Early Years Policy Update: Focus on 30-hour delivery and SEND support

1. Early Years Policy Our current focus and activity….. January 2018

2. DfE Early years responsibilities Sarah Lewis Director Susie Owen Quality & Outcomes Helen Waite Entitlements Joanna Mackie Strategy Emily Arch Funding • EYFS (incl reforms) • Inspection policy • Workforce • EY social mobility programmes, incl HLE • Delivery of EY entitlements: • Universal 15 hours • 2yo offer • 30 hours • Spending review preparations • Maintained nursery school funding • Early years national funding formula

3. Policy Update….. • Focus on ensuring second year of 30 hour delivery runs smoothly • The Childcare Works contract has been extended for a further year (until October 2019). Focus for the extension is on: • All universal and targeted early years entitlements for two, three and four-year olds • Promoting take-up of least advantaged families of all entitlements. • Sufficiency of places and childcare sufficiency assessments. • Provider flexibility, change and sustainability. • Supporting LAs and providers with SEND. • VCS grants awarded to two consortia led by nasen and NCB to provide workforce training on SEND and to support LAs, parents and practitioners to shift towards SEN inclusion • Hourly funding rates published1 December. Initial allocations will be published soon. • Headcount data and parent survey were published in late December

4. SEND in the Early Years Ensuring children with SEND can access the free entitlements and receive the support they need is a priority. The January 2018 SFR data showed that 6.3% of the children accessing the universal 15 hours and 2.6% of the children accessing 30 hours have identified SEND. There could be many reasons why the 30 hours figures are lower, however, when they meet the eligibility we do want to ensure that where it is in the best interest of the child they are able to access the offer. The independent evaluation of 30 hours indicated that some LAs reported local SEND budgets are challenging and it can be difficult to provide additional support beyond 15 hours. Anecdotally, we also hear that providers do not have the capacity and capabilities needed to meet the needs of children with SENDand that some LAs lack capacity to support providers. This is why we have placed a strong focus on SEND this year, working with our partners, to build capability and share best practice.

5. Consortia Project – CDC, Contact, ICAN, NASEN • Aimto move towards an inclusion as default culture – at setting and LA level – with SEND a ‘business as usual’ part of planning, spending and practice. • Investingin training and workforce capacity - this grant sits alongside our VCS grant with NASEN -  also a member of this consortium – to provide over 500 accredited level 3 SENCO qualifications. • Specific strand to support parents, led by Contact. This project sits well alongside DfE’s social mobility programmes such as the early years social mobility peer review programme being delivered by the LGA and EIF. Our general approach is to empower and build capacity at local level. This project also links well with wider work DfE is doing in partnership with Public Health England to develop a speech, language and communication pathway guidance document – for LAs, Clinical Commissioning Groups and public health authorities – to be published in March. This is a strategic project working across key partners – LAs, practitioners, parents, VCS – to reduce compartmentalisation of an issue which is at heart about multi agency working.

6. Policy Update – Social mobility programme EARLY YEARS SETTINGS THE HOME LOCAL SERVICES We need to drive change in Convening / campaigning Supporting ‘place based’ sector led improvement Improving practice in schools Improving practice in pre-reception settings Our work involves Building the evidence base By 2028, the percentage of children who do not achieve at least expected levels across all goals in the ‘communication & language’ and ‘literacy’ areas of learning at the end of reception year (EYFSP) is reduced by half To improve outcomes for children

7. Policy Update – Social mobility programme THE HOME • HLE coalition • VCS grants focused on HLE • HLE summit held and behaviour change model published on 14 November • VCS grants awarded focused on HLE • Next steps: • Continue to build business coalition - building on over 13 business commitments already secured • Develop government communications campaign • Mobilisation phase of VCS grants • Bid round for HLE trials completed and following projects are due to be funded in the north of England (subject to contract negotiations) • TripleP • Making it REAL • Tips By Text • Family Lives • HLE trials

8. Policy Update – Social mobility programme LOCAL SERVICES • EY Local government programme • SLCN training for health visitors • Take up of entitlements • Local government programme: • EY dashboard – draft versions with LAs. Aiming to publish spring 2019 • Peer review: pilots complete and wave 1 (10 LAs) due to begin soon • Early outcomes fund: bid round launched in Nov – closes 18 Jan. EIF maturity matrix: Speech, language and communication in the early years published • Speech, language and communication partnership with PHE • Contract for health visitor SCLN training awarded to Institute of Health Visitors • Procurement for SCL assessment tool currently live • Take up of entitlements • Report into take up of free entitlements in London published Sept • Childcare Works contract extension in place, focused on improving access to entitlements for lower income families

9. Policy Update – Social mobility programme EARLY YEARS SETTINGS • Improving practice in schools • English Hubs schools announced in October • Schools nursery capital fund closed 22 November • EYFS reforms • 24 schools part of pilot testing draft revised ELGs and streamlined assessment guidance. NatCen conducting evaluation – report due autumn 2019 • Full public consultation on revised EYFS due autumn 2019 • Professional development fund • PIN published in Sept. Market engagement event held Oct. ITT due to be published shortly • Webinar with selected LAs held in November • Improving practice in pre-reception settings schools • First bid round complete and following projects funded: • Manor Park Talks • Early Years Toolbox • Learning Language and Loving it – the Hanen Programme • Second bid round launched 14 Nov • EEF what works fund

10. Useful links • Hourly funding rates: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-national-funding-formula-allocations-and-guidance • Behaviour change model: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-the-home-learning-environment • Early outcomes fund: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-outcomes-fund-grants-for-local-authorities • EIF EY speech, language and communication maturity matrix: https://www.eif.org.uk/resource/eif-maturity-matrix-speech-language-communication-early-years • Take up in London: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/take-up-of-free-early-education-entitlements • English hubs: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-hubs-list-of-primary-schools • EEF funded projects: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/ • EEF round 2 bid guidance: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/how-to-apply/