Early Learning & Childcare Hub: Enhancing Access, Information, and Quality

1. Operating an Early Learning and Childcare Partnership Hub Key Questions

2. Parental Access • Do you have an information board to display leaflets, newsletters and posters? • Do you have a webpage to access information online? • Do you have a hub champion who can help parents/providers face to face? • Do you have flexible opening hours to meet the needs of parents? • Do you have a contact telephone number?

3. Provider Access • How are you going to display the information in your locality? • Do you have a webpage to access information online? • Do you have a hub champion who can link with your local providers? • How are you going to share your contact details with the providers? • Do you have a contact telephone number?

4. Information on your hub area • Have you decided the scope of your hub area? • Do you have information on the range of providers in your area? • Have you arranged a meeting to introduce different providers to each other? • Have you thought about meetings/events for parents to meet different providers? • Have you thought about how to let parents know when new providers/spaces/events happen? • Do you have a way of signing up parents /providers and storing their information?

5. Improve Quality of Early Education/Care • Has the provider provided it’s latest OFSTED rating? • Have the providers all completed an environmental audit and written an improvement plan? • How have the hub leader and providers worked together to identify areas of improvement? • Has the hub written an improvement plan to improve quality?

6. …….cont’d • Has the hub begun to think about and arrange CPD for the providers? • Has the hub organised a series of CPD meetings for hubs to attend? • Are providers linked with other providers for peer to peer mentoring? • Is information about local CPD available to providers? • Are there sample proformas for providers to use e.g. Audits, planning sheets

7. Blended Childcare • Do you have a range of providers? • Do you have details of the availability of all the providers – including 30 hour and 2YO offer? • Have the providers met in order to discuss potential ways of transitioning between locations? • Are there regular meetings arranged to enable providers to coordinate with each other/keep the hub updated?

8. Two Year Old Places and 30 Hour Extended Offer • Do you have information on how providers can get funding for 2 year old places? • Do you have information for parents on how to apply for a funded place? • Can these providers offer blended childcare if necessary? • How is the hub going to support quality for two year olds? • Do you have information for parents on the 30 hour entitlement • Do you have detail on how providers are able to offer extended 30 hour offer • How is the hub going to support quality with the extended offer

9. Journey of the Route to Blended Childcare • Providers meet a hub and discuss options of blended childcare available between them • Providers work out logistics of transitioning between providers • Providers share information with the hub to be put on their database • Parents visit the hub or look on website with identified childcare need

10. Cont’d ….. • The hub uses the database to look at all the different combinations that will meet the childcare need e.g. Nursery and childminder, afterschool club and childminder etc. • Hub gives out contact details of different providers • Parent arranges visit with different providers and registers/pays them separately • Providers inform the hub of their new availability to update the database

11. Improve Quality of Early Education/Care • Has the provider provided it’s latest OFSTED rating? • Have the providers all completed an environmental audit and written an improvement plan? • How have the hub leader and providers worked together to identify areas of improvement? • Has the hub written an improvement plan to improve quality?

12. Journey of a Parent • Attends the hub/looks on webpage to find out information about childcare • Information/links given for the different types of childcare and funding available • Look at the current availability of the different providers within the hub • Give contact details of different providers • Parent phones up to arrange visit to provider

13. Journey of a Childcare Provider • Register interest with the hub and provide information about type of care they provide, latest OFSTED etc. • Attend meeting or visit hub to find out how the hub will work for them • Sign up with the hub and provide information about ages/hours/prices etc. • Work within the Hub to create a shared vision • Attend regular meetings to keep updated and to attend training • Inform the hub when availability changes