аÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø¿ª½±

The Alliance has commented on a report by the Petitions Committee examining the impact of Covid-19 on new parents. 'Impact of Covid-19 on new parents: one year on' is available to view in full, .

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

"The committee is absolutely right to call for an independent review into early years funding and affordability at a time when many settings are fighting to remain open and many parents are struggling to balance work and childcare.

"The pandemic has taken a huge toll on a sector already struggling to remain viable, and clearly, substantial further investment into the early years is needed to ensure that providers can deliver affordable, accessible - and crucially, sustainable - early care and education.

"The report is also right to highlight the need for government to focus its pandemic recovery efforts beyond school-aged children - and while we support the call for greater recovery investment for babies and new parents, much more must also be done to support the recovery of young children attending early years settings, who have seen their access to vital early education disrupted by the pandemic."

"If the government is truly committed to helping families recover from the impact of Covid-19, it must ensure that this includes helping parents of babies and young children to access the services and support they need."