Nursery World - Government treatment of early years sector 'unforgivable'

Early Years Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch has said the Government’s treatment of early years settings during the pandemic was ‘unforgivable’ and vowed to continue to put pressure on ministers for more funding for the sector.

Neil Leitch, chief executive, Early Years Alliance, said the early years sector had been treated as 'an afterthought' by the Government during the Covid crisis

Yesterday, the charity published the shocking findings of its Freedom of Information (FOI) investigation which revealed that ministers have been aware that early years settings were severely underfunded for years and that the 30-hour childcare policy would lead to higher costs for parents.

Speaking at the organisation’s annual conference yesterday evening, Mr Leitch said that early years had been ‘on the frontline throughout the crisis’, but the Government had failed to ensure that settings ‘had the support to operate safely and sustainably’.

He said, ‘When the Government announced last year that schools could apply for funding to meet additional cleaning costs, worth up to £75,000 – early years was excluded.

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