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The Early Years Alliance has issued a comment in response to the exclusion of the early years sector in the government's Autumn Statement.

Commenting on the exclusion of the early years sector in the Autumn Statement, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said:  

“The Chancellor rightly stated today that to be pro-education is to be pro-growth.  

“It is absolutely appalling, therefore, that in stark contrast to the significant investment increase in schools announced today, the early years sector has yet again been completely ignored in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement – especially in light of the recent warning from the IFS that our sector will see an 8% drop in real-terms funding over the next three years.  

“Let’s be clear: nurseries, pre-schools and childminders have reached crisis point. High-quality educators are leaving in their droves, years of underfunding are prompting providers to limit their hours or close completely, and this is only set to get worse as settings continue to battle through the cost-of-living crisis with limited government support, especially in light of energy price cap changes announced today.  

“Rather than taking meaningful action to address this by properly funding the sector, the government continues to recklessly point to policies – like relaxing ratios – that will only worsen the quality of early education and heap more pressure on a workforce that is teetering on the edge. Put simply, our sector is being crippled by a combination of sustained underfunding and poor policy-making.   

“Education starts long before a child reaches the school gates. If the government is truly committed to ensuring that every child gets a world-class education, it is absolutely critical that it invests what is needed into our vital sector before the early years is damaged beyond repair.” 

Commenting on the rise in the minimum wage, Neil said: 

“While all staff should of course receive a fair wage for the work they do, increasing the minimum wage to £10.42 per hour without committing to an equivalent increase in early years funding will wreak havoc on a sector that is already facing extreme challenges.  

“There’s no doubt that those working in the early years sector deserve to be paid more, but years of underfunding has pushed settings to a cliff edge, and with soaring inflation and rising energy prices, it will be impossible for settings to stay open if wages increase to this extent without additional government investment. 

“This year alone, 4,000 early years settings have closed their doors and with the cost-of-living crisis set to worsen, this number will only rise. As such, the government must put forward a long-term strategy for the sector that includes adequate long-term funding, so that the need for better pay does not lead to more closures.”