Nursery World - Government 'knowingly underfunded' the early years sector

The Government stands accused of ‘shamelessly’ and ‘knowingly underfunding’ the early years sector, after private Government documents obtained by the Early Years Alliance reveal that ministers at the Department for Education were aware that it was severely underfunding providers of funded childcare places for three- and four-year-olds.

The documents reveal that the Government was aware that the cost of funding places for three- and four-year-olds under 30-hour childcare would likely lead to higher costs for parents of younger children

The briefing, shared today after a two-year Freedom of Information dispute with the DfE, shows that early years funding rates for 2020/21 were less than two-thirds of what officials estimated to be the true cost of ‘fully funding’ the scheme.

The documents also reveal ministers knew the inadequate level of investment proposed would result in higher costs for parents of younger children, and that nurseries, pre-schools and childminders would be forced to use maximum statutory adult-to-child ratios – despite the impact this could have on the quality of provision.

One briefing document obtained by the Early Years Alliance reveals that in 2015, civil servants at the DfE estimated the cost of providing a Government-funded early years place for a three- or four-year old would reach £7.49 per child per hour by 2020-21.

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