Agenda item

The Committee considered a report from the Acting Service Manager, Foundation Years and Independent Advice Service regarding the Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2011-14.

The Committee was informed that under Section 6 (1) of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities had a duty to ensure there was sufficient childcare in their area, so far as is reasonably practicable. The findings from the Childcare Sufficiency Assessment (CSA) published on 1 April 2011 enabled the Local Authority to draw up an Action Plan aiming to narrow the gaps in childcare provision as highlighted.

The report detailed the progress towards meeting those actions as published. It also provided an opportunity to inform Councillors of the recently published consultation document which called for significant changes in the way the Local Authority must ensure sufficiency in the childcare market and the Local Authority’s statutory role on the delivery of free Early Education for 2, 3 and 4 year olds.

The Childcare Sufficiency Assessment published in 2011 made the following recommendations:

·        The Local Authority continues to support provisions in offering more flexible places.

·        The Local Authority continues to pro-actively support the development of holiday provision and promote its availability to parents in the borough.

·        The Local Authority continues to promote Early Education Entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds, the pilot scheme providing funded places for 2 year olds and other help available to support childcare costs to eligible families. Eligibility was classified by the DfE as the term after which the children attains the required age e.g. 2, 3 or 4.

·        The Local Authority continues supporting childcare providers to access training, including training on caring for children with disabilities and special educational needs, in line with the Local Authority’s budget.

·        The Local Authority continues to support new and existing childcare providers with achieving and maintaining the delivery of quality childcare.

Further to this, on the 11 November 2011 the Department for Education (DfE) published a consultation document setting out its proposals on the new entitlement for two year olds from September 2013, including which children will be eligible. It also included proposals on the quality and flexibility of the entitlement for two, three and four year olds. The consultation was due to close on 3 February 2012 and comments would be collected from the Early Years Provider Reference Group, a statutory body of representatives from across the sector.

Members were asked to note the following changes being brought in by regulations as they stood:

1) The Local Authority would be required to provide 500 places for eligible 2 year olds from September 2013. The funding route for delivery was still being considered but would potentially be through the Early Intervention Grant.

2) A requirement to increase the number of free hours for 2 year olds from 10 per week to 15 per week by September 2013.

3) Duty to introduce eligibility criteria that considers the potential to qualify for Free School Meals as an indicator of economic disadvantage.

4) Looked After Children and children with Special Educational Needs would be given the legal entitlement to Free Early Education at age 2 regardless of economic disadvantage.

5) Local authorities would be given power to fund providers to deliver free hours between 7am and 7pm (but retain the suggested limit of 10 hours per day)

6) Remove the limit that the full 15 free hours should be taken over no few than three days.

7) Replace the current quality assurance system with a “basket” of eligibility criteria approach, under which local authorities would require providers of free early education to meet.

8) No free provision to be based in Ofsted “inadequate” settings.

9) Streamline the Childcare Sufficiency Assessment and propose that local authorities report annually on their Section 6 sufficiency duty to elected council members and parents.

10) Repeal the Section 11 duty to undertake a nationally prescribed assessment every 3 years.

The Committee noted the report.