Alliance comments on confirmation of early years funding rates
Please find below a comment from the Early Years Alliance following confirmation of average local authority funding rates from April 2024, which can be accessed
Commenting, Neil Leitch CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said:
“While any early years funding increases are of course welcome, the fact is that the additional support announced today is still likely to fall short of what the sector needs to successfully deliver the 30-hours-expansion in the long term.
“This is particularly true of three- and four-year-old offer, where funding rates – which have long been wholly inadequate – remain incredibly low. This is likely to push settings who do not, or cannot, offer places to younger children into an incredibly precarious position, meaning that many will struggle to deliver early education and care without passing this funding shortfall onto parents in the form of higher fees.
“And let's not forget that today’s announcement only covers the rates that local authorities receive. Nurseries, pre-schools and childminders are still in the dark on their final rate, making it impossible for them to prepare for – never mind deliver – the expanded offer, at a time when many will be receiving a deluge of enquiries from parents eager to secure their funded places.
“The policy is a perfect example of the 'announce first, think later' approach that government continues to take when it comes to early years. With the start of the expansion just months away, it remains to be seen whether there is any hope of this policy actually working in practice."