Alliance calls for seat at funding review table

The manifesto, the Early Years Agenda, focuses on funding, schoolification and Ofsted, and draws on the Alliance's practitioner survey and Counting the Cost, its independent study into the free entitlement scheme.

Key calls in the manifesto include:

The manifesto is underpinned by the principles that the needs of the child must always be at the centre of decision-making; policy should be based on extensive evidence, not personal views; and consulting with the early years sector should be the first step of policy development.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said: 'We believe that it’s time that sector professionals set the early years agenda. For far too long, we have been faced with ill-thought-out early years policies that put economic concerns above the needs of the child; policies that have been rushed through with little to no consultation with the sector. It’s time for this to change.
 
'This manifesto is the result of more than a year’s work: scrutinising government legislation, gathering provider views and commissioning in-depth independent research into key areas of early years policy. Our calls to action are sensible, practical and achievable ways in which the government can support the sector in building and sustaining an affordable and, crucially, high-quality childcare system for those families that need it.
 
'We look forward to working with the new government to implement the changes necessary to ensure the long-term success of the early years sector.'