Free guide to early years changes published
The Pre-school Learning Alliance has published a free guide to early years funding and delivery changes. The guide,which is available to download at www.pre-school.org.uk/EYguide, will be sent to all Alliance members with the January edition of Under 5 magazine. Non-members will be able to receive a free copy of the guide on request. This new […]
Paid-for re-inspection discussions to be revisited, government confirms
The Department for Education (DfE) and Ofsted will revisit joint discussions on the issue of paid-for re-inspections next year, the government has confirmed in its response to the Cutting red tape review. The move is in response to concerns raised during the review about “having to wait too long for re-inspections when given a […]
Children’s centre closures on the rise, government figures reveal
The number of children’s centres almost doubled between 2014 and 2015, new government figures have revealed. Responding to a parliamentary question submitted by Dan Jarvis, Labour MP for Barnsley Central, early years minister Caroline Dinenage confirmed that 156 children’s centres closed in 2015, compared to 85 the previous year. Commenting on the figures, […]
Government confirms no plans for annual review of early years funding
There are no plans to review early years funding annually, the government has confirmed. During a House of Lords debate on Monday, the Earl of Listowel, a crossbench peer, asked if the government is “planning to conduct an annual review of early years childcare funding to ensure sustainability and quality”. However, Lord Nash, […]
Ofsted annual report issues early years capacity warning
The number of early years places is not increasing in line with the growth in the child population, Ofsted has warned in this year’s annual report. The report highlights that while there are now more than 240,000 children aged four years or under in England compared to 2009, the number of places has fallen […]
Government announces minimum early years funding rate for councils
The government has announced a minimum hourly funding rate of £4.30 for all local authorities in its response to the consultation on early years funding changes. The move, which cost the Department for Education (DfE) an extra £30m per year, will mean that no local authority will receive less than £4.30 per hour from […]
Ofsted clarifies ‘nominated individual’ requirements
Early years providers can appoint someone who is not a member of their governing body to act as their nominated individual under certain circumstances, Ofsted has confirmed. Nominated individuals, who act as primary points of contact with Ofsted on application and registration matters, must be able to properly represent and act on behalf of […]
National living and minimum wages to rise next year
The ‘national living wage’ (NLW) and national minimum wage (NMW) are both set to rise next year, the government confirmed at last week’s autumn statement. The NLW, which currently stands at £7.20 an hour, will increase to £7.50 an hour as of April 2017. The national minimum wage for under-25s will also increase: • […]
Autumn Statement makes no mention of additional support for early years
Today’s Autumn Statement from Chancellor of the Exchequer Phillip Hammond made no mention of additional support for the early years sector. While the Chancellor’s speech covered a variety of areas – including banning letting agents’ fees and raising tax-free personal allowances – the Chancellor did not reveal any plans to better fund or support […]
Labour MP proposes early years inquiry
Labour MP Helen Jones called for an early years inquiry at a parliamentary debate on free childcare on Monday. The debate was prompted by a government e-petition calling for ‘free childcare when both parents are working, not just those on benefits’, and looked at the issues facing the early years sector including underfunding and […]
Alliance writes to parliament ahead of Autumn Statement
The Pre-school Learning Alliance has written to all members of Parliament ahead of the Autumn Statement which is due to be released this week on Wednesday 23 November. The Alliance has written on the topic of early years funding and – as part of its Fair Future Funding campaign – has asked each MP to write […]
Family and Childcare Trust calls for Early Excellence Fund
The Family and Childcare Trust has today released a report titled ‘Putting quality at the heart of the early years’, which has called on the government to invest in an Early Excellence Fund. The fund would be designed to support four key aims: to ensure there is at least one experienced early years graduate […]