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
Government has today announced that free school meals (FSM) in England will be extended to all children in families receiving Universal Credit, including those on roll in nurseries in primary and nursery schools.
Early Education’s Chief Executive, Beatrice Merrick, said:
“We welcome the news that more children will be eligible for free school meals in nursery and the simplification of the criteria. However, at present children in nursery who are on Universal Credit will only qualify if they are on roll at a nursery in a primary or nursery school, and attending full-time or before and after lunch on the day in question. That leaves out children at private, voluntary and independent (PVI) providers and with childminders, who don’t get the same entitlement to a meal. It will also exclude children at certain types of school-based nursery, such as governor-led provision or an on-site PVI where the child is not registered as a pupil of the school, which is likely to cause confusion. While recognising that not every provider is equipped to provide lunches, we urge government to look into ways of ensuring children are entitled to a meal whatever type of setting they attend.
“Government urgently also needs to provide funding for FSM in nursery. DfE has made clear that the early years funding rate excludes consumables such as meals and snacks when it comes to deciding what additional charges settings can levy on voluntary extras. Yet, when it comes to mandatory provision of FSM for eligible children, it says the cost must be covered from within the hourly rate. This is contradictory and unworkable when the funding rate – especially for 3- and 4-year-olds – is already inadequate.”
The current eligibility criteria for free school meals in nursery are not always well understood. They are as follows:
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) have today launched a consultation on proposed changes to the early years funding system. It runs until 14 September 2026.
We welcome the announcement from the Department for Education confirming details of the grant being made available to local authorities to cover the cost of
We welcome the most recent steps in delivery of the government’s Best Start in Life strategy, focused on helping to raise the quality of provision
A recent survey reveals that many of England’s 376 maintained nursery schools face severe financial struggles. By 2025-26, 35% expect deficits for the year, while
The Secretary of State, Bridget Phillipson MP, has written to the Chief Executive of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to request that the CMA
An online survey has been launched to hear responses from across the early years sector to a draft of the revised Birth to 5 Matters
We welcome DfE’s announcement of a new Inclusive Early Years Fund (IEYF) alongside their Inclusive Mainstream Fund for schools. It will provide £47 million of additional
The Department for Education has today released its long awaited Schools White Paper (Every Child Achieving and Thriving) and its SEND reform consultation (closes 18
We recently sought clarification of the funding guidance relating to payment of quality supplements to maintained nursery schools (MNS) in England, following a question as
We are delighted to announce that Professor Verity Campbell-Barr has been appointed as a Vice President of Early Education in recognition of the contribution she
Our new report is calling for stronger action across all four UK nations to strengthen qualification requirements for the early years workforce (EYW) and to
Five years after its publication, Birth to 5 Matters, non-statutory guidance for the Early Years Foundations Stage, is to be reviewed and relaunched to ensure
Ofsted has now published details of its new Education Inspection Framework and the response to its consultation. We are pleased that it will move to
We’re pleased to confirm that after extensive lobbying from Early Education, the DfE has extended eligibility for the School-based Nursery (SBN) Capital Grant Funding to
Early Education has released an interim report of its comparative study of early years workforce policies across the four UK nations. It finds common challenges
Today the government is launching its Best Start in Life Strategy [expected after presentation to parliament this afternoon], “to drive up the quality, affordability and
A survey of maintained nursery schools (MNS) in England carried out by early years charity Early Education in association with education unions the NAHT and
Any changes to government policy on online safety and digital literacy must include a focus on children in the early years, three leading early years
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
Ofsted is currently consulting on changes to how it inspects the education sector. This review was prompted by the tragic death of headteacher Ruth Perry.
We welcome today’s news from the Department for Education that it has selected 300 schools to receive capital funding for new or expanded nurseries. We
HMRC has provided guidance for early years providers on their eligibility to claim employment allowance. This confirms that settings which are currently eligible to claim
The Department for Education has published updated Statutory guidance for local authorities on the provision of early education and childcare which will apply from 1
The Department for Education has published its early years funding allocations for local authorities for 2025-26, including increasing Early Years Pupil Premium from 68p to
We welcome today’s “Plan for Change” government targets which bring a renewed emphasis on improving child development outcomes in the early years. While still committed
If you read the government’s guidance on applying for capital funding to open or expand nursery provision, you could be forgiven for thinking setting up
The Department for Education (DfE) has today launched a “test and learn” pilot for its planned expansion of school-based nursery provision. Under the scheme, primary
Ofsted has today published its response to the “Big Listen” consultation. For the early years, it undertakes to: On the differences between early years and
We welcome the Department for Education’s announcement that the government are moving ahead with their manifesto commitment to scrap single-word Ofsted judgements for schools, effective immediately,
The National Audit Office’s new report, Improving educational outcomes for disadvantaged children, finds that in 2023-24, DfE allocated an estimated £9.2 billion to specifically focus
The letter below sets out our key asks for the next government.
On 10 June, Labour announced their plans for “over three thousand new nursery classes across England to open up access to childcare hours for families”,
The Conservative Manifesto has promised to extend Family Hubs to all local authorities. This would both extend funding for the 75 local authorities where they
The Lib Dems have published their manifesto, including commitments to incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into UK law and to
Today, Friday 17 May, the Early Education and Childcare Coalition (EECC) has launched its new manifesto, with proposals to rescue and reform England’s early education
A report published by the National Audit Office (NAO) today finds that the timetable for the roll-out of the new funded early education and childcare
In response to recent queries about why the latest DfE guidance on providing the early education and childcare entitlements has removed references to additional charges
A new campaign to boost recruitment to the early years sector in England is being launched today by the government. The government press release says:
DfE have issued an update to address the issue of parents wishing to claim their codes for the new entitlements who cannot do so because
The Department for Education has today published its response to the EYFS consultation conducted in the summer. The changes will be implemented from January 2024
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
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
In a speech today, Kier Starmer will set out Labour’s plans to expand opportunity via five “missions” including “Early years reform – to boost child development with an
The Department for Education (DfE) is currently consulting on proposals to amend the Early Years Foundation Stage. They propose relaxing the requirements around the minimum
DfE has issued slightly more detail about the planned uplift in the hourly rates for the current and new entitlements, following the announcements in the
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
Today, Early Education, the NAHT, NEU and Unison have jointly written an open letter calling on the government to address the shortfall in early years
Today, teachers from the National Education Union are striking, including many working in nursery and reception classes. In the last week, the Department for Education
We welcome the news that our President, Professor Cathy Nutbrown, has been made a Dame in the year’s New Years Honours list. This is much
