Early years sector faces predicted losses of a quarter of a billion pounds this term

Early years settings are set to lose £247 million in funding this spring term, according to research by the Early Years Alliance and Ceeda.

The number of children attending nurseries, pre-schools and childminders during the current national lockdown is just 62 per cent of pre-pandemic daily levels

Released the day before the budget, the analysis of a recent joint survey by the sector organisation and the independent analysts, shows that almost two thirds of nurseries and pre-schools (65 per cent) and four in 10 (42 per cent) childminders had fewer children taking up funded places in January, compared to the same time last year.

The research blames the predicted loss in funding on the Government’s recent decision to base funding for funded early years places for two-, three- and four-year-olds on the number of children currently registered at early years settings during the spring term, rather than on pre-pandemic attendance levels.

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