Â黨ӰÊÓcalls for £240m early years funding in Spending Review
By Rachel Lawler
The Â黨ӰÊÓis calling on the government to commit to a £240 million Early Years Sufficiency Fund at the upcoming Spending Review following a recent survey of providers.
The survey found that one in six early years providers could close by Christmas 2020 without additional funding, rising to one in four in the most deprived local authorities.
Worrying statistics
Just a quarter of the providers surveyed said that they expect to make a profit between now and March 2021.
More than half (51%) of those asked said they would need emergency funding to stay open for the next six months while two thirds (65%) said that the government had not done enough to support providers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Increased costs and lower income
Many providers are still experiencing reduced demand for places, leaving them with lower income from fees and funding at a time when costs have increased due to the need for additional cleaning and staffing after the pandemic.
June Deebank, owner and manager of St Oswald's Pre-school in Rickmansworth said: “We have been significantly impacted by the lack of extra financial help for all the cleaning resources we have had to buy, and the cost of paying staff for extra time needed to clean.
“In addition, we are lower on numbers than previous years and so, are finding it hard to retain staff. At the moment, I am managing to do having to do so by not paying myself, but this is a situation that cannot continue."
Early Years Sufficency Fund
In response, the Â黨ӰÊÓis calling for an emergency Early Years Sufficiency Fund targeted at childcare providers at risk of closure to ensure that there are enough childcare and early education places to meet the needs of children and families going forward.
Based on an analysis of the survey, independent researchers Ceeda estimate that around £240 million is needed to support