The government has announced that working parents of children aged four-years-old can now apply for 30-hours of funded childcare to use from September onwards

Rising delivery costs, falling profits and staff recruitment are all risks to the 30 hours free childcare offer, highlights a new report evaluating trials of the policy.

Investment in early years is said to reduce rates of depression, school truancy and crime and can help the government reduce costs later on.

We have launched a new online training course to support early years providers working with children with special educational needs

England has joined an OECD pilot, testing 300 five-year-olds’ cognitive skills The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed that 20 schools and childcare settings in England are set to take part in tablet-based tests on five-year-olds as part of a pilot scheme for an OECD study. The Department says that the study aims […]

MP will also have responsibility for early years provision

DfE statistics show that 71% of eligible two-year-olds take up place The number of two-year-olds using the 15-hours offer has increased, according to the DfE’s latest Education Provision for Children Under Five report. The statistics show an increase in the number of eligible families using their funded place, with 71% of entitled two-year-olds […]

Play Cards for the Home Environment and SmartPD shortlisted Two Alliance products have been shortlisted in the Nursery World Awards 2017. A panel of experts from the early years sector drew up the shortlist earlier this year and the final winners will be revealed at an awards ceremony in September. The Alliance’s SmartPD offering has […]

Government should focus on improving the quality of childcare places, according to new report The government should focus on improving the quality of early years education, rather than increasing the quantity of places available, the Social Mobility Commission has suggested in a new report. The report, entitled Time for change: an assessment of government policies on social […]

HMRC error causes private details to be shared online HMRC’s Childcare Services website accidentally made private details from several childminders, including home addresses, public this week. The problem was reported to the Alliance by childminders, who noticed that their personal details had been listed under the site’s ‘Search for a childcare provider’ function […]

MP has been appointed minister for childcare and early years The DfE has announced that the new minister responsible for childcare and the early years is Robert Goodwill. Goodwill will also serve as minister for vulnerable children and families. The announcement follows the departure of previous early years minister, Caroline Dinenage, several weeks ago. […]

Alliance welcomes OECD report calling for focus on improved quality ahead of more places Funded places for the early years should be aimed at the poorest families, according to a new report from the OECD. The international policy thinktank has released a report titled Starting Strong 2017, arguing in favour of high-quality early […]