With a heavy heart, I recently wrote a letter to thank the dedicated staff who took part in the Early Years Professional Development Programme (EYPDP), expressing deep gratitude for their unwavering professionalism, hard work and the extraordinary good they have accomplished.
Over two years, this programme has reached more than a 100,000 children — helping their speech and language and personal, social and emotional development. And the staff who took part now have the skills to help more children, making it a sound, strategic investment.
The training programme gave early years staff new skills in language and communication, personal, social and emotional development and early maths. When polled, 93 per cent of participants said they would recommend the programme, a testament to its effectiveness. And many reported how Ofsted praised their use of EYPDP strategies and best practices.
It’s clear the EYPDP has not only supported children but has also helped retain skilled professionals in a sector already under strain.
Yet despite the overwhelming evidence of its effectiveness, the Government has decided to close this invaluable programme from today (1 April).
This is deeply distressing. We presented clear and compelling evidence to the Department for Education (DfE) in December, writing to ministers alongside other leaders in early years education, highlighting the EYPDP’s immense success.
But the evidence seems to have been ignored, and our pleas for rationality, and a demonstration of responsibility the Government has to parents and educators, have fallen on deaf ears.
Astonishingly, a Government committed to prioritising early years education and SEND is choosing to withdraw crucial support from the very professionals best placed to address soaring speech and language challenges, exacerbated by the pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. While these issues aren’t confined to the early years, everyone knows that we should intervene as early as possible and support all children’s development in these vital areas.
The programme's closure is short-sighted and unjustifiable. Thousands of early years practitioners across more than 5,000 nurseries and other early years settings, reaching over 100,000 children nationwide, participated in this high-quality, evidence-informed training.
Ending this programme now risks abandoning vulnerable children at a critical juncture in their development, particularly in disadvantaged communities where speech and language difficulties are strongly linked to poverty.
The rich seam of knowledge and confidence the programme has given to early years educators will end.
And what signal of confidence does the programme’s closure send to a sector which like many in the sector, is fighting a constant battle to retain and attract staff?
The Government must reconsider its decision urgently and use the upcoming Spending Review to fund and reinstate the EYPDP. We call on policymakers to support our children, their parents and the dedicated teachers and childminders who have made such a profound difference.
Allowing this programme's remarkable success to become merely a legacy will be a major blow to voters who placed their confidence in this government to prioritise children’s early years.
The futures of countless young learners and their ability to break down barriers to life opportunities, depend on immediate action by ministers.
