Thank you @GuardianEdu for this piece on early years. A short thread follows https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/jun/01/early-years-childcare-sector-at-risk-collapse-england

For the last two years I have been joint chair or my kids preschool. It’s been the most stressful experience of my adult life, to the point that for a while my periods stopped

The skill and knowledge of the staff is immense. What is required of them is huge. Their pay is disgracefully low.

They have no union. The Early Years Alliance does its best but there is no union to support and protect vulnerable, largely female, underpaid workforce

We are a parent run charity organisation. We are competing against chains run for profit who can and will pare back investment and resources in and for staff to the minimum.

In a situation like the day of school closure, being a volunteer with responsibility was terrifying. We had zero guidance, when I rang the local authority they had no more ideas than I did

We were told to figure out plans for vulnerable children and children of critical workers ourselves. After many hours of making arrangements I rang back to check that what we planned was ok. I didn’t need to apparently. Where those children went was not a matter of concern.

At least they were clear on one thing. Our funding for the term was secure and would be calculated based on last term. We were paid a proportion of this so we could pay our staff their wages.

The announcement that schools would reopen made no mention of early years but that came out quickly afterwards. The initial guidance was a disgrace, with no thought or consideration of how young children learn and thrive

We had no immediate response from the LA. Parents were asking us what to do. We decided to survey them and assess whether to reopen according to demand. There was almost none. 2 children would have come back. We were relieved.

Then the LA u-turned. The funding already allocated would be removed from 1 June if we didn’t open. At a loss. For a tiny number of children. The funding for those who didn’t attend would only be paid if we opened for them.

This was accompanied by a bland LA approved assessment of the guidance which addressed no concerns, and was far too late to be of use. Consult with parents? Funnily enough we have, two weeks after the announcement.

They promised template risk assessments in time for June 1. Not received. Their idea of support for PPE is a single pair of gloves, mask, apron, visor and bottle of anti bac, available only by collecting from a location 45 minutes drive away

The updated guidance, released at lunchtime on a Bank Holiday Sunday, is no better than it’s predecessor. It was accompanied by vile template letters we were told to send to parents which amounted to pure propaganda

We have been surveying again on numbers as we are being forced financially to reopen. We have lost 40% of our income from fees, and cannot risk losing the remainder by staying closed.

We are not eligible for small business support. We have lost our prime fundraising events (all cancelled).

I fight for this preschool for the staff and the children. But you can imagine what this has been like as a volunteer.

Many settings are charging those who won’t send fee paying children to hold their places. By refusing to contemplate this unethical behaviour we are taking a huge hit

Our staff earn little enough, we would not cut them down to 80% of that. They may not be able to remain on furlough as technically we should be open

I am furious at the plans for children, I am furious at the lack of actual support rather than platitudes and poor PPE, I am furious that something I have sweated blood to rebuild financially is threatened by the very institutions that should support it

I haven’t spoken up as I have been worried about consequences for the preschool. But this morning when we lose our funding I am too angry to stay quiet.

Addendum. Before being furloughed the staff devised planning activities for parents to do at home every week (more than school did). We have run a virtual toddler group every Friday. We have kept being a lifeline for parents in our isolated rural community.

I would also be remiss not to note that R is highest in our region and will only spread down the peninsula as movement increases. So we will probably have a regional lockdown soon anyway! We will have been through all of this for nothing. And they still won’t have to pay us.