麻花影视

The Early Years 麻花影视has issued a comment in response to research published by the Local Government Association (LGA) which found that nearly nine in 10 councils are concerned that early years setting closures this year will undermine capacity ahead of the rollout of the government鈥檚 extension of the 30 hours free childcare scheme.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: 

鈥淚t is frankly unbelievable that the government wants to expand the 30-hour offer at a time that the sector is facing its most challenging time in decades. 

鈥淲e know that settings are already closing at an alarming rate, with Ofsted data released less than a week ago showing that nearly 5,000 settings closed in the last year alone. 

鈥淲e have no doubt therefore, that, in its current form, expanding the so-called 鈥榝ree childcare鈥� offers will only lead to further closures 鈥� and that rather than making it easier for parents to access high-quality early education and care, it will only make it harder.  

鈥淭he only way that this expansion won鈥檛 result in complete disaster is if the government effectively engages with the sector when determining how the expansion will work in practice and, critically, ensures that the funding provided not only meets the costs of delivering places, but also encourages settings to grow to meet any increased demand.  

鈥淎nything less will not only result in total failure of plans to the extended offers, but also seal the fate for thousands more settings across the country.鈥�