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Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said: “We know that the pandemic has had a significant impact on the learning and development of young children, many of whom have spent the majority of their lives under some form of Covid-19 restrictions. As such, it is encouraging to see that early educators’ efforts to do all they can to support the children in their care to recover from the challenges of the past two years is having such a positive impact. 

“That said, the report lays bare the scale of the recruitment and retention challenges that are wreaking havoc on the sector, with providers citing an absence of highly-skilled staff as a key concern. This issue can only be addressed if the government finally recognises the need to significantly increase sector funding to enable providers to offer more training, opportunities and, crucially, a fair wage to encourage staff to remain in the sector.   

“аÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø¿ª½±â€™s update on the early years sector highlights how vital early years providers have been in helping young children catch up on vital education and social skills during the pandemic. It’s time the government recognised this fact and gave the sector the respect, appreciation and, most importantly, investment that it needs."