Anyone who has worked in the early years sector for a number of years will be aware of how hard won its victories have been. Since childcare provision expanded under Labour in the 1990s, and the Early Years Foundation Stage was established under the Childcare Act in 2006, early years education has worked hard to provide a structured, evidenced approach to improving children’s outcomes. While the sector battles to remain sustainable, and win more funding, it now seems to face its greatest existential threat.
A new Government, focused on ‘deregulation’, is clearly in danger of unravelling everything that has been achieved.
The rumours have certainly been worrying. Before the dramatic U-turn on energy and tax pledges announced by PM Liz Truss, we were hearing rumbles from a right-wing think-tank about abolishing the free hours and scrapping ratios altogether. But as if to assuage these concerns, the DfE has flagged the £180 million ‘to improve children’s development in early years’.
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