Government urged to 'respect' early years as sector misses out on catch up fund
Fiona Simpson
Monday, June 22, 2020
Early years leaders have called on the government to “take the sector seriously” after it was missed out of a £1bn funding pledge to help children catch up on missed education.
The government last week announced a “comprehensive” catch up package including £650m to be shared across state primary and secondary schools in 2020/21 to enable headteachers to set up small tuition groups for those who need extra help.
A further £350m was also pledged for tuition to stop disadvantaged pupils falling behind while the government said it was looking into how best to open out-of-school clubs.
However, the funding announcement totalling £1bn made no mention of early years or post-16 education.
The omission sparked confusion across the early years sector after settings initially appeared to be eligible for the fund but were later removed from a revised press release.
The fresh blow for the sector following a government U-turn on furlough funding for providers and an announcement allowing funding for free childcare places to be moved between settings during the Covid-19 pandemic led leaders to call on the government to “give early years providers the respect they deserve”.
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance said: "Why is it then, that once again, schools get much-needed financial support and early years providers don't?
"The fact that this comes on the back of months of inadequate support for the early years sector makes this decision all the more galling. With one in four childcare providers expecting to go out of business within the year, the government simply cannot keep ignoring the financial pressures facing the sector.
"For the vast majority of children, education starts long before they reach the school gates. It's time the government recognised this fact, and gave early years providers the respect and support that they deserve."
Purnima Tanuku , chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said: “Yet again the government fails the early years sector and very young children who are most in need of support in their early development and learning.
“Decision makers have demonstrated a total lack of consideration in the crucial role that early years practitioners play in a child’s life, for their families and the wider economy.
“Many nurseries have reopened to very few children and their businesses are just not financially viable. And yet, if they have to close, young children will be left with no support for their burgeoning development and parents will be unable to work.
“The government must now show that it takes a child’s early learning seriously and invest urgently to support young children and ensure nurseries are sustainable to support families before it’s too late.”
Shadow early years minister Tulip Siddiq wrote to children’s minister Vicky Ford demanding clarity over the last minute change to the announcement.
She wrote: “Can you confirm whether or not this funding for early years was withdrawn at the last minute, and explain why you have decided to exclude early years from these 'catch-up' plans?”
Siddiq added that providers “deserve an explanation” and said: “I would urge you to consider the impact of this decision on social mobility. It is in the early years of a child’s life when high quality educational support can make the biggest difference to their life chances.
“We know that the poorest children start primary school 11 months behind their more affluent peers, and that this gap is likely to have widened in the Covid-19 crisis. Ensuring that children can get high-quality early education is a vital part of the work that nurseries, childminders and other early years providers do, which is all too often overlooked. I fear that the decision not to include them in educational catch-up plans could irreparably damage the prospects of disadvantaged children.”
When questioned over the changes at Friday’s daily press briefing, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “[The] Hungry Little Minds scheme is a great scheme to really encourage the early educational development of those early years children. We want to look at other ways that we can continue to support that sector, how we can help parents, but most importantly how we can help children.”
The Department for Education has been contacted for further comment.
