Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance,
said:
"We at the Alliance have long called for a mechanism to ensure
that early years funding rises in line with provider delivery
costs, and so welcome plans announced today to do just that -
though, as always, the devil in the detail and we await
confirmation of exactly what metric is being used to underpin
funding increases to understand how beneficial this policy will
be in practice.
"That said, what this policy does not do is to close this gap in
any way, or address the wholly inadequate funding baseline from
which providers are forced to operate. With the early years
funding shortfall estimated to stand at £5 billion, it is clear
that there is still much more to do to build and sustain an
affordable, accessible and high-quality care and education sector
over the long term.
“We know that the early years is facing its most challenging time
in decades. Not only have years of underfunding wreaked havoc on
the sector – prompting both a surge in setting closures and the
worst staffing crisis in years – but the sector is just weeks
away from the biggest expansion in early entitlement hours, with
many settings warning that they do not have sufficient funding,
capacity or space to meet the likely surge in demand. As such,
while today is certainly a positive starting point, much more
support – including significant long-term funding and a
comprehensive workforce strategy – is crucial if nurseries,
pre-schools and childminders are to be to able to sustainably
deliver both existing and upcoming entitlement offers. With many
settings already on the brink of closure, simply maintaining the
status quo is not an option.
“Today's Budget hints at a renewed approach to how the early
years is recognised – but rather than being viewed as a solution
to the early years crisis, it must be seen as the first step of
many that need to be taken to safeguard the future of our vital
sector."
