Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said, ‘Rising energy bills, an acute recruitment and retention crisis and the lasting impact of the pandemic – all against a backdrop of years of Government underfunding – have left our sector in crisis.
‘If we are to have any chance of avoiding an early years catastrophe, it is vital that the new Prime Minister puts forward an ambitious plan for the early years: one that commits to adequate long-term funding, focuses on the needs of the child and recognises the early years workforce as the high-quality and hard-working educators they are.'
Leitch also said he hoped Truss had changed her mind about relaxing staff: child ratios in nurseries and gained a 'greater understanding of the value of quality early education' and the need to invest, not deregulate it.
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) commented, ‘The early years sector is facing an immediate crisis. The vast majority of providers are fighting to stay afloat amid a storm of rising costs, soaring energy bills and workforce shortages.
‘Our nurseries and their workforce must be supported, if the sector is not working then the rest of the economy cannot work. Liz Truss has promised action on bills but this must include early years providers. We also need to see nurseries being made exempt from paying unfair business rates and VAT. Employers also need help to address the recruitment and retention crisis in the early years workforce, not changes that will make it harder and more stressful to work in this vital sector.
‘The new Prime Minister has a short window to bring in the support needed to save early years settings or we will continue to see alarming loss of providers and children’s places.’
The Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY) argued that the sector has been 'neglected' by previous Government policy, leading to unprecedented closures.
Policy advisor Helen Donohoe explained, 'The new Prime Minister has an opportunity to put forward a clear plan of action to address these issues. She must listen to what the sector is saying. Our members want to see meaningful action and real investment to improve the pay and status in the profession and to underpin sustainability, rather than the tweaks to regulations that have been proposed thus far.'
Teaching unions are also urging the new Prime Minister to ‘urgently’ turn her attention to school funding and teacher pay.
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), said, 'Teacher pay, support staff pay and school funding are all live issues, with the Government's current pay deal falling far short of what is required. Whoever ends up with the education brief must look again at the case for a fully-funded pay rise which at least matches inflation. The current 5 per cent deal for teachers and 8 per cent for support staff adds up to a further pay cut, on top of more than a decade of real-terms cuts to pay. Teacher recruitment and retention has been in a parlous state for some time, and this must be arrested urgently if we are to protect education services into the future.
'School funding has been similarly depressed in recent years, with the costs of running a school continuing to rise. Austerity then Covid were tests of resilience, and the energy crisis is the latest. Government cannot expect schools to make ends meet forever. '
The National Children’s Bureau (NCB) has outlined three challenges for the new Prime Minister, they are:
- Protecting children from the collapse in living standards.
- Delivering on the Government’s reform agenda and strengthening the children’s workforce -this includes dealing with workload and pay issues.
- Addressing children’s unmet mental health needs. As part of this, it should publish the Government’s 10-year mental health strategy before the end of this year.
NCB’s chief executive Anna Feuchtwang said, ‘Our new Prime Minister has the chance to demonstrate that they have the courage, vision, and morality to protect children whose families will struggle to put food on the table, to deliver their party’s own children’s services reform agenda, to strengthen the children’s workforce, and to fulfil their promise to meet the mental health needs of all children and young people.
‘Our country is in crisis. The very least we can ask for is action, not empty promises.’
