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by Jess Gibson

Government delays in confirming the upcoming funding rates for the new one- and two-year-old early entitlement offers are “putting the entire policy at risk”, according to Early Years Alliance CEO Neil Leitch in an open letter yesterday. 

In the letter, addressed to the chancellor of the exchequer, the education secretary, and the children and families minister, Neil criticises this delay warning of the uncertain situation in which local authorities are being placed and the potential impact of this. 

The Department for Education (DfE) launched a consultation on how the new early entitlement offers for one- and two-year-olds would be funded back in July 2023. However, despite closing in September, there has since been no indication of when a response will be published. 

As a result, local councils – and, in turn, nurseries, pre-schools and childminders – are yet to receive confirmation of these to deliver the new early entitlement offer from April 2024 onwards, and there are concerns in the open letter that “further delay could put providers' willingness to opt into the schemes at risk”. 

The letter states: 

To the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for Education and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, 

I am writing as CEO of the Early Years Alliance, the largest early years membership organisation in England, with regards to the upcoming rollout of the early entitlement offer to children aged nine months to two years old. 

As you will be aware, the early years sector has expressed serious concerns about the viability of this policy and its potential impact on providers if not funded adequately – concerns that were significantly exacerbated by the fact that the upcoming increase in the national living and minimum wage has not been match by a comparable rise in early years funding. 

I am writing to you today, however, with a more time-sensitive matter of concern. Despite the fact that the start of the phased rollout of the new offers is less than five months away, the sector has yet to receive confirmation of how these schemes will be funded, even though the consultation on this topic closed more than two months ago. 

As a result, final local authority rates for the new offers have still not been published, further delaying the process of confirming rates for frontline providers. This is making it near-impossible for settings to budget or plan for this policy – or, in some cases, make a decision on whether they will opt into the schemes at all. 

This is a flagship government policy that has been heavily promoted, and expectations among families are high. Many providers are receiving a high volume of inquiries from parents keen to register their children for the new offers – parents who are then incredibly frustrated when settings explain that they are unable to commit to offering places without further information from the government. 

What the government is asking of providers is no small thing: to deliver one of the biggest expansions the sector has seen in the midst of a recruitment and retention crisis and on the back of years of underfunding. The very least ministers could do is provide the basic information needed to help providers understand if it is possible for them to do so. 

The current situation is simply not acceptable. As such, I urge Department for Education and Treasury colleagues to ensure that this information is provided to the sector without further delay. 

I would be happy to meet to discuss the contents of this letter, and the sector’s wider concerns regarding the extended offer, with you all further. 

With kind regards, 

Neil Leitch 

CEO of the Early Years Alliance