Figures published by the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) reveal that councils are “shortchanging children and leaving providers out of pocket” by moving early years funding to tackle overspending in other...
General election: Tory early years pledge ‘would push childcare funding deficit to £800m’
The Conservative Party’s childcare manifesto could increase the early years funding deficit to £824m, a new report has warned. A cost analysis of early years pledges from all main political parties by independent...
Charity’s early support in children’s centres halves in two years
The number of families accessing early help from the charity Barnardo’s in children’s centres has halved over the last two years. The charity has revealed in its 2018/19 annual report that 92,000 parents...
‘Free’ childcare offer will lead to more nursery closures, finds research
Nearly a quarter of childcare providers predict they could close next year due to insurmountable financial pressures resulting from delivering the government’s 30 hours ‘free’ childcare offer, new...
DfE ordered to publish early years funding calculations
The Department for Education has been told to disclose details of how it calculates early years funding levels by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) following a lengthy freedom of information dispute...
Early years inequality gap grows
Early years development has continued to improve, but the gap between the lowest achievers and their peers is still growing, government figures show. The attainment gap has increased in the Early Years Foundation Stage...
