In an interview with Nursery World, Vicky Ford, the minister for children and families, has defended the level of funding for the early years sector during the coronavirus crisis.
Asked why there had not been a rescue plan for early years, or any catch-up funding in line with schools, Ms Ford maintained that the sector had received ‘significant’ amounts of funding.
‘The first thing I’d like to say is that we know that nurseries, pre-schools and childminders are absolutely central to the country’s response to the virus and how we recover and move on from this very challenging situation,’ she said.
‘We have actually put a vast amount of financial support into the sector: the £3.6 billion that we’ve paid into local authorities for the early years entitlement.’
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