CAMPAIGNING

Ahead of the Spring Budget, Shannon Pite, communications and external affairs director at the Alliance, shares the next step in the Alliance’s campaign for fairer funding

On 17 November 2022, during his first-ever Autumn Statement, the new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, spoke passionately about the importance of education. “Being pro-education”, he said, “is being pro-growth. But providing our children with a good education is not just an economic mission, it’s a moral mission.” He then went on to announce a huge, and widely unexpected, £2.3bn increase in annual funding for schools over the next two years – and precisely nothing for the early years.

On 17 November 2022, during his first-ever Autumn Statement, the new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, spoke passionately about the importance of education. “Being pro-education”, he said, “is being pro-growth. But providing our children with a good education is not just an economic mission, it’s a moral mission.” He then went on to announce a huge, and widely unexpected, £2.3bn increase in annual funding for schools over the next two years – and precisely nothing for the early years.

A few months later, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gave his first speech of 2023 about his priorities for the years ahead. In it, he spoke the need to encourage people back to work, his passion for supporting families and once again, the critical importance of education. And yet despite all this, there was still no mention of the early years sector, other than a passing reference to family hubs.

To describe the early years as a policy blind spot of government would be an understatement. We all know that investing in the early years is one of the smartest investments any country can make. Looking solely from an economic perspective, not only does the provision of flexible, quality, affordable and accessible care and education support parents – and primarily, mothers – back to work, it is also investment in society itself: for every £1 invested in a child’s early years, you’d need to invest £7 in their adolescence to have the same impact – and that £1 saves the taxpayer £13 further down the line in reduced spending on health, crime and a whole range of other costs.

And yet, year after year, the government continues to pretend that the early years sector isn’t in crisis, that thousands of settings closing is an acceptable state of affairs.

Back in January, the Alliance carried out a survey to find the impact of current cost pressures on early years providers – and the findings were stark.

Half of respondents had operated at a loss over the last 12 months, while a third said it was likely that they would close in the next year (with nearly one in 10 saying this is ‘very likely’). Is it any wonder, therefore, that seven in 10 respondents said they would be increasing fees this year, while seven in 10 plan to introduce or increase charges for extras like meals, snacks and trips?

So, what exactly can we do to challenge what said seems to be a never-ending situation? Over recent months, the calls for the government to take action on the early years crisis have been growing louder from all sides: thinktanks, parenting organisations, even MPs within the Conservative Party itself.

Running alongside this have been high-profile campaigns – including the Princess of Wales’ ‘Shaping Us’ campaign and the Alliance’s own #WeAreEducators – reminding the government that when we talk about the early years, we aren’t just talking about ‘childcare’, we’re talking about high-quality early education that support the learning and development of children during those critical first five years.

With the government’s Spring Budget only two weeks away, now is a critical time for early years providers to make their voices heard. That’s why we at the Alliance have developed a new campaign toolkit for Alliance members and supporters which includes:

• Interactive data on how funding rates, provider numbers and places have changed in your local area to support local campaigning.
  
• A funding factsheet to help inform your calls for better funding to local politicians.
• A template press release to help you to raise awareness of the sector ’s funding challenges in your local press.
• We also know that getting parents and carers onside is key, and so, in addition, the toolkit includes posters, factsheets and a template letter explaining the current funding issues and encouraging them to contact local politicians.

Find out more

You can find the resources listed above, and more information about our ongoing campaign efforts, at bit.ly/fairfundingU5, and if you need any support with your local campaigning efforts at any point, please feel free to contact our friendly campaigns team at feedback@eyalliance.org.uk.