Early years providers have lost vital support

We are shocked that on close of business on Friday 17 April the government U-turned on its commitment to early years providers made on 24 March, no longer allowing early years providers to fully reclaim furlough payments made to nursery staff. This has caused enormous fear throughout the sector. 

The sector has worked hard to navigate uncertainty throughout the Covid-19 crisis and the decision to now retrospectively restrict access to the government’s support scheme is an unsustainable burden. 

Childcare providers who are looking after the young families of our frontline staff and key workers now face a threat to their very existence, and staff are at risk of immediate redundancy. Vital staff remaining at work still need a salary.

By withdrawing support available to other employers at this time, the government risks the survival of the entire sector, and it must urgently rethink its decision. Settings have already furloughed staff based on government advice, and the future viability of the sector now rests with the Treasury and local authorities, which are responsible for ensuring that places are made available for the children of critical staff.  

We seek an urgent rethink of this decision and a re-evaluation by government about the important work that settings are happy to do to help this national fight against Covid-19. It is only with settings remaining open that our frontline services can continue to do the vital work that they are doing. It is crucial that just as we are seeing the good work all are doing to minimise hospitalisation and infection, this good work is not undermined by a decision that would severely compromise the viability of childcare settings to remain open as a safe educational setting for the children of frontline staff and key workers. 

Helen Edwards
Director, The Foundation Stage Forum, Lewes

Cheryl Hadland
Managing director, Tops Day Nurseries, Southbourne, Dorset

Julie Hyde
Director, Cache, Newcastle upon Tyne

Neil Leitch
Chief executive, Early Years Alliance

Shannon Pite
Press and public affairs director, Early Years Alliance

Purnima Tanuku
Chief executive, National Day Nurseries Association

The risk of grading bias against ‘ethnic minorities’

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has to be applauded, and is supported by a strong evidence base in its submission to Ofqual (”Equalities watchdog warns Ofqual over GCSE grading bias,” 30 April). Inherent bias to disadvantaged “ethnic minorities” (actually a global majority) is rife in a majority of schools and is evidenced throughout the English schooling system in much recent school-based research. One robust recently published report can be cited, among many - namely UK academic Marie Charles’ “Effective teaching and learning: decolonising the curriculum”, published in the Journal of Black Studies (November 2019).

Bill Boyle
Professor of education and former chair of educational assessment and director of the Centre for Formative Assessment Studies at the University of Manchester