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Leading early years membership organisation the Early Years Alliance has warned that, without further government support and funding, the early years sector will struggle to meet demand for places in future phases of the early entitlement expansion. 

Commenting Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said: 

“As applications for the second phase of the early entitlement expansion open, we remain entirely unconvinced that the government will be able to keep the huge promise it has made to parents.  

“While the first phase largely involved families who were already accessing early years places switching from private to government-funded places, the next phase is set to place further – and far more severe – capacity challenges on the sector, with the government itself predicting that 15,000 places will be needed by this September alone, and a further 70,000 by the end of the rollout.  

“With the recent National Audit Office report raising serious concerns about future phases of the expansion, and the Department for Education itself describing delivering enough places to meet demand as ‘problematic’, it’s clear that significant challenges lay ahead for government.   

“Yet, should this really come as a surprise? Long before the expansion rollout began, the early years sector was suffering from the effects of years of severe underfunding and an acute staffing crisis, both of which – so far – have failed to be adequately addressed.   

“So, rather than pretending that today’s application launch is a cause for celebration, ministers should acknowledge the scale of the challenge ahead of them and take the action needed to safeguard the future of the sector – that is, adequate funding and a comprehensive workforce strategy. Only then can this policy have any hope of succeeding in the long term.”