Recommendations & Conclusions
13 items
2
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Accepted
The childcare and early years education system is already spread across multiple departments and local authorities. Government must commit to effective cross- government working, both centrally and locally. This will be vital to ensure that these reforms are delivered effectively and equitably, and that the opportunities for parents and children …
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The childcare and early years education system is already spread across multiple departments and local authorities. Government must commit to effective cross- government working, both centrally and locally. This will be vital to ensure that these reforms are delivered effectively and equitably, and that the opportunities for parents and children are realised. (Paragraph 19) A fair market for providers
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Government response AI summary
The government agrees on the importance of cross-government working and provides examples of current collaborative efforts across departments like DfE, HMRC, DWP, and DHSC, and with local authorities, to deliver childcare reforms and support families.
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Department for Education
3
Conclusion
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Accepted
The childcare market is struggling, with unprecedented numbers of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) professionals leaving the sector and parents struggling to find appropriate care across the country. The Spring Budget expansions of the funded entitlements place further demand on a struggling sector. To successfully deliver the Budget proposals, …
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The childcare market is struggling, with unprecedented numbers of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) professionals leaving the sector and parents struggling to find appropriate care across the country. The Spring Budget expansions of the funded entitlements place further demand on a struggling sector. To successfully deliver the Budget proposals, the sector needs radically more financial and regulatory reform, including, most importantly, a sufficient funding rate for the funded entitlements.
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Government response AI summary
DfE recognises the importance of sufficient funding rates and current pressures, detailing additional funding provided through the Early Years Supplementary Grant and further uplifts for 2024-25, totalling £288 million. Funding rates for 2024-25 will be confirmed in the autumn.
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Department for Education
4
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Accepted
The Department for Education should work closely and consistently with childcare providers and local authorities from across the country to set the funding rate at a sufficient level. Given that most childcare places will soon be government-funded, it is vital that the Department gets this right, or the already struggling …
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The Department for Education should work closely and consistently with childcare providers and local authorities from across the country to set the funding rate at a sufficient level. Given that most childcare places will soon be government-funded, it is vital that the Department gets this right, or the already struggling childcare market will see even more closures.
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the importance of sufficient funding rates and details specific actions taken, including providing additional funding of £288 million for 2024-25 and confirming rates in the autumn, to ensure the sustainability of the childcare sector.
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Department for Education
6
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Accepted
We recommend Government work closely with local authorities to identify areas where childcare provision is insufficient and with a view to increasing provision in these areas. It could be useful to begin with a focus on Education Investment Areas (EIAs).
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We recommend Government work closely with local authorities to identify areas where childcare provision is insufficient and with a view to increasing provision in these areas. It could be useful to begin with a focus on Education Investment Areas (EIAs).
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Government response AI summary
DfE agrees with the recommendation and is actively working with local authorities through regular contact, a new termly readiness self-assessment tool, and £12 million in delivery support funding to identify and address childcare sufficiency issues, including in Education Investment Areas.
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Department for Education
7
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Accepted
We recommend the Government consider explicitly including childcare and early education as a category in the list of infrastructure set out in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill 2022–23. This would enable funding received through the levy to be allocated to childcare and early education and support local authorities to …
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We recommend the Government consider explicitly including childcare and early education as a category in the list of infrastructure set out in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill 2022–23. This would enable funding received through the levy to be allocated to childcare and early education and support local authorities to meet their statutory duty on providing sufficient childcare places. (Paragraph 41) Support for childcare and the early years 73
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Government response AI summary
The government states that the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill already enables the Infrastructure Levy to be spent on childcare and early education. DfE has also updated guidance for local authorities, reinforcing the importance of securing developer contributions for early years and childcare facilities.
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Department for Education
8
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Accepted
The Government will soon be funding up to 80% of all childcare places in England, up from 50% before the Spring Budget. In recognition of this, and the public benefit that the whole early years sector is providing, the HM Treasury should grant all early years providers an exemption from …
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The Government will soon be funding up to 80% of all childcare places in England, up from 50% before the Spring Budget. In recognition of this, and the public benefit that the whole early years sector is providing, the HM Treasury should grant all early years providers an exemption from business rates. Private, Voluntary and Independent (PVI) settings should also be zero-rated for VAT. We heard that VAT costs and business rates facing ECEC settings are taken into account in the DfE’s process of setting funding rates. Following these proposed changes, DfE should not account for any cost savings gained from VAT and business rate exemptions in their calculation of the funding allocations for local authorities. This would allow savings to be channelled back into the settings in recognition for the need for a more qualified (and therefore expensive) workforce. The benefits to retention and development of staff, affordability for parents and expansion of places for children will substantially outweigh the costs of these changes.
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Government response AI summary
The government does not accept the recommendation for new business rate exemptions or VAT zero-rating. Instead, it highlights existing measures like the business rates multiplier freeze, small business rate relief, and charitable rate relief that already provide support to early years providers.
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Department for Education
10
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Accepted
Parental choice should be at the heart of any Early Years Care and Education policy to allow parents to choose what works best for their family. We welcome the Government’s acknowledgement that parents who need or want to work require more support for childcare costs when their children are younger …
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Parental choice should be at the heart of any Early Years Care and Education policy to allow parents to choose what works best for their family. We welcome the Government’s acknowledgement that parents who need or want to work require more support for childcare costs when their children are younger than 3 years old. The Government must improve awareness of the support available and reduce the complexity of the ECEC system for the Spring Budget changes to be effective in supporting parents who need or want to get back to work.
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Government response AI summary
The government, to improve awareness, has committed an additional £1.2 million to the ongoing Childcare Choices marketing campaign, aiming to drive engagement with the website that brings together information on various support schemes.
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Department for Education
15
Conclusion
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Accepted
Parents who choose to care for their children at home do important work. With better support, parents would have more of a choice over whether they work or stay at home and have better flexibility to respond to their family’s needs. More support would also help parents in developing a …
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Parents who choose to care for their children at home do important work. With better support, parents would have more of a choice over whether they work or stay at home and have better flexibility to respond to their family’s needs. More support would also help parents in developing a better home learning environment. The home learning environment is vitally important component of a child’s development. While support for families is not directly in the remit of the Department for Education, it will be important for the Government to complement their expansions in childcare with a more family-centred approach, and in particular, better support for parents who choose to stay at home.
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Government response AI summary
The government recognises the importance of supporting families and is investing £300 million to establish 75 local family hubs, including £50 million for parenting support, to provide coordinated local support and advice for parents.
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Department for Education
19
Conclusion
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Accepted
Where children are in Early Childhood Care and Education, it should be a high- quality, safe and supportive environment. ECEC should primarily be for the benefit of children. Prioritising the ‘quantity’ of available childcare to get parents back to work over the ‘quality’ of that childcare risks damaging children’s development …
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Where children are in Early Childhood Care and Education, it should be a high- quality, safe and supportive environment. ECEC should primarily be for the benefit of children. Prioritising the ‘quantity’ of available childcare to get parents back to work over the ‘quality’ of that childcare risks damaging children’s development and widening the disadvantage gap. Increasing the availability, quality and affordability of childcare will be the only way to ensure parental buy in and take up.
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the importance of high-quality, safe early childhood care, stating that its reforms are underpinned by this principle and highlighting existing measures like the EYFS framework, its 2021 reforms, and investment in workforce quality.
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Department for Education
22
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Accepted
In the short term, to prevent the existing qualification levels of falling any further, the Level 2 English and maths requirements for ECEC staff to count in staff:child ratios should be reviewed , and alternatives considered that are more tailored to the early years sector. When considering the results of …
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In the short term, to prevent the existing qualification levels of falling any further, the Level 2 English and maths requirements for ECEC staff to count in staff:child ratios should be reviewed , and alternatives considered that are more tailored to the early years sector. When considering the results of the consultation on this matter, the Government should ensure that any changes to this requirement ensure that quality of numeracy teaching is a priority.
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Government response AI summary
The government has launched a consultation to remove the Level 2 English and maths requirement for early years practitioners and is analysing responses, while also expanding the Early Years Professional Development Programme with a new maths module to prioritise numeracy teaching tailored to the sector.
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Department for Education
28
Conclusion
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Accepted
It is widely recognised that effective early intervention and support is vital for improving outcomes for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). We are glad to see the Government’s renewed focus on early years training for SEND through SENCOs and its proposals to include SEND in the Early …
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It is widely recognised that effective early intervention and support is vital for improving outcomes for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). We are glad to see the Government’s renewed focus on early years training for SEND through SENCOs and its proposals to include SEND in the Early Years Educator Level 3 qualification. The Government’s focus on cross-departmental working in the 2023 Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Improvement plan is also welcome, as this will be vital for effective implementation.
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the vital role of early SEND identification and intervention, confirming that the newly revised Level 3 early years educator qualification criteria from September 2024 and existing Level 2 Practitioner criteria include dedicated sections on SEND identification and practice.
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Department for Education
29
Conclusion
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Accepted
Equipping all ECEC practitioners with the skills to identify and support Special Educational Needs (SEN) would help settings better identify and support children with lower level SEND in-house and reduce the number of applications for diagnosis or additional support through an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan, or a speech …
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Equipping all ECEC practitioners with the skills to identify and support Special Educational Needs (SEN) would help settings better identify and support children with lower level SEND in-house and reduce the number of applications for diagnosis or additional support through an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan, or a speech and language assessment. This in turn would reduce waiting times for those children who do require an such additional support.
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the importance of equipping early years practitioners with SEND identification and support skills, affirming that updated Level 3 Early Years Educator qualification criteria from September 2024 and existing Level 2 Practitioner criteria include dedicated sections on SEND.
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Department for Education
30
Recommendation
Fifth Report - Support for childcare an…
Accepted
It is clearly inadequate for only staff with Level 3 qualifications in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) to be trained in identifying and supporting Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. There are many other staff involved in a child’s care that could benefit from such training. Therefore, training for ECEC …
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It is clearly inadequate for only staff with Level 3 qualifications in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) to be trained in identifying and supporting Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. There are many other staff involved in a child’s care that could benefit from such training. Therefore, training for ECEC practitioners in identifying and managing SEND, including Speech and Language, Learning Disabilities and Autism, should be part of the mandatory training requirements set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Statutory Framework. We call on the Government to amend the Framework as soon as practical.
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Government response AI summary
The government states that updated Level 3 and existing Level 2 qualification criteria and Teacher Standards already include specific modules on SEND identification and practice for early years educators and practitioners. They have no further plans to update Level 2 criteria.
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Department for Education