Following Labour’s emphatic win in the General Election, the new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has appointed Bridget Phillipson as the new Secretary of State for Education.

Philipson will now be repsonsible for rolling out Labours plans to open 3,000 new nurseries and offer free breakfast clubs in every primary school. The party has said it will repurpose empty or under-used school classrooms in England’s primary schools to help deliver an expansion of funded childcare. Although there has been little detail to these plans so far.

Today, Phillipson sent an open letter to all working in early years, children’s services, schools, further and higher education. Read her full letter here.

Helen Donohoe, PACEY CEO commented:

“PACEY welcomes the appointment of Bridget Phillipson MP as the new Secretary of State for Education.

Following Labour’s emphatic general election win on July 4th, we welcome the continuity demonstrated by the transfer of Bridget Phillipson from shadow cabinet to the cabinet, remaining in charge of education.

In opposition Bridget was a vocal advocate for the early years and childcare. Like us, she is passionate about giving all children the very best start in life, and we now have a chance to work with her and her team to deliver that goal through a properly funded and fully integrated strategy for early education and childcare.

Our Manifesto for Childminders outlines the key areas in need of reform. At this early stage we look forward to discussing the details of the Bell Review and seeing more detail from the government on their policy proposals.

We know that some of our members were concerned with elements of pre-election announcements, however the real work starts now. In partnership with colleagues in the Department for Education, we are excited about the new opportunities to map out the long-term future for our brilliant childcare workforce, and the children that they educate and care for.”