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The Early Years Alliance is calling on the government to commit to continuing to provide early entitlement funding regardless of childcare attendance figures until at least spring 2021, following the extension of the Job Retention Scheme announced by the Chancellor earlier today.

The government is currently funding councils in England for two-, three- and four-year-olds accessing government-funded childcare places based on attendance figures from 2019, in order to support early years providers during a period of low demand. However, this support is due to end at the end of the year.

The Alliance has already expressed fears that the early years sector is drastically underfunded, and is also calling for a £240 million Early Years Sufficiency Fund at the upcoming Spending Review to protect nurseries, pre-schools and childminders most at risk of going out of business. A recent Alliance survey found that one in six early years providers could close by Christmas 2020 without additional funding, rising to one in four in the most deprived local authorities.

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

“The measures announced by the Chancellor today, while undoubtedly welcome, are a clear acknowledgement by government of the long-term economic impact that the latest restrictions are likely to have.

"As the Chancellor clearly knows based on his actions today, businesses need certainty to plan for the future. It's critical, therefore, that that same certainty is given to early years providers who now face the prospect of reduced demand for several months as a result of changing work patterns and a sharp increase in the number of parents on furlough no longer requiring childcare.

"If the sector is to survive, it is essential that the government provides the support early years providers need to get through this difficult period. That means both a commitment to continuing to pay for funded childcare places that would normally have been taken up through to the end of the spring term, and urgent emergency funding to safeguard those settings most at risk of closure, especially providers heavily reliant on private parental income.

"This, alongside a review of the overall level of funding received by the sector, is absolutely vital if we are to ensure the continued availability of early years education and care for children and families across the country, both during the pandemic and beyond."