DfE LA childcare sufficiency support 2023-2025
This project, commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) in April 2023 runs to March 2025.This information has been prepared for local authority early years teams and sets out how you they become involved in the project.
Project aims.
The project’s aim is to provide a package of delivery support to local authorities in fulfilling current sufficiency duties, ensuring there is enough available childcare places across local areas.So that all young children are enabled to access high-quality early years provision and to meet the demand for childcare for school-aged children.
Project scope.
The scope covers LA sufficiency duties for high-quality childcare supply for early years and childcare places 0-14 years old, or 0-17 for disabled children, including activities to support:
- change, sufficiency and sustainability
- childcare market management
- funding and the economic climate
- responding to the continuing effects of the pandemic
- and sufficiency duty reporting (annually).
Project activities.
The project activities include:
- Reactive work with LAs through referral from DfE where there is clear evidence and identified challenges or current risks in the LA meeting its sufficiency duties.
- Proactive work with LAs for preventative or improvement support through self-referral from LAs, where there may be emerging risks in the LA meeting its sufficiency duties.
- The enabling, facilitation, and coordination of one-to-one (and/or small group) peer support.
- The coordination of a fund to help unblock some financial barriers (where they exist) and enable progress of specific actions identified and recommended through the reactive and proactive action planning support functions.
The project activities do not include:
- allocating named contact advisers to LAs on an on-going basis
- general helpdesk support for questions, clarifications and queries.
- regional group meetings.
How to get involved in the programme.
- LAs should speak with their named DfE contact if there are sufficiency challenges and needs during regular one-to-one catch ups or other contacts.
- DfE may make a referral on your behalf.
- You may make a self-referral for any support needs. To do so, please ask for a self-referral form and return to Hempsall’s.
- Do consider becoming a peer supporter of other LAs.
Contact.
If you would like to request some support, please contact us for a proactive support referral form by emailing sufficiency@hempsalls.com
This briefing provides more details for you, click here to download.
Read more about our general childcare sufficiency services by visiting https://www.hempsalls.com/services/childcare-sufficiency and by clicking here.
