Commenting Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said:
“Today's government statistics paint an incomplete picture of the
situation facing early years providers and families
alike.
“Let's be clear, England's early year sector continues to face
severe capacity challenges. So while these statistics may
show the number of places that have been granted, what they
don't reveal is whether families have been able to access
all the days and sessions they need: a parent who has been given
one day a week at their local setting – but needs five – may
technically have a funded place, but not one that meets their
needs. And of course, it's highly likely that those families
accessing places will be facing sharp fee increases for any
unfunded hours they take up or additional charges as a direct
result of years of sector underfunding.
“What's more, it's not clear from these figures how many
two-year-old places are newly-created places, rather than
existing places where parents have switched from paying privately
to accessing government funding. With government admitting not
only that 40,000 additional educators are required by September
2025 but also 85,000 new places, it's clear that, regardless of
the positive spin government is trying to put on the current
situation, the challenge facing the sector is an immense one.
"Even for a healthy sector, rolling out such an ambitious scheme
would have been a tall order - but of course, our early
years sector was already incredibly fragile coming into this
policy. If the government is to have any hope of rolling out this
offer successfully in the long term, it's crucial that ministers
acknowledge and tackle the fundamental issues facing nurseries,
pre-schools and providers. That means a comprehensive workforce
strategy that focuses on retention as well as recruitment, and
crucially. funding that reflects delivery costs, both now and in
the future."
