Alliance responds to EPI report showing widening of early years disadvantage gap between 2019 and 2023

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

“There is a wealth of research showing that high-quality early education plays an absolutely critical role in narrowing the disadvantage gap at the earliest opportunity. How can it be right, then, that under the current policy approach in this country, a child's ability to access funded early years provision is almost entirely dependent on their household income?     

“As the rollout of early entitlement expansion continues, we urge the new government to make equality of access a policy priority. This means reviewing the eligibility criteria for the existing entitlement offers, and ensuring that there is adequate financial support for providers delivering places to children from disadvantaged backgrounds – by, for example, increasing early years pupil premium funding to primary levels.  

“We're clear that every child – and especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds – should be able to reap the rewards of early education. We hope that, going forward, access to early education will be viewed not as a luxury, but as a fundamental right.”