Speaking at the alliance's annual conference, which marked five decades of the organisation, Belle Tutaev said the sector was still undervalued and needed more financial support.
Tutaev started the organisation, originally named the Pre-school Playgroups Association, after starting her own playgroup. She wrote to the Guardian newspaper to offer support to other parents wanting to start up pre-school groups, sparking the launch of the membership organisation.
Speaking to delegates, Tutaev said: "The whole early years scene is undervalued and unappreciated.
"I’m sad to learn that we still face being undervalued in the community because I think [early years practitioners] are the most important people in the world, partly because they give plenty of their own time for very little money."
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