Early Years Funding: 2025 to 2026
Information about early years funding for the 2025 to 2026 financial year, from the Department for Education.
Case Study: Local authority management of SEN Inclusion Funding (SENIF) and Disability Access Funding
On 9 December, the Department for Education published details of local authorities’ early years entitlements funding for 2025-26. To accompany this announcement, the department has shared these examples of local authority practice as a tool for all authorities to use as they are thinking about how to develop their EY SEND approaches locally. These examples have been […]
Let’s Be Confident… Testing and Gathering Evidence to Test Flexible Ways of Providing Wraparound Childcare
This facilitated 60-minute session for Local Authority officers builds and consolidates on the Let’s Talk About session earlier in the month, and will hold space for shared reflection on evidence gathering around flexible approaches, further sharing of ideas and what’s working well and problem solving around testing approaches. Please note that the slides used for this “Let’s Be Confident” session are the same as those used in the ‘Let’s Talk About’ session.
Keeping the Child Central – Cultivating Inclusion in Wraparound Childcare
This two-hour session provides an opportunity for local authority officers to reflect and refresh thinking on SEND and inclusion in wraparound provision. Follow the below link to view the scenarios from the session. Each scenario contains suggested points to consider when discussing with or providing support to a provider. Keeping the child central – scenarios […]
Let’s Talk About… Testing and Gathering Evidence to Test Flexible Ways of Providing Wraparound Childcare
This 90-minute session for Local Authority officers will build on previous learning and discussions in summer term 2024 with a focus on what works, how do we know this and how can we use the learning to grow the programme.
Let’s Talk About… Engaging Schools in Sufficiency Planning for Early Years
A 60-minute session for officers responsible for childcare market management and the engagement of schools in early years sufficiency planning. Schools will be an essential partner in developing, delivering or supporting new early years places in some areas in 2025. Increasing capacity, lowering age ranges or setting up new provision in available school space may be key activity in sufficiency action plan. Engaging school leaders, MATs and academies will be key to the success of this strategy.
Developing Early Career Pathways Webinar
This 60-minute session, delivered in conjunction with Bristol LA, provided Local Authorities with an overview on how to create early years career pathways within their organisations, and the benefits this can have for recruitment, retention, and training programmes. Whilst the focus is on Early Years, Wraparound Leads may also find it useful to watch.
Let’s Be Confident… Promotion and Marketing to Stimulate Wraparound Demand
This 60-minute session is for officers who are working with schools and providers to deliver the National Wraparound Childcare Programme in England. It aimed to expand on knowledge acquired in the Let’s Talk About Session help on 16 October 2024 and help LAs who are less confident in marketing to ensure they are fully equipped to support the providers they are working with.
Let’s Talk About… Maximising Provider Capacity in Preparation for 2025
This recorded session is for officers responsible for and working in childcare market management and early years sufficiency planning. Sufficiency action plans may require the creation of a small number of places in a certain area or may involve finding additional places for a specific age group.