NEWS

government funding across the different entitlements, following the introduction of the revised inspection framework, and additional guidance on the steps local authorities might want to take if they wish to continue funding a provider who has not achieved the required Ofsted inspection outcomes.

The new document also now states that the guidance stating that there is “no requirement that free places must be taken on, or delivered on, particular days of the week or at particular times of the day” or “that providers must be open for at least 38 weeks of the year, or that providers must offer all the free entitlements in order to receive funding to deliver free places” only applies “unless the local authority has chosen to include additional terms in their arrangements with providers…”

Commenting, Alliance CEO Neil Leitch said: “While we understand the government’s desire to ensure that parents can access funded hours in a way that best suits them, we are concerned that the updated guidance may encourage some local authorities to effectively dictate how providers run their businesses.

“Early years settings are best placed to know how best to meet the needs of their families and children and it is crucial they have the ability to do so in the way they feel is best – and yet even before the publication of the updated guidance, we had heard reports of some councils threatening to withhold funding if providers opted not to offer places to particular age groups or in particular patterns of delivery.

“If the government want to encourage the flexible delivery of early entitlement places, it should focus on ensuring that the scheme are adequately funded, not forcing providers to operate to particular business models. Ultimately, such an approach could well lead to an increase in settings withdrawing from the funded entitlements altogether.”

“If the government want to encourage the flexible delivery of early entitlement places, it should focus on ensuring that the scheme are adequately funded, not forcing providers to operate to particular business models. Ultimately, such an approach could well lead to an increase in settings withdrawing from the funded entitlements altogether.”

Only around a quarter (27%) of school-based nurseries provide care for under-threes, compared to 95% of private and voluntary nurseries and pre-schools and 80% of all providers, new research commissioned by the Department for Education has found.

The Early years school-based nursery provision operating outside of the typical model research report by IFF Research and London Economics was based on data from the 2024 Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers and 22 interviews with school-based nurseries.

According to the 2024 Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers, of those school-based nurseries who do offer places to under-threes, only 8% do so for both two-year-olds and under-twos, with the vast majority (91%) only offering places to two-year-olds.

In the qualitative interviews carried out as part of the study, the main reasons given for not offering places to under-threes were “it not being financially viable and their premises not being suitable”.

The report also highlighted “the lack of space and it not being possible to adapt or expand the site” as a frequent barrier, especially for school-based nurseries located in older buildings.

Those taking part in the study also cited hiring the staff needed to care for under-threes as a particular challenge. One respondent commented: “We’d … require more staff, more specialist facilities, such as nappy changing […] [we wouldn’t] be able to afford to staff it with the ratios required.” The 2024 Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers also found that just 28% of school-based nurseries offered out of hours provision and only 6% offered out of term provision.

The report is available at bit.ly/U5_SBNreport.

Department for Education will take “steps to require the provision of CCTV in early years settings”, Minister Bailey said: “As part of the department’s ongoing review of safeguarding requirements, an expert advisory panel will be appointed to inform sector guidance on the safe and effective use of CCTV and digital devices within safeguarding. This guidance will consider whether CCTV should be mandated and will set out best practice, technical advice and clear expectations.”

The responses follows comments made by the minister during a recent Education Question session in Parliament, where she stated that the government was “considering the mandatory use of CCTV in early years settings through the review we are getting under way rapidly”.

A Westminster Hall debate on the ‘use of CCTV for safeguarding purposes in nurseries and early years providers’ took place on Wednesday 4 February.

The early education minister has also confirmed plans for updated guidance of safe sleep practices in early years settings. In response to a parliamentary question from Alex Brewer, Liberal Democrat MP for North East Hampshire, Minister Bailey stated: “The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory framework includes a requirement for babies to be placed down to sleep in line with the latest government safety guidance. The department plans to add in more detail to the EYFS frameworks. We have worked with safe sleep experts, including the Lullaby Trust, on proposed new wording and plan to make these changes as soon as possible.”

According to Kindred’s annual School Readiness Survey, which investigated the perspectives of both parents and teachers, primary school staff report that growing numbers of children are struggling with life skills such as being toilet trained, emotional regulation and having basic language skills.

The survey also highlights a mismatch between parental confidence and classroom experience, with 88% of parents saying their child is ready for school, and 35% believing their child is more ready than most. However, the research also found that parents are demanding earlier support, with 94% of parents calling for national guidance on ‘school-readiness’ and 84% wanting this information before their child turns four.

Felicity Gillespie, chief executive, Kindred Squared, said:

“The state of school readiness has reached a critical moment with 37% of children now arriving at the school gate without the basic life skills needed to engage with the curriculum.

“Primary school staff are losing 2.4 hours of daily classroom time to support the catch-up needs of children who are not school ready, including 1.4 hours a day spent on toileting issues for children who are not toilet trained.

“This is no longer just a classroom issue; it is a systemic crisis fuelled by parents who lack the right information and understanding early enough to truly support their children’s development, overstretched school resources and the rising cost of living.“

“With 94% of parents now calling for national guidance, we must commit to earlier intervention and clear, consistent access to information and services for families during the baby and toddler years to ensure every child is truly ready to thrive”.

The Early Years Alliance has created a new template email for early years providers to use to write to their MPs on the need for urgent business rates relief for early years settings in England.

While many settings have reported sharp increases in business rates for the coming financial year, the government has so far rejected calls to provide rate relief to the sector, despite the fact that settings in both Scotland and Wales benefit from full rate relief.

In contrast, the government recently confirmed that pubs will get 15% off their business rates bills, which will then be frozen in real terms for a further two years, stating: “Pubs are the cornerstone of so many communities. They are essential to the social and cultural life of so many places across the country”.

The Alliance is continuing to call on the government to provide full business rates relief to early years settings, and is calling on those affected to write to their local MPs on this important issue.

View the template email at bit.ly/U5_businessratesMPletter.