Government shares plans for “phased return for early years settings”
“Our plan to rebuild” document sets out guidelines for next phase
Prime Minister fails to mention early years in “reopening” plans
Update on lockdown measures does not give any clarity for early years sector
Alliance raises concerns over support grants and self-employed income support schemes
Letter to Treasury calls for support for the early years sector
Parents will not lose access to childcare offers during coronavirus outbreak
DfE confirms that parents will still be able to claim 30 hours and Tax-Free Childcare offers
A quarter of childcare providers fear closure within a year
74% don’t think the government has provided enough support for the sector
CMA is investigating childcare cancellation policies
Investigation follows complaints over cancellations and refunds
DfE publishes additional guidance on early entitlement funding
The guidance provides further detail on how providers should calculate their ‘usual’ income.
Early years practitioners to be offered free COVID-19 tests
All ‘essential workers’ and their households will be able to access coronavirus test
Updated DfE guidance says that local authorities can “move around” funding
Local authorities to move funding in “exceptional circumstances”
Alliance launches MP email campaign challenging job retention scheme U-turn
Providers asked to contact their MPs about Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
Alliance slams government U-turn on financial support for providers
New DfE guidance says in some cases providers in receipt of ‘free entitlement’ funding will not be able to access Job Retention Scheme in full
New data portal to track impact of coronavirus on early years sector
Ceeda launches real-time tracker to measure impact on providers