DfE has today launched a consultation on the new funding rates which will apply for 2-year-olds and under 2s when the new entitlements are introduced in England in 2024-25. The consultation sets out the government’s plans which are in brief: Like the current funding formulae, under these new formulae the allocations to local authorities will […]
The Department for Education has today announced that the extra £204m for early years announced in the budget will be allocated to local authorities as an additional grant to boost funding for the early years entitlements between September 2023 and March 2024. The average rate for a 3- or 4-year-old will rise from £5.29 to […]
In today’s budget the Chancellor has confirmed several new measures on early education and childcare: Our analysis The decision to relax the ratios for 2-year-olds from 1:4 to 1:5 despite overwhelming opposition from the sector and parents is extremely disappointing. While most of the sector are unlikely to implement this, the pressure on settings budgets […]
The government’s latest changes to the early years funding formulae bring two key changes which we pointed out in our response to the consultation would spread an already limited amount of funding unevenly across the country. Our analysis of the published 2023-24 allocations shows this to be the case and looks at where the funding […]
DfE have today announced the early years funding settlement for 2023-24, which leaves the early years sector struggling on below inflationary increases. While an additional £10m for the least well-funded maintained nursery schools (MNS) is welcome, and an additional £20m for the Early Years National Funding Formula represents a token acknowledgement of the additional wage […]
Ofsted’s latest annual review highlights the impact of recruitment and retention challenges and finds a link between inspection outcomes and the proportion of graduates in a setting. It recognises the work which settings are doing to address the impact of the pandemic on young children. It found that 96% of providers on the early years […]
The open letter below was sent to Ofsted in November 2023. Download Ofsted’s response We the undersigned are writing to you about the recently published Ofsted document Best start in life part 1: setting the scene. While we welcome Ofsted’s recognition of the vital role of the early years, we are concerned that as a […]
In his Autumn Statement today the Chancellor failed to offer any financial help to an early years sector which is already struggling to stay afloat. While it is good news for the low-paid early years workforce that the minimum wage for those over 23 will rise from £9.50 to £10.42 in April, there is no […]
The Ofsted early years curriculum review Best start in life part 1: setting the scene, has just been published, which they describe as being part of their series of “subject-based curriculum research reviews”. It aims to examine “the factors that contribute to a high-quality early education” and trails a future series of reviews which will focus […]
A coalition of Early Years organisations convened by Kindred2 , including Early Education and providers such as LEYF and Ark Start, has identified a series of practical and affordable options for improved Early Years spending in England. The analysis, by one of the largest economic consultancies in Europe, Frontier Economics, is based on current government […]
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