Nursery World - Janet King: Additional childcare funding is welcome, but there's still long-term workforce challenges to solve

Despite early years taking centre stage at the Spring Budget, there’s still persistent recruitment and retention issues that must be addressed, explains Janet King, sector manager for Education and Childcare at training provider NCFE.

In the build up to the Spring Budget, early years education and care was elevated to the top of the news agenda in a way we’ve not seen for over a decade.

This has to be welcomed. For many campaigners and parents, some of the announcements are the first significant step in a journey to make childcare more affordable and open up the financial feasibility of re-joining the workforce.

It was good to hear that families on universal credit will now receive funding in advance rather than arrears. This is welcomed as councils have suggested that families are not currently claiming their full entitlement.

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