Government ‘in denial’ over scale of early years crisis, Alliance warns following Urgent Question on two-year-old funding rollout

Please find below a comment from the Early Years Alliance in response to today's  on the rollout of the two-year-old early entitlement offer.

Commenting Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said:

“The government continues to reassure parents that all children who are eligible for the new funded early years offers will be able to access places – but the harsh reality is that, for many families, this simply won’t be the case. 

“Despite the fact there is just over two months until the scheme rolls out, many nurseries, pre-schools and childminders across the country still have no idea what funding rate they will receive from April, making it impossible to plan – and in some cases, commit to opting into the new offers at all. 

“Add to this the fact that many providers are still battling the impact of years of underfunding, and that we are in midst of the worst early years recruitment and retention crisis in recent memory, and there is no doubt that our sector is in crisis – and to argue otherwise suggests that the government is in total denial over the scale of the challenge it is facing. 

“Pretending that all is fine isn’t going to solve this problem. It’s time for government to face reality and take the urgent steps needed to address the early years crisis once and for all."