Early Years Alliance launches its #WeAreEducators campaign

The #WeAreEducators campaign aims to help those working in the sector highlight to parents, local communities and policymakers the unique importance of the early years and the role the workforce plays in shaping children’s lives.

It follows an announcement by the National Day Nurseries (NDNA) about its new campaign to raise the profile of the sector, launching on Friday at its annual conference.

Under the Alliance’s #WeAreEducators campaign, the organisation will be contacting MPs and peers to voice for their support for the early years sector and recognise those working in childcare settings as education professionals.

Those who sign up to the campaign will be given access to a free toolkit which includes a template letter to send to their MP inviting them to visit their setting, posters, social media graphics and other materials to help them highlight the vital role of early learning. The latter is in reaction to a raft of research suggesting that despite the importance of the first five years of a child’s life, early years provision is often viewed and treated as ‘childcare’ to support parents to work.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said, ‘For far too long, hardworking, talented and knowledgeable early years professionals have been treated as “babysitters” by policymakers, rather than valued as the educators that they are.

‘Anyone who has ever worked in our sector knows that play is learning and that the early years is education. It is our hope that through this campaign, parents, local communities and – crucially – policymakers will come to understand this too.’

• To sign up to the #WeAreEducators campaign, and receive a free toolkit, click here