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Please find below a comment from the Early Years Alliance on new plans announced by the Labour Party to create 3,300 new nurseries based in primary schools, as part of plans to meet demand for early years provision in under-served areas, .

The announcement follows  which found that the vast majority of local authorities in England with the highest number of early years places are in the most affluent areas, while local authorities with the lowest levels of access to early years settings tended to be in less affluent areas.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said:

“With recent research showing that lower-income families and those living in more disadvantaged areas face the biggest challenges when it comes to accessing early years provision, it’s clear that whichever party comes into power next month, tackling so-called ‘childcare deserts’ and ensuring equity of access to early education must be a policy priority, and so Labour is right to focus on these important issues.

“That said, while increasing school-based provision may form part of such plans, with the vast majority of early years places in England currently delivered by private and voluntary nurseries, pre-schools and childminding professionals, we’re clear that supporting this critical part of the sector must be central to any early years reform.

“With an estimated 40,000 early educators required to deliver the additional places needed for the full early entitlement expansion, we continue to urge all political parties to focus on developing a clear and comprehensive workforce strategy to tackle the current staffing crisis.

“Only this, alongside a commitment to long-term adequate funding, will ensure that our vital sector is sustainable not just today, but in the long term."