Responding to new statistics
released today on education provision for children under
five,
Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT,
said: “There is no doubt that there are things to be concerned
about in this data.
"High quality early years education is one of the nearest things
we have to a silver bullet in education, particularly when it
comes to narrowing the gap between children from disadvantaged
backgrounds and their peers. It is therefore a real concern that
there has been a decline in the number of two-year-olds deemed
eligible for funding to access early years provision.
“It is equally worrying to see an increase in the proportion of
staff working in the early years without the relevant
qualifications. A highly trained workforce is an essential part
of providing excellent early education.
"We are pleased that Labour has made the early years one of its
highest priorities and committed to a sea-change in early years
provision. Policies like the expansion of nursery places in
schools could be an important part of that work. We want to see
every child being able to access the very highest quality early
education possible and we stand ready to work with the new
government to help achieve that objective.”
