Alliance comments on Sutton Trust report which shows the early years expansion is likely to hamper quality and freeze out disadvantaged children
The Early Years Alliance has issued a comment following the release of research published by the Sutton Trust which highlights that the expansion of the early entitlement offers risk widening gaps in child development and worsening quality.
Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said:
“Sutton Trust’s report further demonstrates that the government has underestimated the importance of the early years sector, further proving that the expansion of "free hours" have been created by viewing the early years solely as childcare rather than vital education.
“At the Alliance we believe that every child should have the opportunity to access and benefit from early education and care. However, years of underfunding, and the government continuously pushing the sector to the bottom of their priority list made it even more challenging.
"While nurseries, pre-schools and childminders are doing whatever they can to provide high-quality provision for every child, most are left with no choice but to increase their fees to keep their doors open, while nearly 5,000 settings have had to permanently close in the last year alone.
“This has left us with a sector which is not only teetering on the brink but has made it even more challenging for families from disadvantaged backgrounds to be able to easily access provision. Concerningly, this is only set to get even worse when the expanded “free hours” come into effect.
"What’s more, as Sutton Trust’s report indicates ratio changes will only hamper quality at a time when high quality education and care has never been more vital.
“Time and time again, the sector has warned that if the expansion plans are implemented without ensuring that realistic funding and infrastructure is in place it will lead to an implosion of the early years sector. Yet, as it stands the policies look likely to create even more problems for the sector rather solutions.
“It is clear, therefore, the only way these expansion plans can be effectively implemented, is if the early years plays a central role in deciding how these plans will work in practice. Anything less will not only fail the sector but families too.”