What are the changes to Government guidance and what is NDNA doing to support members?
The Department for Education has published new guidance which comes into force from April. However, one aspect (when councils can withdraw funding as a result of lower Ofsted gradings), begins with immediate effect.
NDNA gave feedback to the DfE before the publication date – some of this feedback has resulted in planned changes not being made but some feedback has been ignored.
Despite many articles in the press recently about the Government “tightening up” guidance about charges made to parents, there are many aspects which remain the same as the current guidance.
NDNA has analysed the guidance and listed below what has and hasn’t changed.
Tim McLachlan, Chief Executive of NDNA, gave these comments to the press: “This is the second change in the statutory guidance for providers and local authorities in just a year. We are analysing all the changes to make sure that this latest version of the guidance is not overly burdensome for providers, and does not increase the inequality and unfairness compared to school based provision, so that they can focus on delivering high quality early education and care to our youngest children.
“We are already dealing with numerous situations arising from the current guidance where local authorities are requiring providers to do more than is necessary to deliver these places in a fair way to families. This results in unnecessary levels of stress and anxiety for parents, managers and especially staff. The fundamental challenge at the heart of the policy is that the Government funding does not cover all aspects of the childcare offer being made to parents and yet the places are still described as “free”. The Government must be honest with parents that the funding amounts to a subsidy and places are not totally free because this is structurally unsustainable for nurseries on current funding rates.
“We will continue to raise issues with the Government in our regular engagement with ministers and senior officials. We gave the Department for Education our feedback on their draft guidance and need to make sure they have taken on board how this will impact nurseries across the country. We will be closely monitoring how this latest iteration plays out in real life scenarios and how this is interpreted by local authorities. We must avoid a postcode lottery of different local barriers to delivering high quality early education and care. With more than 20,000 PVI nurseries across the country operating in many different ways, we need this guidance to be clear and consistent to work for everyone.”
What hasn’t changed in material terms:
Some sections have been worded differently but have the same meaning:
- Charging guidance – providers can make voluntary charges to parents for meals, consumables and activities over and above the EYFS but these must not be mandatory in order to take up a funded place – this has not changed despite the misleading reporting on the issue
- Places must be free – providers must be able to offer places that are totally free. However, nothing in the guidance dictates when or what patterns these must be offered.
- Additional hours – parents cannot be put in a position where they must purchase additional hours as a condition of taking up a place
- Artificial breaks are not allowed – for example having parents collect children for a lunch break
Here are the main changes – apart from the first point, the rest come into force from April 2026:
- With immediate effect, when local authorities can withdraw funding following certain gradings from Ofsted under the new report card system (section at the beginning entitled Inspection judgements and specified grades)
- Deposits – although it also states that non-refundable deposits cannot be charged for a funded place, a line has been added to section A1.38 to clarify that providers can keep a deposit for a funded place if the child does not take up that place
- Parental declaration – this must be filled in before a parent takes up a place (section A1.43). A parental declaration template, and guidance on how to use it, is available in the Free early years provision and childcare: model agreement.
- Flexibility – section A2.7 which states there is no requirement for funded places to be taken on particular days or at particular times – but with the following now added: “unless the local authority has chosen to include additional terms in their arrangements with providers within the parameters set out in A4.12, there is no requirement that free places must be taken on, or delivered on, particular days of the week or at particular times of the day.”
- Safeguarding – councils must ensure providers fully engage with their local partnerships (A4.13 As set out in paragraph A4.12): Local authorities should ensure that providers are aware they must work with the local safeguarding partnership in the circumstances described in the Working together to safeguard children statutory guidance. Local authorities should include a requirement in their arrangements with providers delivering the free entitlements that they must fully engage with the partnership. How this is done is decided at a local level by the partnership and should be set out clearly in their arrangements.
- Training requirements following a specific Ofsted grading A4.15 subject to the local authority’s provider agreement: local authorities can impose training or quality improvement requirements where the provider has received a specified grade following an inspection and the training or quality programme has been identified as necessary to address concerns raised in the inspection report
- Child absences section A4.32 – this section still states that local authorities must use their discretion on child absences and when they can withdraw funding but they have added this bit about parental declarations: be clear in their provider agreements that providers should regularly review their parental declarations with parents to ensure the planned hours agreed with parents remain accurate and align with the actual number of hours taken up by the child
NDNA is still seeking clarity on the following:
- Registration fees – can these be charged for time and paperwork? if for example a child is not starting on funded hours straight away
- To what extend local authorities can require for funded places to be delivered on certain days and at certain times
We continue to work with senior civil servants about the impact of this guidance on members and are passing on our members’ feedback and particular cases as and when we receive them. NDNA will continue to make this clear in our meetings with ministers.
- England
- Department for Education
- early education
- early years
- England
- free childcare
- funding
- Government
- Guidance
- safeguarding
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