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Please find below a comment from the Early Years Alliance responding to confirmation that applications for the 15-hour early entitlement offer for working parents of 9-month-olds will open on 12 May ahead of September 2024 roll out. 

Commenting Alliance CEO Neil Leitch said:

“Today’s confirmation of when applications for the next phase of the entitlement opens may suggest that the policy is on track, yet the reality is likely to paint a very different picture. 

“Even before the expansion was announced, the early years sector was struggling due to years of underfunding and the worst staffing crisis in decades. While the government may claim to be addressing these challenges, we at the Alliance remain entirely unconvinced, with our own research showing that even before the first phase of the offer begins in a matter of weeks, more than two thirds of settings are already full.  

“The only way that this policy will come even close to being workable in practice is if these longstanding funding, capacity and staffing issues are properly addressed. Confirming when families will be able to apply for the next phase of the entitlement will be entirely pointless if early years settings don’t have the capacity and support to be able to deliver the places families need.”