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Please find below a comment from the Early Years Alliance on a study by the Early Education and Childcare Coalition, of which the Alliance is a steering group member.  

The study, Retention and return: delivering the expansion of early years entitlement in England, can be read 

Commenting, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said:

“This report shows just how short-sighted the government’s plan to expand the early entitlement offers are. 

"It's clear that the early year workforce is in crisis, but rather than addressing existing challenges, the government has instead decided to blindly promise more early years places to families when it's clear there are nowhere near enough educators to be able to deliver this – something ministers would have known this if they had properly engaged with the sector before charging ahead with this policy.

"The fact is that early educators are leaving in their droves, and unless government takes urgent action to tackling this worrying trend, the expansion will be nothing more than a pipe dream, leaving families disappointed and vital money and time wasted.

"At the Alliance, we know just how vital a role the early years workforce have in children's development, but years of underfunding and a lack of a meaningful workforce plan has meant this has yet to be recognised and reflected in their pay and career opportunities. 

"If the government is to have any chance of creating the additional places it has promised to families, it must work with the sector – and crucially, provide the investment needed – to ensure that there are enough high-quality educators to actually deliver them."