Early Years Equality protest

At Early Years Equality, we believe that all children have a right to high quality early childhood education and care. This right should be at the heart of all decision-making related to the early years and we hope to voice this through our work lobbying and campaigning for fairer funding for the early years.

The current government does not look at this issue from the perspective of children and does not consider what is best for them. It only looks at how it can enable more parents, and mothers in particular, to return to work and contribute to the economy. Early Years Equality believes that these two goals should not be mutually exclusive.

The response to the latest Budget from the early years sector has been immense. We know that the offer of 30 hours of “free childcare” for all children nine months-old and above is not really “free”. We also know that what qualified, experienced early years educators offer is not “childcare”.

In many ways, the term “childcare” obscures the important work of the early years sector. We like to use a comparison with the culinary sector – many of us can cook, but we don’t consider ourselves the same as Michelin-starred chefs with years of training and experience.

Early years educators are increasingly pressured, especially after the additional strain of Covid-19 and the increase in need post-lockdown. Despite this, they are still treated as babysitters. Current funding rates do not allow for a proper salary structure within early years settings, or proper professional progression and recognition.

This is why we are protesting. The current government does not look at the early years sector from the children’s perspective nor consider what is best for them. It only considers how it can enable more parents, and particularly mothers, to return to work and contribute to the economy. Early Years Equality believes that these two goals should not be mutually exclusive.

High-quality, child- focused early childhood development cannot be offer to families for “free” at the rates currently paid to providers. The fault for this lies fairly and squarely with the current government.

So what can we do? Early Years Equality, along with early years educators from across the sector, will be protesting at Downing Street on 24 June at 1pm. It will be a fun day, with buses organised from various locations across the country. Encourage your colleagues to come too, and raise awareness with the families in your settings – the more the merrier!