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New guidance from Public Health England provides more evidence of the interconnected nature of health, care and education, and of the fundamental role early years practitioners play in supporting young children’s speech, language and communication development. But with the early years sector struggling to survive in the wake of the pandemic, many children may miss out on this much needed support. Where is the support for the early years sector?
Starting school is a significant developmental milestone that can cause anxiety at the best of times. So, what impact will the global pandemic have on school starters this year?
Many professionals within the early years sector are understandably angry at the government’s record around the early years given its crucial importance in children’s life. These include issues around insufficient funding, the development of new frameworks without genuine sector consultation and the lack of focus on supporting pre-school settings. We are concerned that this frustration has led to misunderstandings being widely shared about a programme designed to support early language skills, and this may prove harmful for supporting informed decision making.
During this crisis, central government has provided unprecedented levels of financial support for employers, employees and self-employed workers.
In the wake of Covid-19 related nursery and school closures, the quality of the home learning environment is more important than ever. We know that very young children depend on high quality interaction to support their cognitive, language, social and emotional development and the current crisis only serves to emphasise the need for good quality programmes that support families in providing the best start for their children.
