Issue - meetings

Report of the Head of Legal and Governance

Naomi Skelton, Early Learning Specialist, and Catherine Smith, Early Years Programmes Manager, presented a report on the current position relating to the take-up of early years funding in Nottingham. The following points were discussed:

(a)  currently, 15 hours of free childcare or early education for two-year-old children is available per week for 38 weeks for families in England receiving some forms of support. The same provision is available to all families with three and four-year-old children, rising to 30 hours per week for certain working families. The latest participation rates for this provision across the City (for the Autumn Term 2018) reflect the old ward structure, so the data is being re-formatted for the new ward configuration. Take-up of the provision for two-year-olds was 73.4%, which compares positively with the national figure, but uptake at a national level has decreased;

(b)  Early Years is working with the Department for Work and Pensions to make contact with the families of all two-year-old children eligible for the free childcare by phone, by letter, through the Council’s Ask LiON website, and face-to-face.  This is to ensure that all parents with eligible children know about the scheme, and to discover why some families do not wish to take up their entitlement (or whether they do take advantage of the scheme with a provider based outside the City area). The Families Information Service (FIS) reviews the applications for the scheme and returns data on how and when families apply for places;

(c)  the fact that the provision is free will be advertised more strongly, with an emphasis that placements represent early education – not just childcare. ‘Small Steps, Big Changes’ (SSBC) family mentors are carrying out engagement work in some wards, while the FIS does outreach at activities and sessions at Children’s Centres and distributes information leaflets. A balanced level of detail needs to be provided on the leaflets to ensure that they are both informative and engaging, and work is underway to ensure that the most important information relating to the schemes is available on a single leaflet. Children in care or with special educational needs and disability are reached through their care providers, including social workers and family support;

(d)  currently, a marketing project is focused on the Clifton wards (where take-up is comparatively low) and a number of stakeholder events are underway. New training processes are being put in place and a review is underway on what information is marketed, and how. A consultation will be held with councillors to identify the best places to advertise the provision and eligibility criteria in a given ward, and colleagues can join councillors at ward events to circulate leaflets and information. Ward maps will also be produced to identify the current location of providers;

(e)  the Committee suggested that advertising could be set up at bus and tram stops, including through scrolling text on the associated electronic information boards. The literature distributed through the FIS should be circulated to libraries (including in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6