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Commenting on the announcement of a new Covid workforce fund for schools and colleges, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance said:

“Early years providers have received yet another slap in the face from government, having once again been excluded from funding offered to the rest of the education sector, and to so much of the wider economy. Early years educators too are facing huge staffing pressures, with staff contracting Covid or having to self-isolate. What’s more, with so many small settings, a staff absence often means closure for that period of time.”

“These are the providers who have made it possible for parents to go out to work throughout the pandemic and they have been offered a paltry settlement. They have had no help to pay for cleaning and were allocated pennies-per-hour in the Spending Review, failing to cover even the mandated increase to the National Minimum and National Living wages to come. Now they are told they will receive no help to stay open as they deal with staff shortages.

“Early years settings cannot be left without help any longer. They cannot wait to find out if they will have their autumn funding arrangements extended into spring. They are making impossible decisions now about whether they can keep qualified staff on the payroll, and ultimately, if they can keep open the valued settings that their communities so rely on.”