The UK government has announced a significant increase in early education investment, committing over £2 billion more than last year. This funding injection, part of a broader initiative to improve school readiness, will support the rollout of 30 hours of government-funded early education starting in September 2025.
This forms one of the core strategies to the overall mission by the government on eliminating a relationship that exists between a child’s background and opportunity. It focuses on improving accessibility to early high-quality, affordable education by making tens of thousands of children more school-ready by the age of 5 years by the end of the current term of the parliament.
Recently, during his speech, the Prime Minister outlined the Plan for Change including raising 75% of the children to a good level of development at the start of the school year by 2028. A reformed system of early education is much needed to achieve this benchmark. Therefore, the government has pledged its commitment to an increase exceeding over 30% more, bringing the total for funding early years education at £8 billion.
Funding rates for early education providers will differ between local authorities, with the average rising to £11.54 for children under two, £8.53 for two-year-olds, and £6.12 for three- and four-year-olds. Besides this funding rise, the government has also confirmed a new £75 million expansion grant to support nurseries, childminders, and other providers to meet the demand for an additional 35,000 staff and 70,000 places by next September.
The Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) also gets a record increase, with funding rates up by over 45%, to as much as £570 per eligible child per year. This increase will ensure that children who need the most support-the children in the most disadvantaged areas-can receive high-quality early education to give them the best possible start in life.
Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson, speaking to the commitment of government towards ensuring that every child is able to succeed, “High-quality early education is the cornerstone of our promise to ensure tens of thousands of children are school ready each year.”
The investment will back the long-term goal of increasing school readiness and transforming children’s life chances, marking a major step toward a fairer education system. According to Sarah Ronan, Director of the Early Education and Childcare Coalition, “This much-needed increase in funding is welcome news, especially the increase to the Early Years Pupil Premium – a vital step towards closing the gap in educational disadvantage and supporting all children to reach their full potential.”.
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