Commenting on Department for Education guidance on the Early
Years census for 2021, published today, Dr Mary Bousted,
Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union,
said:
“The clarification to the census guidance is a limited and
confusing response to a worsening crisis. Its offer of top-up
funding does not guarantee the necessary level of financial
support. As the Institute of Fiscal Studies has demonstrated, it
will result in significantly reduced levels of funding across the
whole sector. (1)
“Those who work in Early Years are desperately aware of the
dangers to the health of staff, families and the wider community
of Covid-19 transmission in Early Years settings.
“They have been deterred from responding to these risks by the
DfE’s threat to withdraw funding from settings which, for safety
reasons, need to reduce the numbers of children and staff on
site.
“The government continues to insist that ‘early years provision
should remain open to all children to attend their expected
hours’. It needs to wake up to reality. The weekly number of
Covid-19 outbreaks in nursery schools has more than doubled in
the last week from 16 to 34. (2) Case rates among teachers and
support staff have soared.
“The government’s current policies are a threat to life and to
the financial future of Early Years education.
“The government must treat the sector in the same way that it
treats primary and secondary schools, with settings open for
vulnerable children and the children of key workers, and funding
restored to pre-pandemic levels.
“Today’s announcement does nothing to alleviate our members’
fears about their long-term financial viability, and nor does it
address their concerns over health and safety.”
ENDS
Editor’s Note
-
https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/15268
-
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/954637/Weekly_COVID-19_and_Influenza_Surveillance_Graphs_W3.pdf
