Editor’s view - Open or closed?

We were all glad to see the back of 2020, but, in truth, it has been a bruising start to 2021 for the early years sector.

The government’s decision that nurseries and childminders in England should stay open for all children, not just for keyworker and vulnerable children as the schools are doing, has been difficult and divisive.

It seemed to be driven by economic factors - so that parents of young children could continue to work - rather than on science and health grounds.

Early years settings have been deemed ‘low risk’ despite notifications to Ofsted of Covid cases more than doubling in the first week of the year.

Some settings have been forced to close at least temporarily because staff are ill or isolating, and young children’s role in spreading the virus is still not clear enough.

Many nursery staff are anxious and fearful of going into work, with little PPE or social distancing, the letdown over the promise of access to testing kits, and no sign of priority for vaccination.

Some settings are positive about remaining open, however, saying that they can offer a safe environment. And if nurseries close, the financial consequences might be that they never reopen.

All desperately want to serve young children and their families, but they need much more support and recognition if they are to have a fighting chance.

Nurseries are open, but occupancy is well down, with severe effects on both free entitlement funding and private fees, as the Government has chosen not to fund to pre-Covid levels for the spring term (see our Analysis on pages 6-7).

There are no easy answers, but if we really believe that early education and childcare are absolutely vital for children, parents and the economy, then we need the funding, vaccination and testing to match.