National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) is launching a year-long, national campaign to raise the profile of the early years sector and its dedicated workforce.

The First Five Years Count campaign will highlight how valuable our early years sector is to families, employers and the economy but most importantly, the future of our youngest children. The campaign promotes all the great work that goes on in our nurseries and other early years settings, to support children’s early development.

In the midst of a recruitment and retention crisis, this campaign will cement the message that early years practitioners are vital educators. The campaign will encourage students, job seekers and career changers to consider building a future in this sector.

In what other job can you shape the youngest minds, and make a difference that lasts a lifetime? Children can be astronauts, Olympic athletes, chefs, dancers and explorers all in the same day; all through the wonderful work of early years educators

The First Five Years Count campaign also aims to increase parental understanding of the learning and development that takes place in children’s early years, highlighting the professionalism and value added by the early years workforce.

The campaign will be launched officially at our NDNA Conference 2022 “Recovery starts with early years” on 24 June in Warwickshire.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of NDNA, said: “We are extremely proud to be launching our exciting and much needed campaign that really puts early years and the professionals in the workforce on a par with schools as being crucial for children’s development and education.

“We really want to go the extra mile to shout about how utterly brilliant our early years practitioners and teachers are. They have endured two very difficult years, but have been crucial in supporting and educating our youngest children through this ongoing recovery period.

“Research has shown just how much children have missed out on as a result of the pandemic. Early years staff have given them so much support, love and care to help them settle into nursery again and to aid their recovery after months of isolation.

“Our practitioners instil wonder, curiosity and a lifelong desire to learn which is so important for all children to thrive and reach their full potential. They offer them learning opportunities which open up a world of possibilities.

“This is a campaign to promote the sector, by the sector. We really hope it will hit home and influence families, policy makers and anyone considering a career in early years. This is the most important time for our youngest children, and shaping their lives is the best job in the world.”

NDNA has invested significantly into creating and developing the campaign, producing toolkits for nurseries, eye-catching posters, banners and many more materials to share the messaging.

As part of the campaign, NDNA have developed a five-point pinwheel which signifies the first five years of a child’s life. It is a fun, imaginative representation of the campaign that children can enjoy crafting and using in play.

NDNA is also gathering stories and views from nurseries and their expert practitioners through photos, videos and written accounts to highlight how rewarding this career can be as well as the opportunities to progress.

The campaign is well-supported and feedback from the sector has helped to shape and develop the materials and the campaign’s key messages.  

Please sign up as a campaign supporter, use the campaign supporter logo on your website and find out more at www.ndna.org.uk/firstfiveyearscount

Anyone sharing our messages can use #FirstFiveYearsCount and tag NDNA.