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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
The tenth early years minister in ten years, Kelly Tolhurst, is now in post. It’s good news that early years is part of a Minister of State’s portfolio rather than given to a more junior post. However, the rest of her brief is extensive, leaving a risk that early years is not a priority. We […]
We urge members to respond to the two DfE consultations on funding and ratios which close on 16 September. For information, you can view the text of our draft responses below to inform your own thinking. We welcome any comments from members on these drafts. These should be sent to us by 15 September at […]
The Times Education Commission has today published a report which calls for “A significant boost to early years funding targeted at the most vulnerable and a unique pupil number from birth, to level the playing field before children get to school.” It also calls for wellbeing to be put at the heart of education and […]
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