Sue Robb of 4Children talks to Julie Laughton and Alison Britton from the Department for Education about the role of childminders in delivering the 30 hours free entitlement.
The Early Years Alliance has warned that thousands of nurseries are set to close unless the government provides more financial support to sustain them during the coronavirus pandemic.
Parliament has passed the Coronavirus Bill which will provide powers to instruct childcare providers to close or stay open. This followed Education Secretary Gavin Williamson revealing that nurseries and schools would close from Monday (23 March), except those caring for vulnerable children and those of key workers.
All private, voluntary and independent nurseries – of which there are more than 20,000 in the UK – will be exempt from business rates for one year from 1 April.
Although the government has confirmed that funding for the free early-years entitlements for two to four-year olds will continue and not be clawed back, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said the measures failed to go ‘far enough to safeguard the early years sector at this crucial time’.
He said: “Many nurseries, pre-schools and particularly childminders are heavily reliant on parent fees as a source of revenue, and so given that all providers are now expected to close – either partially or fully – for an extended period of time, there’s no doubt that many will experience significant losses. If the government doesn’t commit to a significant financial package of the support for the early years, the sector may not survive this crisis.”
Lucy Powell, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, has written to Williamson asking him to set out further support for nurseries to prevent them from facing financial ruin.
Sue Robb of 4Children talks to Julie Laughton and Alison Britton from the Department for Education about the role of childminders in delivering the 30 hours free entitlement.
Fireco is a one-stop shop for trusted and compliant fire safety solutions! Our comprehensive product range includes smart fire door closers and retainers, notification systems, as well as fire door installation and inspection services. With our cloud-based technology, we offer the convenience of remote monitoring and management of connected devices, ensuring efficient and effective fire safety measures. By choosing Fireco, you can trust that our solutions are tailored to meet complex compliance requirements and provide you with peace of mind.
UKREiiF has quickly become a must-attend in the industry calendar for Government departments and local authorities.
The organisers of the world’s largest dedicated hydrogen event, World Hydrogen 2024 Summit & Exhibition have announced it’s return to Rotterdam in May 2024, with an expansion of a whole extra summit day. Sustainable Energy Council (SEC) are partnering with the Government of the Netherlands, the Province of Zuid-Holland, the City of Rotterdam, and the Port of Rotterdam to host an extended, larger scale Summit in 2024, to expand the event to meet the surging demand.
At GeoEnergy Design, we're on a mission to disrupt the traditional way heating and cooling ha
Professor Harith Alani, director of the Knowledge Management Institute at the Open University explains how AI can be used for good and bad.
Alex Lawrence, head of health & social care, techUK sets out techUK’s Five Point Plan for CareTech.