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The Early Years Alliance has issued a comment on the news that the Department for Education will provide an earlier code to parents hoping to access the new two-year-old funded entitlement offer who would not normally be able to access their eligibility code until late February / March.

Commenting, Alliance CEO Neil Leitch said: 

“We know that for those parents affected, the prospect of not receiving their funded entitlement eligibility codes in time to secure places has been an incredibly stressful one, and so we welcome that fact that a workaround has – belatedly – been announced. That said, it's crucial that this new solution actually works in practice, and that parents are able to apply for places – and providers can receive funding for those places – in a timely manner. 

“And of course, eligibility codes are only one small part of a much bigger problem. We know that sustained staffing shortages plus the fact that a significant proportion of nurseries, pre-schools and childminders still don’t know their funding rates for the new financial year has meant that many providers still aren’t in a position to confirm whether or not they will even be offering funded places to two-year-olds under the new scheme.

“Unless government also looks to address these issues as a matter of urgency, we will still see many parents left disappointed when the new offer rolls out in April."