Responding to the annoncement of Labour’s plans to create over 3,000 new school-based nurseries, Dr Tammy Campbell, Director for Early Years and Inequalities at the Education Policy Institute (EPI), said:
“Labour’s plans to create over 3,000 new school-based nurseries signify a positive step to tackling the current shortage of high-quality early years places, particularly for disadvantaged children and in under-served areas. High-quality provision has the potential to enhance many aspects of children’s lives, including educational attainment, wellbeing, and socio-emotional skills.
“However, any new school-based nursery provision must be run by well-qualified staff and funded adequately to enable the best child-focussed early years education.
“An incoming government must also bring forward a long-term plan for the early years workforce to combat high staff turnover, including higher pay and formalised career progression to tackle barriers to staff retention.”
