One year on from the first lockdown, and multiple sets of guidelines, funding- and infection-related challenges later, and the early years sector is under colossal pressure. There has been a large decrease in the number of children attending settings as many families remain on furlough or reduced working hours. The number of children taking up a funded place in January 2021 was just 37 per cent of normal term-time rates and just 52 per cent of what the Government would normally expect at that time of year.
This also means a huge drop in government funding, as while autumn-term funding was based on January 2020 attendance, as of the spring term, government funding is based on the number of children on roll at a setting.
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