New edition of Birth to 5 Matters launched
The Early Years Coalition has launched the updated and expanded second edition of Birth to 5 Matters (Bto5M), non-statutory guidance for the Early Years Foundation
The Department for Education (DfE) has today announced a consultation (closing 12 July) about changing the minimum space requirements per child in the EYFS Statutory Framework. The change is intended to increase the number of places available to meet demanded for the expanded entitlements. The options on which DfE are consulting are whether to:
Current requirements are based solely on indoor space and do not allow providers to factor in outdoor space, despite the importance of children spending time outdoors. Fully (or almost fully) outdoor providers are not covered by current requirements for whom the indoor space allocations are merely indicative in relation to outdoor space. There is currently no requirement for all settings to have outside space, although daily outdoor activities are required in the case of providers without outdoor space of their own.
We encourage all members to respond to the consultation to indicate how such a change would impact on their provision and flag any concerns regarding the safety or practicality of the proposals. The changes would only apply to outdoor space that was permanently available to children on a freeflow basis.
We welcome greater flexibility for providers provided that it does not negatively impact on the quality of children’s experiences. The quality of outdoor provision is vital, as is the training of staff to ensure that outdoor areas do not just replicate the indoors but make full use of the outdoor environment and the different ways in which children respond to and make use of those spaces.
Current staffing challenges can make it harder for providers to keep all spaces available to children at all times of day, as they balance numbers of children across the day with practitioners’ availability. This may also be a challenging to the practicality of the proposals.
We also invite members to send us your comments on the proposals to include on our own response to the consultation.
DfE has also issued resources to support settings in reminding eligible parents that they can now apply for 30 hour places for children following the term after they reach 9 months, starting from September 2025. Parents already eligible for 15 hours will not need to make a fresh application but will need to confirmation codes for the new term.
Research from the DfE has found a positive impact on families from the roll out of the expanded entitlements to date, reporting that one in five of lower income eligible families have increased their working hours.
The Early Years Coalition has launched the updated and expanded second edition of Birth to 5 Matters (Bto5M), non-statutory guidance for the Early Years Foundation
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