Contact: Tracey Sanders, Tel: 01962 813872, email: [email protected]

1 Summary

1.1 This report highlights the key duties placed upon the Local Authority under the Childcare Act 2006. In particular, it summarises activity planned to improve outcomes for children and reduce inequalities, to secure sufficient childcare, to support providers with advice and training, to provide information to parents, to increase the free minimum entitlement for early years provision, to implement the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and to support providers as the revised regulations and inspection framework are put into practice.

2 Recommendations

2.1 That the Executive Lead Member for Children's Services (Education) approves the actions, as set out in Section 4 of the report, which are being taken by the Early Education and Childcare Unit in response to the new duties placed upon local authorities by The Childcare Act (2006).

3 Introduction

3.1 The Childcare Act 2006 aims to assist in the implementation of the goals set out in the 10-year Strategy for Childcare: A 10-year Strategy for Childcare (HMSO 2004) and for the first time enshrines in law the expectation of parents to have accessible childcare and services for children under 5 and their families.

The Act is divided into four parts:

· Part 1 makes provision relating to new duties on local authorities in England

· Part 2 makes provision relating to new duties on local authorities in Wales

· Part 3 makes provision relating to the system of regulation and inspection of childcare in England

· Part 4 contains general provisions.

Part 1

3.2 Part 1 places duties on local authorities to improve outcomes for young children according to Every Child Matters. The Act aims to improve children's well-being and reduce inequalities between those children achieving the poorest outcomes and the rest. The key vehicle for improving outcomes within the Act is through the delivery of early childhood services. The Childcare Act defines early childhood services as integrated early years education and childcare, social services relating to young children, health services relevant to young children, services that assist parents in obtaining and retaining employment and information services for parents. It is envisaged that these services will be delivered through children's centres.

3.3 Part 1 specifically provides for the National Health Service and Job Centre Plus to work in partnership with local authorities to deliver early childhood services. It requires local authorities to involve parents and partners in developing early childhood services, and have regard to the views of young children and young people.

3.4 Part 1 places duties on local authorities to secure sufficient childcare for working parents and those making the transition into work for children up to 14 years old (18 years old for children with SEN and disabilities) so far as is reasonably practicable. It requires local authorities to assess on a regular basis (at least every three years) the demand for and accessibility of local childcare provision. This assessment should include the views of parents, levels of current childcare provision, socio-economic data and information about labour market patterns. It enables local authorities to provide childcare if necessary and charge for childcare. It requires local authorities to support providers with information, advice, and training to enable them to provide high quality sustainable early years education and childcare.

3.5 Part 1 also places duties on local authorities to provide information to parents and prospective parents about services, facilities, and publications, which may benefit them and provide assistance in finding childcare.

Part 3

3.6 Part 3 introduces a new framework for integrated early years education and childcare from birth until children start Key Stage 1, called the "Early Years Foundation Stage". This framework combines the National Standards for Under Eights' Day Care and Childminding with the Foundation Stage Curriculum Guidance and the Birth to Three Matters Framework into a single quality framework and will replace the current Foundation Stage Curriculum in September 2008.

3.7 Alongside this, the Act introduces a new legal framework for the integrated regulation and inspection of early education and childcare services. It creates a single framework for the regulation of education and care for children from birth to 5 years and provision for these children will be placed upon the early years register from September 2008.

3.8 All childcare for children from the end of the Foundation Stage until 7 years old will be required to comply with streamlined standards to ensure provision is safe and secure and that providers are suitably qualified and adhere to child/adult ratios. These criteria will be the requirements for entry onto a new Ofsted Childcare Register (OCR). Providers will be required to pay for registration.

3.9 Other childcare providers for children aged 8 - 14 years old (18 years old for children with SEN and disabilities) will be able to choose to join the OCR provided they meet the required standards. Parents will only be able to access tax credits, income tax, and national insurance concessions if the provision is on the OCR.

3.10 Finally, the Act renames the free entitlement to nursery education as an entitlement to early years provision to reflect the combination of care and education provision for 3 and 4 year olds. It also ensures in law the 10-year Childcare Strategy which makes a commitment to increase the minimum free entitlement of early years provision from 12 ½ hours a week for 38 weeks per year to 15 hours a week for 38 weeks by 2010, with the aim of 20 hours a week in the long term. It furthermore, stipulates that this entitlement should be delivered flexibly over a minimum of three days to meet parental need.

4 Actions taken in Hampshire

4.1 Improving Outcomes for Children

4.1.1 The Children's Centre programme is the key mechanism for the delivery of early childhood services and a report was submitted to the Executive Member for Children's Services in December 2006 highlighting the progress being made.

4.1.2 Non-statutory targets have also been set to improve achievement outcomes for all children within the Foundation Stage. It is anticipated that by 2008, the number of children with a total of 78 points (a good level) within the Foundation Stage curriculum will have increased by 4% and the gap between the average child and the average score within the lowest attaining 20% will have reduced by 5% when compared to attainment levels across the county in 2006. A support programme is being implemented which includes focused training for providers to develop children's language and social and emotional skills and an enhanced support programme will be available for providers meeting the needs of the most vulnerable children. This support will be offered in addition to the current strategies that help providers to offer the highest quality early years education and childcare.

4.2 The duty to secure sufficient childcare

4.2.1 The County Council is already a successful provider of childcare as there are more childcare places registered with Ofsted in Hampshire compared to any other local authority. These places are provided by 2575 childminders, 330 day nurseries, 342 pre-schools, and 225 out-of-school schemes. However, the rate of increase in the number of places is now slower than the rest of England, which suggest that the childcare market is at a peak and is meeting the current demand. However, it is possible that childcare currently available in Hampshire does not meet all parents needs, for example, shift workers or low income families. Therefore, a detailed analysis needs to be undertaken to ensure that childcare in Hampshire is both affordable and accessible for all parents.

4.2.2 In order to meet new duties under the Childcare Act and to investigate whether the current supply of childcare provision meets demand, a sufficiency assessment is due to take place across Hampshire between April 2007 to March 2008. This process will involve collaborative working with others such as children's centres and extended schools and will help inform planning for childcare services at a local level and form the basis of a county-wide strategy for the next three years.

4.2.3 The assessment will include an up to date audit of provision, which will collate information about the type of provider, number of places that the setting is registered for, number of children attending, length of sessions, numbers on waiting lists etc. This information will be stored on the Children's Information Service data system (iChIS).

4.2.4 The demand for childcare will be assessed through direct contact with parents and carers through questionnaires, focus groups, and events. The assessment also will consider the use of other sources of local information that may have been gathered by partners and use existing information about current patterns of take up of nursery education for 3 and 4 year olds.

4.2.5 The assessment of parental need for childcare will particularly focus upon vulnerable groups, for example, parents of children with SEN and disability. The audit of provision and assessment of parental need will be analysed against demographic and labour market data to place gaps in provision into context and local strategies will be tailor made to address those gaps. Children's centres and extended schools will be key programmes to help address gaps in provision.

4.2.6 The draft assessment results will then be subject to consultation and the final assessment conclusions will be made publicly available. The assessment results and related targets will then be included within the new Children's and Young People's Plan.

4.3 The duty to support providers with information, advice and training

4.3.1 Information to providers is offered through a variety of means. For example, there are termly briefing sessions for providers to receive information and share views on national and county developments. Providers also receive the Hampshire termly magazine, Horizons, which is a key vehicle for distributing information and sharing good practice.

4.3.2 The EECU has a range of officers and partner support services based in localities that support providers, prospective providers and employees by providing information and advice through regular visits. This support includes advice on establishing provision, meeting Ofsted regulations, offering high quality provision, working with parents, supporting transitions and meeting the needs of vulnerable children.

4.3.3 The support for those wishing to start, or expand, their childcare business is highly effective with only 7.25% experiencing difficulties in becoming registered compared with the National average of 29.7%.

4.3.4 Subsequent Ofsted inspection outcomes also indicate that the support offered by the EECU and partners to providers is effective. For example, 65% of childcare settings are judged to be good or outstanding (5% above the national average); and nursery education is judged good or outstanding in nearly 70% of settings (10% above the national average).

4.3.5 The Early Years Education and Childcare Strategic Plan 2006-08, includes targets to enhance the delivery of information, advice, and training to providers. Providers will continue to receive information through a range of publications. Briefings are planned to cover the new Code of Practice for nursery education, the self-assessment scheme, and safeguarding.

4.3.6 The local development teams are streamlining their support to providers by using the self-evaluation tool where providers highlight key areas of need and support is allocated accordingly. This work is facilitated by clear service specifications with the Pre-school Learning Alliance and National Childminding Association, which ensure that providers benefit in a targeted way from the skills of these organisations.

4.3.7 In addition to advice and support, the EECU currently offers providers a wide range of continuous professional development and vocational training, which is completely, or part funded.

4.3.8 In 2005/6 approximately 900 courses were offered as part of a continuous professional development programme covering core registration courses such as First Aid, Food Hygiene, Health & Safety; Birth to 3 Matters, Foundation Stage Curriculum, Special Educational Needs and Workforce Development training including Business and Employment Practice. Additionally, 585 childminders have been fully funded and successfully completed a vocational qualification. Initial data from 2006-07 suggests that the take up of vocational training is increasing and targets for 2007-08 have been set to offer learners increased access to vocational courses and incentives to grow graduate professionals from the existing workforce. A continuous professional development strategy has also been designed to strengthen countrywide areas of concern identified through 2006-07 Ofsted inspections and a commitment has been made to deliver more specific issue focussed cluster or setting based training.

4.4 The Duty to provide information, advice and assistance to parents

4.4.1 The EECU provides a Children's Information Service (CIS) for parents seeking advice on where they can find early years education and childcare. The services consists of a call centre, which receives over 850 enquiries from parents per year and a website, which receives 240,000 hits per year. This services also helps parents understand how to choose quality provision and signposts them to other services that may be of use to them e.g. Job Centre Plus and other partner support services.

4.4.2 The duty within the Childcare Act extends the requirement to provide information about children's centres and early years education to include information about services, facilities, and publications, which may be of benefit to them as prospective parents, parents or children and young people up to the age of 20. Plans are underway for the existing CIS to be incorporated into the Hampshire Contact Centre by 2007 and the CIS website is being redesigned to link seamlessly with Hantsfish and the Hampshire County Council website. A specific programme is being launched through the CIS and Job Centre Plus to help parents understand and access working tax credits.

4.4.3 A task group is working to ensure that this new duty is met by an overall Children's Services Information Strategy, which will include the contact centre, Hantsfish, and the work of commissioned services etc.

4.5 The duty to increase the free minimum entitlement for early years provision

4.5.1 Currently, all 3 and 4 year old children in Hampshire are offered 12 ½ hours free nursery education over 38 weeks per year. 94% eligible children access this offer, which is one of the highest rates in the country.

4.5.2 Hampshire has been selected as a Pathfinder authority with the express purposes of extending this entitlement to 15 hours per week over 38 weeks and deliver the entitlement flexibly (over a minimum of 3 days) according to parental needs.

4.5.3 Over 250 providers in Hampshire volunteered to be involved in the Pathfinder and 100 (around 15% of all providers) have been selected. These providers will be working with the local authority to explore how to determine parental need and respond flexibly, how to manage businesses to ensure accessibility and sustainability, how to maintain quality with a flexible pattern of attendance, how to work in partnership with another provider and will evaluate the outcomes for children.

4.5.4 The government is providing additional funding (£1.9m) to support the Pathfinder project. This funding is intended to pay for local authority project management costs as well as an enhanced nursery education rate principally to facilitate flexibility. Consequently, the hourly rate paid to providers will increase from £3.40 to £4.00.

4.6 The implementation of the Early Years Foundation Stage

4.6.1 As noted earlier, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) will become statutory in September 2008 and replaces the Birth to Three Matters framework, the National Daycare Standards and the Foundation Stage Curriculum.

4.6.2 Briefing sessions are planned for Children's Services colleagues and partner agencies in May and June 2007 and for head teachers, early education and childcare managers in July - September 2007. The EYFS initial training consists of a review of the EYFS layout and how to use the document as well as highlighting significant changes, and will be rolled out to all early years education and childcare providers during the summer term 2007. Existing training is also being reviewed and adapted so that all training programmes include relevant references to the EYFS.

4.7 The revised Regulation and Inspection framework

4.7.1 The revised regulation and inspection framework is being gradually introduced. From March 2007, eligible providers will be able to join the voluntary childcare register. The EECU is providing information to these providers to alert them to this opportunity and support will be offered the guide them through the process. A strategy has also been devised to support providers through the changed registration process when the Childcare Register and Early Years Register come into force in September 2008.

5 Consultation

5.1 As part of the EECU's response to the new duties under the Childcare Act a countywide assessment of childcare needs will be undertaken which will take into account the view of parents, providers, partners and other stakeholders.

5.2 Actions detailed in this report have been the subject of discussion through the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership and other departments within Children's Services and through provider briefings.

6 Legal implications

6.1 Detailed throughout the report.

7 Financial implications

7.1 Activities planned for 2007/08 are expected to fall within capital and revenue allocations provided by the General Sure Start Grant (GSSG) and Dedicated Services Grant (DSG). The EECU and partners have also made a significant contribution to the DfES consultation on funding for schools early years and
14-19 provision. Long-term financial implications include the additional costs of providing 15 hours nursery education implementing the EYFS, the growth in resources necessary to support the children's centre programme and funding to provide support to an expanded childcare market.

8 Personnel implications

8.1 The Children's Services workforce plan includes the need to employ three full time equivalent (fte) CIS outreach officers to fulfil the childcare brokerage services required within the Childcare Act. It is anticipated that these officers will specifically link with children's centres and extended schools. Additional staffing is likely to be required to implement the new EYFS and these will be included in the 2007/08 workforce plan.

9 Impact assessment

9.1 An impact assessment will be included within the Sufficiency Childcare Assessment and the Extended Flexible Entitlement Pathfinder. Both of these projects will then consider strategies to meet the needs of children who are likely to experience disadvantage; such children from families with low or no income. The Childcare and Foundation Stage targets aim to reduce inequalities, and their impact will be measured as part of the performance management of Children's Centres and the Foundation Stage evaluation. Data will be collected regarding the ethnic origin of learners, and training will be adapted according to need. Data regarding ethnicity and gender will be collected as part of the information service evaluation.

10 Crime prevention issues

10.1 The impact of actions detailed within this report on crime prevention have been considered as part of the County Council's legal obligation under Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, and it is anticipated that enhanced childcare opportunities for young people will have a positive impact upon preventing crime.

11 Views of the Local County Councillor

11.1 A Childcare Act briefing paper has been circulated to local County Councillors and comments have subsequently been incorporated.

12 Conclusion

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background documents

The following documents discuss facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB: the list excludes

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

None

Appendix I

The Work of the Early Education and Childcare Unit and Commissioned Services

Administrative Support Team

The administrative support team provides support to Early Education and Childcare Unit (EECU) staff and offers a frontline service to early years providers. They monitor and update the Early Years and Childcare database using information from the Ofsted register for Early Education and Childcare provision.

Foundation Stage

The Early Years Advisory team offer challenge and support to all settings. The team offer further focused, in depth support where there are concerns about the quality of provision. They co-ordinate joint working and the professional development of Foundation Stage practitioners through a sharing professional expertise scheme which involves cluster group meetings, training and publications. The team provide a range of training for Foundation Stage practitioners through conferences and courses.

Training

The EECU training team, which includes the Early Years Education Advisory team, currently provides over 900 courses for childcare workers in Hampshire, these range from qualifying courses up to a degree level and include a vast selection of continuous professional development courses and SEN courses. The Senior Development Officer (Training) gains regular feedback from the local training group meetings, which are held in the five areas across Hampshire and are attended by training representatives/Further Education Colleges and key partners.

Childcare

The Childcare Development and Support team continues to work with partners and commissioned services to improve quality and facilitate sufficient childcare. Currently the team have achieved a good coverage of registered childcare in most areas. The key priority for the team is to focus upon the achievement of the childcare core offers in both children's centres and extended services in schools as well as delivering the Childcare Sufficiency Assessment. The team will be further expanded in 07/08 through the recruitment of three fte Business Support Officers to provide a range of business support services to build the financial and business sustainability of the Hampshire childcare sector.

The Area Inclusion Co-ordinator Service

The Area Inclusion Co-ordinator (InCo) team regularly visit all early years education settings to support inclusion. Through consultation, they provide support to setting SENCOs regarding the additional needs of individual children, the role of the SENCO, the SEN Code of Practice, related policies, and strategies. They promote the sharing of good practice through support groups, deliver a comprehensive training programme, and work collaboratively with a variety of outside agencies including outreach providers. A whole service evaluation confirmed that the Area InCo service has been effective in developing setting SENCOs confidence, knowledge, and skills to facilitate inclusion. Recently the Area InCo service has taken on the support of children with additional needs in childcare and out-of-school provision and are currently developing a relevant training programme that includes an Index for Inclusion.

Portage

The Portage team provide educational support through home visiting to an average of 250 children with special education needs and their families per year. A recent whole service evaluation confirms that this service is valued highly by parents and viewed as effective by other professionals. Developments in the service include support for children with behaviour difficulties and the expansion of an inclusion outreach service.

Children's Information Service

The Children's Information Service (CIS) operates seven days a week and provides up to date advice about childcare available in local communities. It also provides the EECU with an opportunity to consult with parents. Currently, plans are underway to develop the services by providing face-to-face contact for parents through children's centre and extended schools.

Commissioning

The Senior Development Officer (Commissioning and Contract Management) oversees the expenditure of £2.5 m budget for tendered services. The three main services commissioned by the EECU to support the delivery of the Early Years Education and Childcare Strategic Plan are the Pre-school Learning Alliance, National Childminding Association and the Hampshire Children and Families Forum.

Recruitment

The Senior Development Officer (Recruitment) has developed and led childcare taster workshops, introduced a CD-Rom for recruitment, improved job advertising on the website, designed and developed a recruitment information pack and created links with Job Centre Plus and Connexions as well as working in partnership with other Local authorities on joint projects. A careers pack has been designed and launched to schools and Connexions Advisors, intended to be utilised as a tool for presenting a careers session in schools for years 9-11. A Recruitment and Retention Guide has been produced in a series format with different sections to be distributed on a termly basis to providers, it forms part of a Workforce Development Folder that includes other information for providers on training and CPD.

Communications

The EECU publishes a magazine called Horizons three times per year, which contains useful articles, news, and listings of events. The EECU also contributes to local community events to promote its work and inform members of the public of available early education and childcare opportunities.

Finance

The EECU Finance team work closely with EECU budget holders to assist and advise on budgetary control. All funding streams and budgets are monitored to ensure that the most efficient use is made of available resources. The team links closely with Children's Services Finance Unit so that budget monitoring and financial controls are exercised in accordance with broader systems within the Hampshire County Council (HCC).

In 2007/08, there will be an overall revenue budget of approximately £18m. In addition, there will be capital funding of some £11m to support investment in early years provision, mainly through children's centres.

IT

The EECU is currently merging its many access databases into one core IT system that will include new modules to monitor training, recruitment, and pathways to registration. IT support is now being managed through the Information and Research Team to ensure
co-ordinated systems of data management within Children's Services.

Partnership

The Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership consist of four subgroups - creating and sustaining childcare, developing the workforce, vulnerable children, and the Foundation Stage. These subgroups meet regularly and monitor the implementation of the Hampshire Sure Start Strategic Plan 2006-08. They also commission task groups who develop aspects of work across the county. The Partnership work is led by a Board who meet quarterly and there are two Partnership training days each year.

National Childminding Association

The National Childminding Association supports Hampshire's childminders. Through the contract, the organisation supports all registered childminders, helps new childminders become established, improves the quality of childminding and the raises qualification levels of childminders, thereby improving the quality of provision. They work in partnership with the EECU and their staff are members of the five Local Development Teams.

Pre-school Learning Alliance

The Pre-school Learning Alliance (PLA) supports Hampshire's pre-schools, nurseries, and parent and toddler groups. Through the contract, the organisation supports registered settings and new settings in becoming registered. They support the settings in business and management decisions, thereby improving the quality of the settings and quality of provision. The PLA works in partnership with the EECU and their senior

Pre-School Development Workers are members of the five local development teams.

Childcare Development Workers (CDW's)

The EECU commissions local Borough and District Councils and one voluntary organisation to support out-of-school childcare settings. Local Childcare Development Workers (CDWs) help out-of-school settings become established and implement effective management, financial and organisational systems. They support settings in establishing quality provision and to help them through periods of change. They also help settings to achieve best practice for the inclusion of vulnerable children. The CDWs support the implementation of the Hampshire Play Strategy and local Play Strategies.