Feedback from London Borough of Newham – Implementer LA focusing on SEND children: · It has created additional admin · There were a low number of SEND chn accessing places because when parents have a child with SEND often one of them does not work (because of the care the child needs) and so they do not meet eligibility criteria · Some providers have lost children to providers than are offering 30 hours funding · Some providers were offering 15 hours but didn’t have space to extend this offer – some parents then didn’t take up full offer as they didn’t want to disrupt child, other left provider to find one who could offer full hours · Important to provide continuity of care and education for children attending more than one provider – looking closely of ways of sharing assessment and observation data Things I decided my nursery needed to consider as a result of hearing from Newham · Consider ‘buddying’ with childminders/pre-schools to share care (and impact of lower costs) · Look at taking set number of fully funded children and matching particular staff hours to them · Make sure that we are charging accurately for anything over and above hours – e.g. snack, nappies, wipes, meals, yoga, singing etc. · Make sure that we have systems in place to share assessment and progress data with another professional · Plan out various models of delivery – look at impact of offering on particular days – sessions – times of days – only 38 weeks of the year – stretched all year? Feedback from nursery manager – Implementer LA (Swindon) focusing on flexible access for children: · Providers needed to ‘hold back’ some places for children who would become eligible through the year – some difficulties with this as they are having to estimate who will be eligible. No problem for children who are eligible in September but as providers fill up through the year is becomes increasingly more difficult · If you are open 52 weeks then full stretched offer of hours is 21.9 a week, every week · Make sure you prepare the parents and manage their expectations – if they already have 15 they can’t automatically have 30 and you might not automatically be able to give it to them · Really need to work closely with other providers to get continuity of care for the children without impacting negatively on provider finances and cash flow · Issue with SEND children who were receiving additional funding for their 15 hours to allow 1:1 support – there is no additional money if they want to have the full 30 hours but nurseries still need to put 1:1 in place – some providers saying no to SEND children because of this · Staff workload has gone down: one child for 30 hours rather than 2 children for 15 hours means only one learning journal, one parents evening etc. · Staff reporting greater knowledge of children and better bonds with them because they see them for longer · Providers who can’t open for 30 hours are struggling – need to work in partnerships · Need to be clear to parents ‘you are only guaranteed the actual hours you are currently getting’ not the additional ones · Parents are saving money and will increasingly do so – 30 hours free and 20% tax relief for same parents if they are paying any additional costs · Provider costs are rising – pensions, NMW, rates etc. – providers need to be clear and - need to consider what is provided over and above the core and then charge for additional things · Be clear and transparent in your agreement with parents and remember that ‘they are entitled to have 30 hours … they are not entitled to have it at your setting’ Things I decided my nursery needed to consider as a result of hearing from the nursery manager: · Send a letter to all parents of current 2 year olds and 3 year old who would still be attending to gauge eligibility and intention from parents. Explain the system to parents and prepare to manage their expectations. · Calculate different options of ‘stretching’ across different numbers of weeks: there are 1140 hours in the 38 week offer (38 weeks x 30 hours) I’ve roughly worked out the following: Over 51 weeks = 22.35 hours (22 hours and 20 minutes) Over 50 weeks = 22.80 hours (22 hours and 45 minutes) Over 49 weeks = 23.27 hours (23 hours and 15 minutes) Over 48 weeks = 23.75 hours (23 hours and 45 minutes) · Involve parents in consultation of what might work and what might be possible – help parents to understand how the impact of the offer affects providers · Begin to put together a list of conditions particular to our nursery about what we will do in certain circumstances e.g. if we have a SEND child who needs 1:1
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