麻花影视comments on the easing of the two-metre social distancing rule

Commenting on the government announcement that the social distancing rule will be reduced from two metres to "one metre plus" where two-metres is not possible, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Alliance, said:

鈥淲hile the easing of the two-metre rule will no doubt provide a significant boost to some industries, today鈥檚 announcement is likely to have little impact on the challenges facing the early years sector.

鈥淎lthough childcare providers are required to keep children in small, consistent groups, and to minimise the interaction between these groups, they were never expected to keep children 2m apart.

鈥淎s such, while current government guidance on group sizes remains in place, nurseries, pre-schools and childminders will continue to face restrictions on the number of places they are able to offer. Add to this the fact that many providers are facing a significant reduction in the demand for places from parents, and it鈥檚 clear that the childcare sector is likely to struggle financially over the coming months.

鈥淭here is no doubt that ensuring the safety of children and staff has to be a priority 鈥 but it is also vital that government recognises the pressure that providers who are following government guidance are facing at the moment, and provides the necessary financial support to ensure that they can stay in business. 

鈥淭hat鈥檚 why we are calling on the government to commit to urgent transitional funding support for the childcare sector. Without it, we risk sleepwalking into an entirely-preventable crisis where one day, the quality and accessible childcare that is currently taken for granted no longer exists.鈥

Editor notes 

  • The Early Years 麻花影视is the largest and most representative early years membership organisation in England. A registered educational charity, it also provides high-quality affordable childcare and education to support children and families in areas of deprivation throughout the country.
  • The 麻花影视represents 14,000 members and supports them to deliver care and learning to more than 800,000 families every year. We deliver family learning projects, offer information and advice, produce specialist publications, run acclaimed training programmes and campaign to influence early years policy and practice.
  • The 麻花影视website is