Commenting on The Covid-19 pandemic and the early years
workforce: Staffing decisions in an uncertain environment,
research published today by the Education Policy Institute (EPI),
Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education
Union, said:
"This report by the EPI is further evidence of the deep financial
and structural impact the Coronavirus continues to have on the
Early Years sector as a whole. The Coronavirus has only
exacerbated the serious challenges the Early Years sector was
already facing. Financial pressures prior to the pandemic had
already forced some private providers and Maintained Nursery
Schools to close or make significant savings through staff
redundancies. It is now clear that without government
intervention, this situation is only going to worsen in the
immediate future.
"Government inaction is jeopardising the education of millions of
children, who are missing out on vital early years education and
hindering the ability of parents looking to return to work.
Access to good quality early years education vastly improves
future educational attainment and the life chances of those
pupils, and can significantly improve social mobility. The NEU in
its submission to the Comprehensive Spending Review is asking for
sufficient funding and resources for the Early Years sector to
ensure every child has access to good quality early years
education."
