Effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on early years settings, House of Commons, 12 January 2021

In our Child-centred recovery report, we highlight how effective, high quality early years provision makes a difference to young children, helping to break the cycle of disadvantage, improving social mobility and offering them a good start in life. Early years providers have continued to support children throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

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Key messages

  • In our Child-centred recovery report, we highlight how effective, high quality early years provision makes a difference to young children, helping to break the cycle of disadvantage, improving social mobility and offering them a good start in life. Early years providers have continued to support children throughout the COVID-19 crisis.
  • The early years sector experienced challenges throughout the first national lockdown with more than 69,000 early years providers temporarily closing during the coronavirus pandemic, with many settings citing financial difficulties as a key reason. Among those that remained open, to provide care for vulnerable children and the children of critical workers, many operated at a loss.
  • Funding arrangements for many private, voluntary and independent early years settings only covered around half of their normal income, and even with additional support such as the business rates holiday, in many cases it was more financially sustainable for settings to close so they can access funding to furlough their staff.
  • The LGA has repeatedly raised concerns about the underfunding of the early entitlements, so it was good that extra funding was announced in the recent Spending Review. Whilst this funding was welcome, with many early years providers struggling due to COVID-19 it was disappointing that this was not a more significant and immediate investment to support providers during this unprecedented time.
  • The early years sector has been asked to stay open throughout the third national lockdown announced last week. Given a recent report from Coram states that 58 per cent of local authorities think that local childcare providers may close for good, immediate investment and clarity about future funding arrangements is need

Further information

As recognised in the Duchess of Cambridge research on early years, good quality early education has a positive impact on young children’s development, while childcare more broadly enables parents and carers to work and often gives children the opportunity to interact with other children and try new things in a safe space. Childcare providers have been a vital part of the nation’s response to COVID-19 and councils have been working closely with them to ensure that vulnerable children and critical workers have the childcare they need.

Funding for early years services

Following the first national lockdown and through the Autumn term 2020, the Government said that settings would continue to receive their early years entitlements funding, even if they closed. However, this funding only covers around half of a private nursery’s costs with the remaining derived largely from parent fees, which have clearly been significantly cut as most children stay at home. Around two thirds of private nurseries closed temporarily as a result, while those that remain open are struggling financially, with some operating at a loss. 

In light of the latest national lockdown, early years providers have been requested to stay open whilst school premises are closed to those apart from key worker and vulnerable children. We fully recognise the importance of early years provision to ensure that parents have access to good quality childcare to enable them to work and that children have the support they need to develop school readiness. However, we need assurance that this is safe for children, families and staff and the early years sector needs to be effectively resourced. The announcement before Christmas of the return to routine funding arrangements (‘funding following the child’) has caused significant difficulty for local authorities and providers in light of the national lockdown.

We need to keep a close eye on the attendance numbers at early years settings, and if these look to fall, the funding approach laid out before Christmas needs to be revisited otherwise the sector is at significant risk. The Government should ensure that no provider is operating at a loss in order to deliver the government’s childcare commitments, and that we have enough money to support providers who are closed to make sure we have enough childcare spaces when we need them. 

We have repeatedly raised concerns about the underfunding of the early entitlements, so it was good that extra funding was announced in the recent Spending Review. However, with many early years providers struggling due to COVID-19, it was disappointing that this was not a more significant and immediate investment to support providers during this unprecedented time.

Even without the additional pressures of COVID-19, low funding rates result in low pay for childcare workers, with almost half (45 per cent) of childcare workers also claiming state benefits and childcare workers earning around 40 per cent less than the average female worker. This in turn is resulting in a recruitment and retention crisis in the sector, in particular for well qualified staff. This fails to recognise the vital work that childcare workers do and the significant contribution they make to the future life chances of all children.

It is crucial we retain the good quality early education and childcare that improves children’s outcomes and reduces the disadvantage gap. Given a recent report from Coram states that 58 per cent of local authorities think that local childcare providers may close for good, immediate investment and clarity about future funding arrangements is needed.

LGA’s Child-centred recovery report

We published our Child-centred recovery report, which outlines our ambitions for a child-centred recovery, drawing together every aspect of policy and service delivery to create the places people want to live in and plan for the future. Our immediate priorities are:

  1. A cross-Whitehall strategy that puts children and young people at the heart of recovery.
  2. Investment in local safety nets and the universal and early help services, including mental health and wellbeing services, that children, young people and their families will need to support them through the short and long-term impacts of the pandemic.
  3. Dedicated action to prevent the attainment gap from widening, including immediate work to stabilise the early years sector and support children and young people to attend school or to continue learning from home where required.

Contact

Laura Johnson, Public Affairs Support Officer

Laura Johnson provides support across the public affairs team, leading on informing the LGA’s membership of its parliamentary engagement, political monitoring and supporting in the delivery of key events in Parliament and with stakeholders. Laura also leads on digital, culture, tourism and sport; improvement and One Public Estate. Laura joined the LGA in April 2019, having previously worked for a political monitoring organisation.

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