Opinion

Prioritising early years is vital to prevent a 'missed generation'

Viewpoint Coronavirus Policy & Politics Provision Funding
The debate on the role of catch-up has focused far too much on schools at the expense of early years, says Dr Carol Homden, CEO of Coram
Dr Carol Homden: 'Ensuring that our youngest children get the best start in life is essential and should not be treated as the Cinderella of national recovery'
Dr Carol Homden: 'Ensuring that our youngest children get the best start in life is essential and should not be treated as the Cinderella of national recovery'

There is widespread concern about the impact that the pandemic has had on children’s education and how to support children to ‘catch up’.

But this debate is overwhelmingly dominated by the role of schools and older children and, as every early years practitioner knows, ensuring that our youngest children get the best start in life is essential and should not be treated as the Cinderella of national recovery.

Organisations such as The Sutton Trust recognise the importance of the early years and are calling for additional funding. The funding currently available falls far short of what is required to ensure equality of opportunity for early years but, whatever its level, it must targeted towards the biggest issues to secure a sustainable future for childcare access and early learning.

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