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Issue - meetings

Meeting: 14/12/2022 - Cabinet (Item 251)

251 Childcare Sufficiency Assessment - Annual Return pdf icon PDF 5 MB

Report of the Early Years and Childcare Sufficiency Lead (CS/22/30) presenting the annual return on the sufficiency of accessible, affordable, high quality early years and childcare places, attached.

Additional documents:

Decision:

RESOLVED the Report be welcomed and endorsed.

Minutes:

(Councillors Brazil, Whitton and Wrigley attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).

 

The Cabinet considered the Report of the Early Years and Childcare Sufficiency Lead (CS/22/30) presenting the annual return on the sufficiency of accessible, affordable, high quality early years and childcare places, circulated prior to the meeting in accordance with regulation 7(4) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.

 

The Summary Report highlighted that this year, the Early Years and Childcare Service had focussed on identifying areas where there was not enough provision and supporting providers coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The Service had taken the lead role with the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme opening during the easter and summer holidays. They developed a recruitment and retention strategy, changed the way the processes relating to the funding of 2-year-olds was managed, welcomed Early Years Consultants into the Team, had a change of leadership and generally continued with the day-to-day work of the Service.

 

Next year, the focus would continue on the recruitment and retention of qualified staff, ensuring childcare was affordable by surveying providers to establish what charges were made and raising the awareness of parents about the financial help available to them, supporting providers to remain sustainable, promoting the services offered to parents including the ‘unable to find childcare’ form, following up with parents about checking their eligibility for two-year-old funding and taking up a place and improving free school meal take-up in school nurseries.

 

The Service would also work to address the hotspots that had been identified where more provision was needed and the spotlight areas where information was needed to determine the supply and demand for childcare. Parent and Provider Surveys would be sent in the Spring and Summer terms; and the feedback from these would inform the next report.

 

It was MOVED by Councillor Leadbetter, SECONDED by Councillor Hart, and

 

RESOLVED the Report be welcomed and endorsed.



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