Early years action group setup to 'save the sector'

The Early Years Equality action group has been setup in reaction to the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement, which provided no support for the sector, and included an announcement that the national living wage will rise by more than 9 per cent in April.

Behind the movement is Dionne Pullen, owner Organic Forest Kindergarten in Wiltshire, Claire Kennyon, director of Busy Lizzie Nursery in Chichester, Claire Kenyon, owner of The Children’s Garden Nurseries in Stamford & Norwich, and Lacey Douglass – a freelance bookkeeper specialising in early years and early years rep for PVI settings in Norwich,

The aim of the group is to bring childcare providers together to collectively campaign for better funding to save further settings from closure, and to ensure the sector’s voices are better heard by the Government long-term.

Planned movements include a march in London next year and strike action as a last resort.

There are currently 30 childcare providers who have stepped forward to volunteer as country representatives on behalf of the group, while thousands have signed up to the group’s website.

Other action being promoted by the group includes for childcare providers to write to their MP and the Royal Foundation for Early Childhood highlighting the cost of delivering childcare places against the amount received in Government funding, getting families onboard and amending local authority funding agreements.

For those that are unable to attend in person events, the group has set-up ‘in-setting’ action weeks (9 Jan 2023, 6 Feb, 6 March) where providers can join together to make themselves heard.

Pullen told Nursery World, ‘We set-up the action group after the sector was ignored by the Government in the Autumn Statement.

‘Since then, there has been no prominent or joined-up action. Without urgent action, more settings will close, and the sector will be at real risk of collapse.’

‘Despite years of shouting and seeking help for our struggling sector, our Government have refused to listen or act to ensure our sustainability.  So now, we must rally together and make them listen.

She added, ‘We actively invite early years organisations to work with us. This isn’t about competition; it’s about ensuring the survival of the sector.’

Separately, the group has put in a complaint to the advertising standards authority about the use of the word free in marketing materials for the Government’s 30 hours of childcare.