NEWS

"I think there’s a need to bring it all together. We will do that and I’ll set out plans later this year around an early years strategy, because there are big questions as well around how we support people to work in early years, and I know providers have concerns about that, too.”

The podcast also included discussions on:

• Tax-free childcare and the fact that the upper limit on support hasn’t changed since the launch of the scheme, despite increases in early years and wider childcare costs (the educator secretary said there were no plans to make any changes to tax-free childcare “immediately”). Martin Lewis also pointed out that 800,000 eligible families do no claim tax-free childcare and suggested a rebranding of the scheme as the ‘working family childcare top-up’. point away and speaking to the Chancellor about it.
  
• The fact that early entitlement and tax-free childcare eligibility income limits apply per individual, rather than household. This means that if one parent in a dual-parent household earns over £100,000, and their partner earns £20,000, or one parent in a lone-parent household earns over £100k, they are excluded from accessing these schemes. The education secretary described this as a system the Labour government “inherited”, admitting that “in pure policy terms, it’s obviously an anomaly” and committing to taking the point away and speaking to the Chancellor about it.
  
• The fact that children only become eligible for early entitlement offers the term after they reach the relevant ages, which the education secretary described as a “fair challenge” and an issue she hears about “quite a lot”.
  
• Funding for the early entitlement not matching rises in costs in national minimum wage and National Insurance changes. In response, the education secretary pointed to the £75 million early years expansion grant for providers and recent increases in the Early Years Pupil Premium, though she later said that she does “want to make sure the sector gets a fair deal”.
  
• The ongoing decline in the number of childminders operating in the sector.

During the podcast, Ms Phillipson said: “All of this [including] the thresholds, the entitlements, the complexity of the system, term-time only, how all of that works, I want to bring all of that together, think differently about how we deliver a system of childcare support for parent.

“We have had to focus on getting all the plans in place for the big expansion in September, which has been a really big undertaking - lots more staff needed, lots more places needed - but once we get beyond that, you will hear a lot more from us as a government about the wider reform that I will bring to the childcare system, dealing with these points that I can’t really get to grips with now but I’m determined to sort.

You can listen to the full podcast here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002cb2k.

High poverty rates, increasing food prices and the poor nutritional content of commercial baby and toddler foods are some of the core barriers to good nutrition in the early years, according to a new report by The Food Foundation.

Boosting early years nutrition to support a healthy childhood, funded by The Waterloo Foundation, is the final publication in a series by The Food Foundation that has progressed, stage-by-stage, through a child’s early years.

This final report explores the role of nutrition in the early years and the consumption of food in and out of the home – including factors that act as barriers or facilitators to good early years nutrition and positive health outcomes – drawing on both new and existing research, case studies, and insights from both providers and parents surrounding the diet and health of under-fives.

According to the report, by the time children in England start school, more than a fifth are overweight or living with obesity, and a quarter have evidence of tooth decay.

The core barriers highlighted in the report are: affordability; the marketing and poor nutritional quality of commercial baby and toddler foods and formulas; lack of clarity and support on nutrition standards; and minimal support and funding for early years settings to deliver nutritious food. The report states that these barriers lead to diets high in fat, sugar and salt but low in fruit, vegetables, and essential micronutrients.

The report suggests a set of policy recommendations to combat poor nutrition in children, some of which include:

• improving the Healthy Start scheme by expanding the eligibility criteria and providing support to eligible families
  
• ensuring that free early years meals are accessible to all low-income families
  
• strengthening rules around the nutritional composition and marketing of commercial baby foods and formulas
  
• providing adequate funding and support for the delivery of nutritious food in early years settings
  
• developing “a clear pathway” to mandatory nutrition standards.
  

The full report by The Food Foundation can be accessed here.

childcare can be addressed”. It highlights information from parent surveys conducted by the Department for Education (DfE), which identified that a lack of accessible, reliable early education and childcare prevents parents from returning to work.

Previous studies have shown that access to early years provision isn’t evenly spread across England, with families in advantaged, affluent areas tending to have better access to provision – alongside a wider range of choice – than those in poorer areas.

Ofsted is seeking to identify ways that evidence can be used to help local authorities and central government better target new provision in areas with low access, particularly in light of the 30-hour offer roll-out for nine-month-olds in September.

 In its analysis, Ofsted explores how decision-makers can use ‘optimisation modelling’ – a method to find the best solution out of a range of possibilities – to understand and reduce disparities in access to provision. The model used in this study simulates a redistribution of early years provision, looking at how, if settings could move around freely, they could be rearranged to improve accessibility.

 Ofsted states that as relocation is not feasible for settings, the model is not intended as a “blueprint for direct action, but a strategic model” that aims to:

• highlight the mismatch between available early years provision and where it’s most needed.
• identify priority areas where lack of provision may be most acutely limiting parents’ choices and opportunities.
• help policymakers see what more equitable access could look like, guiding investment and planning. 

 The analysis only includes Ofsted-registered early years places, excluding those registered in school-based settings, which account for around 300,000 places (19%).

The research shows that childminders are far less frequently considered in the targeting and design of professional development programmes, with just five of the 160 programmes identified referencing childminders on their websites. The EEF states that this “raises concerns about equitable access to relevant professional development opportunities for this vital part of the workforce”.

Other key findings in the review show that:

• most settings (83%) that responded participated in at least one professional development programme in the past year.
  
• improving children’s outcome is cited as the top motivation for accessing professional development.
  
• budget constraints are the biggest barrier to accessing professional development programmes followed by time and staffing constraints.
  

The Department for Education (DfE) has launched a new consultation on Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) floor space requirements.

At present, section 3 of the EYFS for both group and school-based providers, and childminders states that providers are required to meet the following indoor spaces requirements:

• 3.5m2 per child under two years 2.5m2 per two-year-old
  
• 2.3m2 per child aged between three and five years.
  

The consultation is seeking views on whether or not ‘free-flow’ outdoor areas should be able to be included in floor space measurements for children aged two years and above.

For an outdoor area to be defined as ‘free-flow’, doors to the outdoor area would need to always be open, with the outdoor area accessible to children at all times. Children would need to “have safe access in all weathers including having adequate shelter and shade" and "the area must be suitably equipped to meet the health, safety, wellbeing, learning and development needs of all children".

The consultation confirms that if any changes to floor space requirements are taken forward, early years providers will still be required to meet the minimum staff-to-child ratios in the EYFS statutory frameworks.

The options presented in the consultation are:

• Option 1: Including ‘free-flow’ outdoor space in the EYFS space requirements without a cap to allow providers with the physical structure to meet the definition of ‘free flow’ outdoor space to increase the number of children in their setting.
  
• Option 2: Including ‘free-flow’ outdoor space in the EYFS space requirements with a cap to mitigate potential risks around overcrowding.
  

The DfE is not proposing a specific cap level but the consultation states, for example, that "with a 10% cap, a setting with a maximum capacity of 80 children… could take 8 additional children (provided that the additional useable free-flow space is large enough to meet the required space measurements for the additional number of children)".

The DfE has confirmed that the second option is their preference.

The consultation also asks respondents to share any alternative ideas on how the government might change the indoor space requirements. Respondents also have the option to state their preference for floor space requirements to remain as they are.

The consultation will run until 11 July 2025, with the government expected to provide a response in autumn 2025.

You can respond to the consultation at: bit.ly/U5floorspace.

Plans to reform the education inspection system are being adapted in response to feedback received on the proposed changes, Ofsted has announced in a blog post.

The announcement comes on the day the consultation about Ofsted’s proposed changes for inspections – which opened in February 2025 – closes (28 April 2025).

The consultation proposed replacing of current one-word inspection judgements at education settings, including early years provision, with a five-point scale: causing concern, attention needed, secure, strong and exemplary.

For early years inspections, settings would then be graded in one of the five categories in the following evaluation areas: leadership and governance; curriculum; developing teaching; achievement; behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines; children’s welfare and wellbeing; inclusion; and safeguarding.

However, in a guest article for TES entitled We know we need to improve our inspection plans, Rory Gribbell, director of strategy and engagement at Ofsted, revealed that the inspectorate is in the process of adapting its reform plans in response to feedback during the consultation.

This includes:

• looking at how the proposals can be simplified as the “proposed approach to grading is too complicated”, including considering carefully feedback on the new top grade of ‘exemplary’.
  
• improving the clarity of the grades system and what inspectors are looking for, particularly with regard to the judgements of ‘strong’ and ‘secure’.
  
• simplifying the scope and number of evaluation areas in inspections to reduce overlap. ensuring that the new ‘inclusion’ evaluation area does not result in support for these children being “treated as a bolt on”.
  

Commenting, Gribbell said: “We know we can improve what we proposed, and we are grateful for the feedback. I want to stress the seriousness with which we take our responsibility to the professionals we work with.

“We know we need to hear the feedback and challenge being offered. And we need to respond with that same level of professionalism and seriousness.

“I’d like to finish where I began. It has been a professional privilege to hear the feedback over recent weeks. I know my brilliant colleagues are taking on the challenges and suggestions to iterate and improve our proposed approach.

“That process will continue in the weeks to come as we take account of the thousands of pieces of feedback we’ve received.”