On the day of her appointment as new Prime Minister (Monday 5 September), early years organisations have called on Liz Truss to make the sector a priority and put in place a plan to tackle the early years funding and recruitment crises to ‘avoid a catastrophe’.
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said, ‘Rising energy bills, an acute recruitment and retention crisis and the lasting impact of the pandemic – all against a backdrop of years of Government underfunding – have left our sector in crisis.
‘If we are to have any chance of avoiding an early years catastrophe, it is vital that the new Prime Minister puts forward an ambitious plan for the early years: one that commits to adequate long-term funding, focuses on the needs of the child and recognises the early years workforce as the high-quality and hard-working educators they are.'
