CEY1711
Written evidence submitted by Nottingham City Council
This submission has been completed by early years representatives from Nottingham City Council. This includes: The Early Years team who are the strategic lead within the council for early years development of children in the City; sufficient, high quality early years provision; distribution of the funded entitlements and participation levels across the free early years entitlement places. The Families Information Service who are responsible for providing information and advice to families and supporting eligibility checking for the 2 year old entitlement. SEND services who provide targeted support to children, families, schools and childcare providers linked to an Early Years SEND pathway.
Nationally and locally the removal of sure start funding has significantly reduced support for families particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds. The support around the 0-5 agenda has become fragmented which makes navigating systems complicated for families, early years providers and those who support them. There is a significant strain on health and social care service and, as a result, there are lengthy waiting lists leaving children with emerging needs, particularly speech and language, undiagnosed and without support and intervention. Whilst the quality of childcare maybe of a good standard, the reduction of support, as identified above, places additional responsibilities on the early years workforce who are already at breaking point financially. Here in Nottingham we do where possible reflect this in the base rate for the funded offer however; funding for childcare is complex and, despite efforts by Local Authorities to unravel some of these complexities, families continue to view childcare as financially inaccessible.
Childcare Entitlements
The burden of childcare costs on family budgets now seems to be higher than ever. Enquiries from parents regarding Early Years Entitlements into our Families Information Service made 40% of all enquiries in 2022. Parents continually express their frustration of the complexities and restrictions connected to the funded entitlements and other Government financial support, for example: parent’s income just above the Universal Credit threshold for the 2 year old entitlement and parents frustrated just missing out on the 2 year old entitlement, who are unable to afford childcare to work however, the following year will be entitled to 30 hours of funded provision.
Thresholds for funded entitlements do not reflect the current economic context (of inflation and economic growth) and therefore are now excluding more families in need. The funded entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds is a great support to families in the city, but 15 hours a week is not enough for working parents. The 30 hours free childcare supports parents but is complex to claim and burdensome for parents to administrate.
The eligibility criteria for the free entitlement for 2 year olds is complex. The economic criteria has 7 different benefits criteria, plus a separate set of criteria for non-UK citizens who cannot claim benefits, plus another set of non-economic criteria. This makes for a very complex entitlement for parents to understand and make a claim.
Current Government systems for supporting parents with childcare costs are bureaucratic, restrictive and difficult to navigate. It has often felt that any changes to the entitlements have been reactive, adding on to what already exists (either permanently or temporarily) which compound the complexity and confusion. A holistic and inclusive review, based on what would actually enable all families to afford childcare, is needed which hopefully will result in a much more sensible system accessible to all.
Early years provision
The early years sector is facing significant challenges regarding the recruitment of suitably qualified and skilled practitioners. This, in conjunction with attempts to retain established experienced practitioners, is adding significant pressure onto an already challenged workforce. The continued increase in national living and minimum wages are putting unsustainable pressure on an already fragile early years sector. Many providers are stating the next couple of years will be critical and some believe they are facing the threat of closure.
Highly experienced practitioners are leaving the sector to work within other industries that offer higher rates of pay and better terms and conditions. Providers cannot compete with the hourly rates other industries are offering. Although it appears that staffing problems have not affected the profile of inspection judgements so far, it may affect quality in the future if experienced and qualified staff continue to leave. Anecdotally, childcare leaders report very few applications received for jobs advertised and, those who apply often lack qualifications and experienced. Those with qualifications often are unable to demonstrate the competencies required to deliver a quality and safe provision for children.
A city group care provider has seen a 24% turnover of staff in the last 12 months with approximately 85% leaving due to finding alternative employment for greater pay. On average they receive 16 number of applicants for individual advertised posts with only 12.5% holding suitable qualifications/experience. Recent recruitment advertising costs equated to £270, on average a £10 daily charge.
Evidently, providers are increasing their fees for parents at a time when families are already struggling with day to day costs of living. Daily budgets are being squeezed which is resulting in providers having to prioritise their spending with many reporting that this has impacted on the CPD opportunities they are able to provide their practitioners.
A lack of specialists to support the needs of children and young people with SEND are causing increasing pressures on the childcare and education systems. Limited funding means many children are on delayed starts or reduced timetables. Due to increased waiting lists and reduced criteria’s for health visiting support, paediatricians and Speech and language support, children are often entering into the system without the support and transition they need to enable a successful start to education.
The systems are not family friendly and some parents miss out on the vital early intervention they need.
On June 16th 2022 NHS England released figures with indicated there are now 100,000 more children waiting to be seen by a consultant than there were a year ago. The number of children and young people in the queue for care and treatment has soared to more than 350,000, the highest on record.
Childcare and education settings are having to take on support roles when pressures are already high, including ratio constraints, access to and the cost of specialist equipment as well as high numbers of children with SEND entering the system. The Covid-19 pandemic has also contributed as children have not had the same exposures and opportunities that would previously been available meaning more children are showing delays in development. The Ofsted annual report summarises the impact the pandemic has had on children by saying
“Many providers have noticed delays in some children’s speech and language development and they are making more referrals for specialist help with speech and language than previously.
The pandemic has also had a negative impact on children’s personal, social and emotional development (PSED). Some children’s social skills are less advanced than they might otherwise have been at their age. These include the skills needed to make friends, to become more confident and to communicate with adults. They have missed out on socialising with other children and adults, and lack confidence during social interactions. Some children are taking longer to settle into a nursery or with a childminder, and they need a lot of support to share and take turns. The foundations of future learning, and of thriving at school and beyond, include being able to share, take turns and build relationships with adults and other children. Without these skills, children may be less prepared for the Reception Year”.
Consideration needs to be given to how the workforce has changed over the last few years and the current difficulties the sector faces with recruitment and with less trained and knowledgeable SENCO’s remaining in the education sector as well as considerations of provision funding and policy differences across sectors also have an impact on how children’s needs are met.
It is important that all children experience positive transitions, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with SEND. Children are more likely to feel secure and settle into a new environment with appropriate preparation and informed, planned adjustments. The EYFS statutory framework is effective and structured to enable the support and education of all children but relies on the quality of the execution and implementation for it to be successful. For this we need a qualified, experienced and consistent workforce both in childcare, provision, schools and support services. Following the Covid-19 pandemic this has become even more of a challenge to maintain and deliver.
There are many examples in Nottingham where families have been supported and children have successfully transitioned into a childcare setting or school. Largely, this is due to the determination, hard work and ethics of individual practitioners than the current systems supporting this transition to happen. Government funding is limited and continues to reduce which places pressure on LA capacity, increases waiting times for family and child support and restricts the support that can be offered to childcare and education settings.
Positive working relationships between childcare providers and schools is essential to support effective transition. Schools are required to work with feeder provision to ensure smooth transitions. There is a local system in place to enable effective transition, but the execution of the system is down to individual interpretation and practice. There needs to be closer scrutiny of this statutory requirement for schools to ensure partnerships with feeder provision are effective and consistent.
Children’s Centres are a point of support, respite and safety for many families. In Nottingham, Centres were established within communities and multi-agency staff within them have worked tirelessly to build services which are accessible, understood and trusted by families. The withdrawal of funding has meant a gradual reduction in the services LA are able to offer, reduction of physical Centres and therefore the reduction of much needed community provision. Inevitably this will have resulted in families become more isolated, confidence in services reduced and placing families at risk. Potentially an increasing number of children and families have slipped under the radar, families not sure where to seek support, possible family isolation. The need for Children’s Centre services is growing while the offer has been forced to significantly reduce.
The reduction in funding will have resulted in a reduced workforce with the loss of qualified and experienced practitioners. As Family Hubs take shape, how difficult will it be to regain the trust and confidence of parents and professionals in the offer following the demise of Sure Start Children’s Centre’s? Will the Family Hub offer meet the increasing pressures face by families? Are services equipped financially and structurally to deliver the offer? It may be too soon to tell. From an agency perspective, there is the desire and ambition but, practically, is the support centrally sufficient?
January 2023