DfE ‘denying Covid support to early years providers’, sector warns
Neil Puffett
Monday, November 30, 2020
Early years providers hit hard by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic are being denied the same support from government being given to schools, sector leaders have warned.
On Friday (27 November) Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced details of a Covid workforce fund to support education settings with the cost of staff absences in schools and colleges.
The Department for Education guidance suggest that the fund, which will cover the costs of high levels of staff absences over a minimum threshold in order to help ensure schools and colleges can remain open, will not be available to early years providers.
Purnima Tanuku chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) described the news as “a kick in the teeth for the early years sector”. She said that providers have been working hard throughout the pandemic but have had none of the support offered to schools.
“Time and time again schools have been given access to funding and support that has been denied to early years educators, whether on cleaning products, PPE and now staffing pressures,” she said.
“This approach shows a total lack of understanding from the DfE of the pressures on early years providers. It also shows a lack of respect for providers and practitioners facing financial hardship and a lack of recognition of their importance to our children.
“[The DfE] must urgently offer the same emergency support to childcare providers as they have deemed necessary for schools. Anything less amounts to selling our children short at a crucial stage in their lives and is an insult to early years practitioners.”
Liz Bayram, chief executive at Pacey, said the announcement represented “more bad news” for the sector, on the back of a “meagre increase” in early education funding in the 2020 Spending Review.
“The sector, struggling already, needs far more evidence of government support and commitment to the vital work it does for children and families. We now look to the much delayed decision on whether early education funding levels from January will be maintained at pre-pandemic levels or reflect current levels of children’s attendance. If the latter, this will place more settings into deeper financial difficulty as so many continue to care for few children than before the pandemic.
“There has been a key focus on the importance of the early years and investing in our children’s futures. Government’s long term strategy simply has to change if this is ever to become a reality,” she said.
Last month an investigation by the Early Years Alliance found that one in six local authorities in England are not following government guidance to help protect early years providers from the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The DfE has been contacted for comment.
