As the Department for Education (DfE) announces national average hourly funding rates, the sector warns the increase is insufficient, and adds up to more early years settings closures .
This year’s Annual Report from Ofsted has highlighted the recruitment and retention challenges in the early years sector.
Early years organisations have criticised the Government’s Autumn Statement for giving no support to a sector at ‘crisis point’.
Early years organisations warn that the National Living Wage increase will have a ‘huge impact’ on settings budgets, and ‘is not going to be painless for employers to implement’.
As the latest Ofsted statistics reveal the number of childcare and early years places have fallen by several thousand, early years organisations warn that the Government is piling more pressure on providers with its expansion plans.
Analysis by NDNA of the base rates that nurseries and other providers are receiving from their local authority reveals that in many areas, ‘providers are not receiving the money they are entitled to’.
One in five families with children needing SEND in early years face being turned away from a provision setting, according to new research by the charity Dingley’s Promise.
Analysis by the Guardian has found that almost a third of not-for-profit nurseries in England have closed or been taken over by private companies.
Government's latest toddler development figures show a drop in expected development levels.
The early years workforce crisis could hinder government plans to expand “free childcare”, as 57 per cent of nursery staff are considering quitting the sector, and just 17 per cent of nursery managers said they would increase the number of places they offered, a new report has found.
NDNA’s 2024 awards are now open for entries to nurseries and NDNA networks across the UK.
Millie’s Mark, an awards accreditation scheme to support early childhood play learning and care staff to keep children as safe as possible, is available to all early years settings across Wales.
The Department for Education has announced £100m in capital funding is being made available to support childcare settings to expand their provision, along with regulatory changes to the EYFS.
A landmark report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists is calling on the Government to prioritise the mental health of babies and young children.
Early years organisations say the Government has ‘missed an opportunity’ by rejecting several of the cross-party Education Committee’s recommendations to tackle challenges in the early years and childcare sector.
Analysis by the Education Policy Institute’s (EPI) reveals the attainment gap for children receiving SEN support at age five is the ‘highest on record’ and that they are over one year behind their peers.
The shadow education secretary has announced plans for a major review of early years provision, which would be led by Sir David Bell, former chief inspector of schools at Ofsted.
The chief executive of the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF), June O’Sullivan has been recognised for her achievements and contributions to early years education.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s announcement that the national living wage is set to rise has raised concerns from early years bodies about the cost for providers.
The expansion of free childcare hours to under-threes will require an eight per cent expansion of the current early years workforce, according to analysis by the charity Nesta.
Nursery closures are up by 50 per cent, and most likely to take place in areas of the greatest deprivation, research by National Day Nurseries Association has found.
Research by Pregnant then Screwed shows parents in households earning less than £50k are leaving the workforce due to the cost of early years places.
A charity has unveiled a five year strategy which aims to make speech and language central to more schools’ and nurseries’ everyday practice.
A new nutrition support programme has been launched by Early Years Alliance which offers early years settings advice and support from expert dieticians and nutritionists.
A partnership between Campaign for Learning and Anna Freud National will deliver a financial education programme to practitioners working with young children who are neurodiverse and their families.
