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Agenda item

Update on the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Pilot

Minutes:

The Corporate Director Education and Family Support reported on an update regarding the proposed Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) pilot, which Cabinet at its meeting on 25 February 2020 had resolved to provide 30 hours of provision to all parents of all 3 and 4 year-olds at any setting from the term after a child’s 3rd birthday for 48 weeks (i.e. 39 weeks term-time provision and 9 weeks of school holiday provision).  Funding of up to £3.5m per year had been made available by the Welsh Government to support a pilot. 

 

He informed Cabinet that the ECEC Manager had, during the pilot project, established a number of focus groups and working parties to engage with key stakeholders across the maintained and non-maintained early years’ sector.  The aim of the pilot was to remove barriers that exist between education and care, in order to ensure that any setting, whether a school or private/voluntary childcare, could offer ECEC provision.  He stated that potential barriers were significant, which included the absence of a joint inspection framework between Estyn and Care Inspectorate Wales which would include the maintained nursery sector and childminders.  The most crucial being, the lack of appropriate and available space within school sites available to develop ECEC childcare which would comply with meeting the National Minimum Standards set out by Care Inspectorate Wales.  There was also a lack of capital funding within the ECEC allocation, making it difficult for schools to adapt accommodation to meet the National Minimum Standards and for the maintained sector to expand their premises to accommodate larger numbers of children.

 

He reported that the Welsh Government had advised that despite being committed to a ten-year transformation programme to develop the philosophy of ECEC, its priorities since the election in May 2021, had changed in response to the pandemic and planned recovery programme and the pilot will be discontinued.  He stated that the Welsh Government remained committed to funding the support of the administration of the ECEC pilot for the 2021-22 financial year, in order to support an appropriate and planned exit strategy, alongside a thorough evaluation of the work to date.  He advised Cabinet that some investigations and scoping work will continue this financial year to capture and clarify the issues and barriers and indeed propose potential solutions.  Welsh Government had advised they will continue to develop further the understanding of the issues identified by Bridgend in order to more fully and appropriately develop any further ECEC approach in Wales.

 

The Corporate Director Education and Family Support reported that officers had identified activities as being relevant to early years services within Bridgend and had identified many areas for development.  It had also gained increased intelligence across both the early years and early education sector and this will further enhance and improve the forthcoming Childcare Sufficiency Assessment and implications for school modernisation including new buildings.

 

The Cabinet Member Wellbeing and Future Generations thanked the early years team for their work on the pilot project and whilst the Welsh Government had discontinued the pilot it was vital there would be no negative impact on families.  The Corporate Director Education and Family Support confirmed there would be no negative impact on families and that existing early years services will remain in place.  The Leader thanked the Early Years and Childcare Manager and her team for their work on the pilot project and he hoped that the Welsh Government will revisit the project when they have capacity to do so.  The Cabinet Member Social Services and Early Help whilst disappointed with the project being discontinued stated that the Council remained fully committed to providing early years services to families.

 

RESOLVED:           That Cabinet:

·      considered the report;

·      agreed that the Education and Family Support Directorate brings the work of the ECEC pilot to a close, following safe and effective actions around the proposed exit strategy and the development of a final evaluation report to be provided to Welsh Government; and

·      agreed to consider the post-pilot evaluation report and its findings when this was completed.      

 

Supporting documents:

 

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