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“We recognise that these are very unique circumstances and that the government must do all it can to mitigate the spread of coronavirus, and we know that today’s decision will not have been taken lightly.

“That said, the monumental impact that this will have childcare providers across the country cannot be underestimated. Many now face a significant loss in revenue while still being required to pay mortgages and rents and other fixed costs. There can be no doubt that this move will have a huge detrimental financial impact across the sector.

"While the recent commitment from the Department for Education on the continuation of the 'free entitlement' funding during these difficult times are welcome, these alone are not enough to ensure that the childcare sector can survive these difficult times. Most providers also rely on private fees from parents as a key source of income, and so the inevitable loss of revenue once these measures are implemented will be significant. And of course, all this comes at a time when many nurseries, pre-schools and childminders across the country were already struggling financially as the result of years of government underfunding.

"From a practical perspective, it remains to be seen how this proposal can or will be implemented in practice. Early years providers now face the prospect of having to identify which of their parents are 'key workers', and then making incredibly difficult decisions on how many staff members will be needed to provide to deliver this care, and what happens to those staff who are no longer required to work.

"This is going to be a huge undertaking, and all at a time when providers are worried about how and if they are going to survive this situation.

"The Chancellor has outlined in detail a number of measures aimed at supporting the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors. It is now imperative that he commits to a dedicated support package for the early years sector, to ensure that they are able to weather this storm, as indicated by the education secretary during his statement today.

"At the same time, the Department for Education must urgently provide guidance to the sector on how the government's plan can work in practice, and we will be working with them on this as a matter of urgency."