Your chance to have your say
This is your chance to influence government policy. The
government is committed to extending the free entitlement to early
years education for 3- and 4-year-olds to 15 hours per week for 38
weeks per year by Septemebr 2010.
The Department of Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) is
consulting on the code of practice for extending the free
entitlement and they want to hear from parents, childcare
providers, local authorities and others to ensure they have an
informed response.
The consultation, launched today, will seek your views on how
best to deliver the extended free offer in a way which will
maximise its value in terms of improving outcomes for children and
their families. The discussion paper focuses in particular on the
central issues of flexibility and quality. The key principles
underpinning the entitlement will not change - that it must be
completely free at the point of access; be delivered by a diverse
range of providers; and in accordance with parental demand.
NCMA will be responding to this consultation. It is our view that
there is strong evidence to support a universal early education
offer to 3- and 4-year-olds. The childcare sector’s capacity to
deliver that universal offer must be considered. Whilst registered
childminders are ideally placed to care for very young children (as
they provide a home environment, with child-led experiences and
care for smaller groups of children), more investment would be
needed to ensure more childminders are supported to become
accredited to draw down the entitlement, by being part of a
childminding network, such as Children Come First. Furthermore that
the fee they receive for doing so is reflective of the high-quality
of care they provide to children in their setting”.
We would like you to respond too so that we ensure the views of the
childminding sector are well represented. The deadline for
responses is 8 July and this is phase one of a two-part
consultation process. The link to the consultation is below. Don't
miss this chance to have your views heard.
You can enter your response online.
Source: NCMA Policy Team ( 13/5/2009 )