Press coverage 2015

30 November

• Nursery World: Lower staff:child ratios to bring down costs, says DfE

26 November

• BBC: Nurseries ‘will struggle to offer extra free childcare’
• CYP Now: ‘Stick to ratios to save money’ DfE tells childcare providers
• Daynurseries: Childcare places have dropped by more than 11,000, reveals Ofsted report

25 November

• FT: High-earning parents excluded from tax-free childcare support
• Guardian: Stricter rules on free childcare cut number of eligible families by third
• Nursery World: Rates for 30-hour childcare revealed
• Daynurseries: Government set to increase hourly rate paid to childcare providers by over £300m
• CYP Now: Fall in nursery places raises concerns over free childcare expansion

24 November

• Nursery World: Early years providers leave childcare market

19 November

• Nursery World: Children’s centre inspections suspended, while Ofsted grades rise slightly
• CYP Now: Ofsted ratings of children’s centre groups improve

11 November

• Nursery World: Funding review on 30 hours to be published on 25 November
• CYP Now: Childcare funding rate to be announced at Spending Review

3 November

• Nursery World: Tougher standards being considered for seven-year-olds

1 November

• Nursery World: Tax credit cut to hit early years workers hard

23 October

• Nursery World: Nursery workers consider leaving profession due to workload

19 October

• Nursery World: Expert food advice for settings in new scheme
• Nursery World: Link child benefit to take-up of free hours, says think-tank

16 October

• Nursery World: Government seeks sector’s views on compulsory first aid training

15 October

• Nursery World: Lords vote for independent funding review ahead of 30-hours roll-out
• CYP Now: Peers vote for full funding review into free childcare expansion
• Nursery World: More high-qualified staff in the best settings
• CYP Now: Ofsted finds ‘outstanding’ nurseries more likely to have better-trained staff
• daynurseries.co.uk: Nurseries with majority of staff qualified to level 3 more likely to be rated ‘outstanding’

14 October

• daynurseries.co.uk: Government’s 30 hour childcare offer on hold until sustainable funding is put in place
• Nursery World: More five-year-olds achieving a ‘good level of development’

13 October

• Guardian: Boys trail girls in literacy and numeracy when starting school
• Times Educational Supplement: Rise in number of five-year-olds performing at a ‘good’ level, DfE figures show
• CYP Now: More five-year-olds achieve good level of development
• daynurseries.co.uk: More young children are achieving a good level of development

7 October

• CYP Now: Concerns over school childcare provision plans

6 October

• daynurseries.co.uk: Government must plug £1bn funding hole to deliver 30-hour childcare offer

5 October

• Nursery World: Providers’ failure to provide detailed costs leaves DfE in the dark

2 October

• CYP Now: DfE ‘unable to understand’ cost of childcare following review
• Nursery World: Savings from Tax-Free Childcare delay should be used to expand provision

25 September

• Nursery World: Labour calls for funding gap to be solved before 30 hours roll-out

21 September

• daynurseries.co.uk: Early years experts welcome Pre-school Learning Alliance Early Years Agenda manifesto

18 September

• Nursery World: Pat Glass takes on shadow childcare role
• CYP Now: Labour announces shadow childcare and children’s ministers

14 September

• Nursery World: Lucy Powell named shadow education secretary
• CYP Now: Corbyn names Lucy Powell shadow education secretary
• daynurseries.co.uk: Lucy Powell appointed as shadow education secretary

9 September

• Nursery World: Nick Gibb signals move to change school start date
• daynurseries.co.uk: Summer-born children will have ‘the right to start school later’
• Daynurseries.co.uk: Calls grow for Government to instigate ‘proper planning and funding’ for 30 hours free childcare roll-out

8 September

• BBC News: Free childcare scheme ‘could backfire’ in schools
• Telegraph: New childcare laws will ‘lead to nurseries taking in fewer children’
• BBC Five Live: Interview with Alliance CEO Neil Leitch
• Times Educational Supplement: Schools lack the funding to double the amount of free childcare
• Nursery World: School nurseries warn 30-hours will force them to take fewer children
• CYP Now: Childcare expansion ‘risks reduction in school nursery places’

27 August

• Nursery World: Nick Hudson steps down as Ofsted drops early years division
• CYP Now: Ofsted’s early education chief to leave post

26 August

• Sky News: Government Plea To Nurseries Over Free Childcare
• ITV News: Government childcare proposals ‘unaffordable’
• Nursery World: Ministers reiterate 30-hour childcare pledge, but funding crisis looms
• CYP Now: Government urges childcare providers to take part in 30-hour expansion trial
• daynurseries.co.uk: Government urges childcare providers to be the first to deliver 30 free hours childcare scheme

24 August

• Nursery World: Funding — the hard facts
• Nursery World: Living wage to create funding gap of hundreds of millions

14 August

• CYP Now: Skills for the Job: Producing healthy nursery meals

11 August

• daynurseries.co.uk: Two out of five London children have an inadequate early years education

6 August

• daynurseries.co.uk: Government scraps plans for GCSE restrictions for Early Years Teacher status

5 August

• Nursery World: Government abandons GCSE rules for Early Years Teachers

31 July

• Nursery World: GCSE rules scrapped for standalone Level 3 EYEs

28 July

• daynurseries.co.uk: Low pay and rising costs threaten nursery staffing levels

24 July

• Nursery World: Danger of childcare workforce shortage without wage increase
• CYP Now: Meagre pay could spark nursery staff shortage

17 July

• Nursery World: Are schools really best for twos?
• Nursery World: Schools minister promises action on summer-born admissions
• daynurseries.co.uk: Schools minister confirms summer-born children still admitted to school against parents’ wishes

16 July

• Nursery World: Alliance publishes free guides to help nurseries contribute to the funding review

15 July

• daynurseries.co.uk: Pre-school Learning Alliance launches guide to funding review

13 July

• Guardian: Send underprivileged two-year-olds to school, says Ofsted chief:
• Nursery World: Ofsted Early Years Annual Report: Quality up, but too few twos in schools
• daynurseries.co.uk: Ofsted and early years sector wants more provision for disadvantaged children

10 July

• daynurseries.co.uk: Chancellor announces cuts to Child Tax Credits and introduction of National Living Wage in Summer Budget
• daynurseries.co.uk: Latest Ofsted statistics reveal increase in number of ‘Good’ and ‘Outstanding’ childcare providers

9 July

• Nursery World: Ofsted figures show rise in good and outstanding grades
• CYP Now: Further rise in high-performing early years providers

6 July

• FE Week: Functional skills fight after GCSE entry requirement u-turn

2 July

• Nursery World: Tax-free childcare delayed until 2017

1 July

• Nursery World: Government U turns over apprentice GCSEs
• CYP Now: Government climbs down on childcare entry standards

25 June

• Nursery World: Rise in three- and four-year-olds in ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ provision
• Nursery World: Children’s centre groups make progress in latest inspections
• daynurseries.co.uk: Pre-school Learning Alliance calls for clarity on role of children’s centres

19 June

• daynurseries.co.uk: Government calls for evidence to support upcoming childcare funding review

18 June

• daynurseries.co.uk: Ofsted announces new Common Inspection Framework

16 June

• Nursery World: New common inspection framework emphasises curriculum

15 June

• Nursery World: Childcare providers invited to give evidence on the cost of places

10 June

• Nursery World: Ofsted renews early years inspection contracts with Tribal and Prospects
• CYP Now: Ofsted extends third-party early years inspection contracts

3 June 

• Nursery World: Alliance calls for comprehensive analysis of free places costs
• Nursery World: Still work to be done

1 June 

BROADCAST

• BBC Breakfast
• BBC Daily Politics
• ITV Lunchtime News
• Channel 4 News
• Channel 5 News

RADIO

• BBC Radio 4 - Today Programme
• BBC 5 Live
• BBC Radio 2
• BBC Humberside
• BBC Lancashire
• BBC Oxford
• BBC Cambridgeshire
• BBC Shropshire
• BBC Three Counties

Plus the following BBC radio stations: Solent, Merseyside, Stoke, Berkshire, Lincolnshire, Oxford, H&W, Derby, Sussex, Cumbria and Northampton.

PRINT

• ITV.com: Free childcare ‘already grossly underfunded’
• BBC: Childcare changes threatened by underfunding, providers say
• Guardian: Free childcare: Nurseries warn Cameron’s pledge may cost parents more
• Telegraph: David Cameron’s 30-hour free childcare plan ‘underfunded’
• Financial Times: Free childcare pledge needs full funding, experts warn
• Huffington Post: David Cameron To Announce Free Childcare Plans A Year Earlier Than Expected
• Mirror: Childcare system faces ‘meltdown’ unless David Cameron plugs £354m funding gap
• Independent: David Cameron has ‘no idea how much it costs to deliver childcare’ - damning verdict from sector with dire warnings of ‘meltdown’
• Nursery World: Sector fears over delivery of 30 hours free childcare pledge
• CYP Now: Government accelerates plans to double free childcare allowance
• Daynurseries.co.uk: David Cameron fast-tracks plans to double free childcare for working parents
• Daily Mail: Childcare changes ‘will take time’
• BBC: How will extra free childcare for working families work?
• Huffington Post: No.10 Says We Keep Child Benefit, We Don’t Cut Child Benefit; But Nurseries Want More Childcare Cash
• Channel 4.com: Cameron admits doubling childcare will ‘take time’
• Independent: Tax free childcare’: Families with an income of up to £300,000 to benefit from tax relief scheme

28 May

• Alliance CEO Neil Leitch speaks about the government’s plans to extend the free entitlement offer on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

27 May

• Speaking to ITV London, Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch argues that government plans to extend the free entitlement scheme for three- and four-year-olds from working families cannot succeed without significant funding increase.

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• BBC: Queen’s Speech 2015: Free childcare access to double
• Nursery World: The Queen’s Speech 2015: 30 hours of childcare and powers to improve schools
• daynurseries.co.uk: Childcare campaigners urge incoming Government to address funding shortfall

19 May

• Nursery World: Alliance calls for seat at funding review table
• CYP Now: Call for ‘fundamental’ review of Ofsted early years inspections
• daynurseries.co.uk: Pre-school Learning Alliance publishes post-election early years manifesto

18 May

• Nursery World: Gyimah and Timpson secure return to DfE

12 May

• Nursery World: Gyimah remains childcare and education minister
• CYP Now: Sam Gyimah reappointed as childcare minister

11 May

• daynurseries.co.uk: Nursery leaders call on new Conservative Government to honour childcare funding review promise

8 May

• Nursery World: General Election: sector reaction to Tory win

5 May

• daynurseries.co.uk: Funding a key issue for nursery leaders in the General Election

1 May

• Nursery World: Analysis uncovers true cost of party childcare pledges

21 April

Alliance CEO Neil Leitch speaks about the main parties’ childcare promises on BBC Radio 4

15 April

• CYP Now: Conservatives offer funding boost for free childcare scheme
• CYP Now: Early education focus for Lib Dems election manifesto

14 April

• Speaking on Sky News, Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch highlights the need for political parties to ensure that any pledges to extend current free entitlement offers are properly costed and funded

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• The Guardian: David Cameron’s generous childcare pledge doesn’t add up, experts warn
• The Guardian live blog
• ITV.com: Questions raised over Tory ‘free childcare’ pledge
• TES: Cameron launches Tory manifesto with pledge to double free childcare
• Schools Week: Conservatives pledge more free childcare but funding shortfall looms
• Nursery World: Conservatives pledge to double free childcare hours
• CYP Now: Conservatives make 30-hour free childcare promise
• daynurseries.co.uk: Conservatives promise to double free childcare entitlement in manifesto

9 April

• CYP Now: Early years leaders defend nurseries’ education record
• Nursery World: Charities call for graduate-led nurseries to boost children’s early language
• Listen to Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch speak about the proposals for more graduate leaders in early years settings on BBC London 94.9 here.

7 April

• Nursery World: Teachers back ballot against baseline tests

4 April

• BBC: Teachers back ballot to boycott tests for four year olds
• Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch also voice his concerns about the proposed baseline tests on BBC Radio 5 Live. Click here to listen to the interview.

26 March

• Nursery World: Nurseries and childminders do better in inspections

23 March

• Nursery World: Providers facing real-term funding cut while costs rise
• Nursery World: School places: Numbers still fail to add up
• CYP Now: Early years groups criticise plans to promote school-based childcare

20 March

• Nursery World: MPs call for parents’ right of appeal over summer-born school start

19 March

• Nursery World: Children’s centre inspection grades lower than other provision

13 March

• daynurseries.co.uk: Half of single parents forced to borrow to pay childcare costs

12 March

• Nursery World: First aid training will be compulsory for all nursery staff
• daynurseries.co.uk: Mandatory first aid paediatric training for all nursery staff following tragic nursery death

25 February

• Independent: When should summer-born children enter the classroom?
• Nursery World: Ofsted scraps plan to remove childminders from statistics

24 February

• BBC News: Free childcare places ‘must not mean extra costs for parents’
• Nursery World: Lords call for redistribution of early years funding
• CYP Now: Prioritise free childcare for disadvantaged children, say peers
• daynurseries.co.uk: Disadvantaged children must be made a priority by new Government, says Lords Committee
• Nursery World: 'Postcode lottery’ for SEND children in early years

19 February

• Daily Mail: Childcare costs ‘hit value of work’
• ITV News online: Lack of government funding ‘to blame for childcare costs’
• Channel 4 News online: Childcare costs rise 33 per cent in this parliament
• CYP Now: Childcare costs up by a third since 2010, study finds
• Nursery World: Childcare costs soar in annual survey
• Telegraph: Nick Clegg pledges free early years education for all
• daynurseries.co.uk: Lib Dems pledge to save families £2,670 a year through free childcare
• Sky News online: Lib Dems Promise Free Childcare Expansion
• Guardian: Nick Clegg sets out his party’s manifesto commitments on childcare
• CYP Now: Government criticises ‘underperforming’ London councils over free childcare

12 February

• Nursery World: Labour commits to protecting early years funding
• Guardian: Labour would increase education spending, says Ed Miliband
• CYP Now: Councils receive funding to promote early years premium

11 February

• daynurseries.co.uk: Government doubles tax-free childcare for parents of disabled children

9 February

• Nursery World: Tax-free childcare boost for parents of disabled children
• Nursery World: Early Years Pupil Premium: Can nurseries make the EYPP work?
• Nursery World: Labour would ‘save Sure Start’ by bringing back childcare duty
• CYP Now: Sure Start centres to provide more childcare places under Labour plans

8 February:

• Independent: Paternity leave to be doubled from two to four weeks, says Miliband
• Daily Mail: Labour plans paternity leave boost

4 February

• Nursery World: Baseline check providers named
• CYP Now: Ofsted pledges parity over nursery inspection notice period

3 February

• The Telegraph: School inspections will be shorter but more often, says Ofsted
• Nursery World: Ofsted set for radical overhaul to unite education inspections
• daynurseries.co.uk: Ofsted sees new inspection framework as most significant change in its history

27 January

Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch speaks out about the need for greater investment in the early years on Good Morning Britain:

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26 January

• CYP Now: Early years heavyweights back campaign against baseline tests

21 January

• The Telegraph: Primary school league tables: pupil progress should be ‘main measure’

20 January

• Speaking on BBC News, Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch calls on government to address the issue of early years underfunding, following the publication of a new report on rising childcare costs:

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• daynurseries.co.uk: Nick Clegg calls nursery leaders ‘a bolshie lot’

16 January

• Nursery World: Parents call for more Government childcare support

12 January

• Nursery World: Reporting ‘risk of radicalisation’ could be ‘duty’

8 January

• Nursery World: Cost of childcare pushing parents out of work, research claims
• CYP Now: DfE names councils to trial early years pupil premium
• daynurseries.co.uk: Childcare costs make a case for the family vote being key at the ballot box

7 January

• daynurseries.co.uk: Swearing in nursery: How to tackle this growing problem

Further information

• Press coverage 2016
• Press coverage 2014
• Press coverage 2013