Many nurseries and early years education settings are being asked to remain open during national lockdown while instructing schools to close.

Our recent poll found that 82 per cent of people believe that teachers should receive a priority Covid-19 vaccination alongside other key frontline workers. It is vital that the Government recognises teachers and early years professionals as key frontline workers and protects them as they provide face-to-face education and support.

Throughout the pandemic, early years education settings have found themselves in chaos, and forced to make difficult decisions about whether to close or remain open, with a lack of clear direction and support from the Government.

It is paramount the Government provides adequate funding to ensure all nursery settings can remain open, and able to deliver high quality education safely.

We fully support leading early years organisations in their calls on the Government to prioritise those working in early years and childcare for Covid-19 vaccinations, to roll-out mass asymptomatic testing in these settings, to reinstate early entitlement funding support for settings forced to close or that have seen a fall in demand for funded places and to introduce targeted funding for providers reliant on private income that have suffered from falls in parental demand.

Maccs Pescatore

CEO of Montessori Centre International