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Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said:

“Today’s Department for Education figures confirm that the 1.2% increase in early years funding will equate, at best, to just 6p or 8p per hour per child in practice for childcare providers across England.

“At a time when the government is pledging at extra £2.2bn for the core schools budget, it is incredibly disheartening to see just how little early years education and childcare is valued in this country. This is despite a wealth of research showing that the first five years of a child’s life are absolutely pivotal to their long-term learning and development, and the fact that there are more than a million families with children aged under five where both parent - or the lone parent in lone parent families - work.

“After years of inadequate funding, and at a time when the continued impact of the pandemic is putting so much financial pressure on providers, the miniscule funding uplifts confirmed today will do nothing to deliver the support that nurseries, pre-schools and childminders need to survive in the long term. 

“If the government values both quality early education and accessible, affordable childcare, it needs to give the sector that delivers the investment it both needs and deserves.”