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Leading early years organisation the Early Years Alliance has criticised the government for failing to provide any financial support to childcare providers to help cover the additional costs of operating during the coronavirus outbreak, despite pledging between £25,000 and £75,000 to schools. 

In a letter sent to education secretary Gavin Williamson and children and families minister Vicky Ford, the organisation has called for the government to end the unfair treatment of early years providers, arguing that financial support for the steps childcare providers need to take to keep their settings safe - such as additional cleaning and the purchase of PPE – is likely to be “critical” at a time when one in four providers fear closure in the next 12 months. 

In guidance published on 7 April, the Department for Education confirmed that schools could apply for additional financial support to help with the "exceptional costs associated with Coronavirus for the period of March to July", including increased premises related costs and additional cleaning costs.

Schools with 250 pupils or fewer are eligible to claim up to £25,000 worth of support, while those with over 1000 pupils can claim up to £75,000. However, the government has not announced any plans for any equivalent support schemes for early years providers, despite the fact that, like schools, they have been encouraged to remain open to key worker and vulnerable children since the end of March, and are now being asked to open more widely as of 1 June. 

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

“We know that many providers are still reviewing whether or not they will be able to open on 1 June – but for those that intend to do so, the government must commit to providing the funding needed to meet the additional costs of operating during this period, just as they have already done for schools. 

"Infection prevention is rightly a key consideration for providers planning for the reopening of their setting, which in practice will mean additional cleaning, the purchasing of PPE, the replacement of some equipment and resources, and the additional staff time required to carry out this work – all of which will come at no insignificant cost to providers. 

“It beggars belief, therefore, that while the government has already ensured that extra support has been made available to schools to help meet these costs, no equivalent financial commitment has been made for the many thousands of nurseries, pre-schools and childminders operating around the country. 

“Early years providers are already facing significant financial difficulties as a result of inadequate government support during this period. The government must act urgently to address this disparity and ensure that no provider is financially disadvantaged for trying to ensure that their setting is as safe as possible for their staff, families and the children in their care.”

Editor notes 

• The Early Years Alliance is the largest and most representative early years membership organisation in England. A registered educational charity, it also provides high-quality affordable childcare and education to support children and families in areas of deprivation throughout the country.

• The Alliance represents 14,000 members and supports them to deliver care and learning to more than 800,000 families every year. We deliver family learning projects, offer information and advice, produce specialist publications, run acclaimed training programmes and campaign to influence early years policy and practice.

• The Alliance website is