This event happened on Wednesday 21 September 2022. You can watch the recording below.

There are proven, lifelong benefits of a good early childhood education. But despite this, the early years sector faces more challenges than ever before. Early childhood education and care vacancies are at record levels and the rising costs of living mean that more and more early years settings are struggling to stay open.

A recent government proposal to change childcare ratios, requiring practitioners to care for larger groups of children, could put further pressure on a struggling industry. With this huge challenge ahead, longterm, sustainable solutions are needed. How can we improve working practices for early years professionals? And what is the future of the early years sector?

June O’Sullivan joined us for a special online event to help us understand the scale of the challenge. She is CEO of the London Early Years Foundation, the UK's leading voluntary sector nursery provider, working across London to provide access to high-quality, affordable early years education and care. June campaigns for policy changes and advises governments, organisations and academics on how to improve outcomes for children. She joined us in conversation with Fionnuala O’Reilly, Principal Advisor at The Behavioural Insights Team, to discuss the challenges the sector faces and the road to recovery.

Why you should watch the recording 

This event was for anyone interested or working in the early years sector: practitioners, educators, those working in policy and in local authorities. 

June shared her extensive experience in the industry, why early years care is more important than ever, and how we can overcome the challenges facing the sector.

The opinions expressed in this event recording are those of the speaker. For more information, view our full statement on external contributors.