EARLY years provision should be extended by two years to cover all children until they are seven, the National Education Union (NEU) annual conference moved today.   

Children are entitled to access to nurseries, preschools and reception classes under the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework.

NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said: “A high-quality early education reaps significant benefits for children and wider society, which last long beyond the foundation stage.

“All families, including the most disadvantaged, deserve access.

“Crucial to this is a thriving, fairly paid workforce specialised in early years practice and pedagogy.

“Maintained nursery schools provide the greatest quality of early education, but underfunding threatens their future.

“The government must show they understand the urgency of the situation and invest.”

The motion also said that many maintained nursery schools are closing, with “a huge majority” in financial deficit.

This will be “further exarcerbated” by the government’s policy of handing over classrooms in state primary schools to private providers, the text warned.