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The Early Years Alliance has commented in response to research from the Nuffield Foundation which concluded that early childhood is increasingly characterised by inequality and uncertainty, which has been further exacerbated by the pandemic, rising poverty and the cost-of-living crisis.

Please note the foundation's research can be read . 

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

鈥淲hile the findings of this report will come as little surprise to those working in the early years sector, the fact that rising inequality and poverty, exacerbated by both the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis, is having such an impact on the lives of so many young children is still of great concern. 

鈥淎ll children, regardless of their background, should be able to access high quality early years education, and there is a wealth of research highlighting the vital importance of the early years and the significant impact it has on a child鈥檚 future development. Early educators have worked incredibly hard to counter the inequalities highlighted in this report, but they themselves need support to be able to continue to do so.  

鈥淲hile the Nuffield Foundation is absolutely right to argue for a system that helps parents to balance work and care and supports children鈥檚 learning, the fact is that years of government underfunding has pushed early years settings to the edge, making achieving these important aims all the more difficult. 

鈥淎s such, we urge the government to commit to making the early years a policy priority, and to properly fund the sector, rather than wasting time on policies like the relaxation of ratios that are likely to worsen existing inequalities. 

鈥淔or years now we have been calling for a review of the early years system and a clear, comprehensive strategy for our vital sector. How much worse does the situation need to get, for both providers and parents, for the government to finally take action?鈥�