Funding consultation

[sunnyday]

Can I also say if you click on the reference links on the petition you can add the hourly rate that your local authority pays you. Turns out I only receive 77% of the holy rate received by my LA.

has your payment been blessed :blink: I missed that 'reference link'.........

 

c'mon everyone get this signed - please, pretty please :1b

[eyfs1966]

has your payment been blessed :blink: I missed that 'reference link'.........

 

c'mon everyone get this signed - please, pretty please :1b

Not sure it's blessed but it certainly requires a miracle to cover costs!!

[MegaMum]

I just signed it, still only in th 700's. I think this petition should have it's own thread as it might get lost here. Can someone who knows how to put it on and add the link please? There are a lot of non members that are on here daily, that could sign it too.

[lsp]

Signed - 715.

[Guest]

I added a new thread.

[lsp]

Hmmmm - have just received an email to confirm that my response has been received - it contains 'a response identification number' - it's not a very high number at all - wonder if it is indicative of the number of responses received

Although I worked out our costs for the Government Consultation last week, I have only just gone on the link to put the details in. I have just got my reply and my number is around the 1500's. As Sunnyday says if this in number order of the responses received, :huh: So please , if you have'nt done already, please make a response. You have until 5pm on Monday.

[Mouseketeer]

1542 - but maybe not everyone has 'ticked' for a response

[lsp]

Good thinking Mouseketeer!

[sunnyday]

1542 - but maybe not everyone has 'ticked' for a response

That's a good point - hope you're right! :1b

[MegaMum]

Yeah....... I've submitted mine!!! In the end I entered my calculations based on the living wage of £7.20 as it became too complicated trying to figure out estimated rent/wages as we might not have that many children eligible for the funding, if in fact, the requirements are parents on 'minimum wage' working only 8 hours and they get 30 hours. Another flaw in the benefit system thinks me!

 

Anyway, we need £6.94 per hour. Currently we get £3.63 I did add in all the unpaid hours the staff do, however.

 

Sadly, my response number was 1554!

Edited August 9, 2015 by MegaMum

[SueJ]

Well I have just submitted my rant and my response number was 1564 - only 10 more than MegaMum !!!!!

[MegaMum]

Albeit 4,555 views on here.

Edited August 11, 2015 by MegaMum

[SueJ]

The PSLA response to this consultation can be viewed now via their website - in essence is says what we are all saying that funding doesn't cover costs but it is also quite interesting to note how many LAs are not keeping up to date with costs either!

 

https://www.pre-school.org.uk/

 

Will be keeping my eyes open for any news from the government - although I think most of them are on their holibobs!!

[Fredbear]

Thanks SueJ.

[sunnyday]

Oh many thanks dragon lady! :1b

[lsp]

Thanks SueJ. Also interesting that LA not working with providers about finding the true cost of providing childcare!

[Guest]

Thanks for posting - a very interesting read

[Pimms o'clock?]

Will be keeping my eyes open for any news from the government - although I think most of them are on their holibobs!!

Also they always put these important consultations out when the summer holidays start which I think is so wrong not worried about MP's being on holiday but lots of providers are!

Edited August 26, 2015 by Pimms o'clock?

[lsp]

Anyone watch the piece on funding and the 30 hours offer on BBC2 Victoria Derbyshire Show this morning? Any thoughts?

[Pimms o'clock?]

Anyone watch the piece on funding and the 30 hours offer on BBC2 Victoria Derbyshire Show this morning? Any thoughts?

I did, it discussed what we know already that the 15 hours 'free' entitlement hourly rate received doesn't cover the true hourly rate providers should be entitled to. Childcare providers are being ripped off and 30 hours will bankrupt many!

[lsp]

Long story short. Parents x 4 complaining about 'hidden costs' and not being flexible enough to meet their needs, 1 x private nursery explaining that funding income not covering his costs so therefore has to meet those in only other available income - fees, and representative from ndna telling everyone that basically its not going to work because it doesnt cover our costs especially when you factor in living wage. Tweets from tax payers with no children - why should we pay for parents, who choose to have children, to be able to go out to work. So - nothing new!!!

[Guest]

I am from an LA and I do accept and agree with much of what the PSLA report says and readily agree funding and funding rates must be increased (whether or not we move to 30 hours) - however there is also much PSLA (and RDNA) reports and responses do not say.

 

Firstly, with respect to LA's not keeping up to date with costs etc there is a huge reluctance amongst providers to actually tell the LA what their costs are when asked (and we are one LA who do ask - consistently) - if you want proof of this look at the comments in this forum about the low responses to the government call for evidence. So if any LA funding review is undertaken it is only as good as the information that is provided,there has to be some onus on providers to provide information and I regret to say responses are always very,very low.

 

My second issue with the PSLA report is that it assumes that the LA does not incur costs in adminsitering early years funding on behalf of the government, I readily accept that the amounts LA's up and down the country hold back for these purposes are variable , but surely that is the job of the DfE to set some limits that should not be exceeded and why do PSLA not suggest this?

 

My final issue is the same as with many other recent documents (my least favourite being the awfully named More Great Childcare) - why do such papers and documents constantly seek to pass off the worst excesses as the norm - surely there should be room to give great local examples of good practice rather than this negative approach we so often see - at the end of the daty The LA has a statutory duty for childcare sufficiency which we can't achieve without our local providers, so we are all in this together and it is both our intersts to get funding rates right,

[LKeyteach]

BobAdams thank you for putting your side across and take your point the psla report is biased.

The basic problem is that the government does not have a bottomless purse. All parties were wrong to promise free early education when they knew there was no money to fund the ideal.

I and most of the forum can see the benefit for young children receiving high quality care and education however the current economics will not allow for this being a free service.

I don't have the answer except to say that we have to accept that we cannot always have what we want.

Let's find a way to fund free for the most vulnerable, then another tier of funding to support those who need the care to support working parents and a final for all of 3 & 4 year olds to support them as they approach starting school.

Not popular I'm sure.

[SueJ]

BobAdams you do put a valid point across BUT (and whilst I know that it's not a LA problem) there aren't many other businesses about that are asked to justify their costs unless they are tendering for business for a council/government contract - we are back to the government (doesn't matter which flavour) just not quite getting to grips with the fact that for them to deliver their promise they need PVIs and them hoping that we keep on doing what we are doing on the cheap because we do our best to put the children first all the time regardless of costs.

 

It will take a complete policy reversal (not going to happen) for them to admit that FREE really means subsidised!!

 

By the way has anyone else had this email from the Foundation Years website? Looks like they are scrabbling around for people looking to go broke sooner rather than later :wacko: Ooops sorry my inner cynic manifesting itself again! ​

 

Early Implementers for the 30 hours free childcare offer for 3 and 4 year olds can now register their interest with the DfE. While the free childcare expansion will be rolled out nationally in 2017, trials in some areas will begin in September 2016.

Organisations who would like to register their interest can do so by emailing DfE at early.implementers@education.gsi.gov.uk by Monday 28th September. All you have to do now is to email saying ‘I’d like to be an early implementer’ and they will email you details on how to apply shortly. ​

[Pimms o'clock?]

...

 

It will take a complete policy reversal (not going to happen) for them to admit that FREE really means subsidised!!

 

By the way has anyone else had this email from the Foundation Years website? Looks like they are scrabbling around for people looking to go broke sooner rather than later :wacko: Ooops sorry my inner cynic manifesting itself again! ​

 

Early Implementers for the 30 hours free childcare offer for 3 and 4 year olds can now register their interest with the DfE. While the free childcare expansion will be rolled out nationally in 2017, trials in some areas will begin in September 2016.

 

Organisations who would like to register their interest can do so by emailing DfE at early.implementers@education.gsi.gov.uk by Monday 28th September. All you have to do now is to email saying ‘I’d like to be an early implementer’ and they will email you details on how to apply shortly. ​

I think they are desperate to find some Lemmings prepared to commit financial suicide

[finleysmaid]

Interesting that on the show the government declined to be interviewed! I suspect hope that they are beginning to realise the dilemma they will put us in if they follow this policy through as a universal entitlement and that they can't afford it. They are already starting to emphasise 2 working parents /on minimum wage/ working 8 hours each.......probably not many families would hit all three of these categories I feel!

 

The issue with LEA's I feel is that they don't engage with us (and Bob yours may be an exception) but mine have NO idea if im making any profit and if so how I do it! I can honestly tell you that the majority of settings in this area find ways to charge parents for their free hours....and even advertise the fact on their websites!!!!!! I am a stickler for the rules and therefore lose out :angry:

And as to tweets from disgruntled tax payers ...why do they never complain about paying for schools or universities....why is it always us that are seen as the tax wasting area

[SueJ]

Having answered the consultation/call for evidence I have now been asked to participate in a survey!!! This is the text of the email I received - I have highlighted a bit in red which is niggling at me as it suggests that this is to cost the 30 hours which is not a universal offer - I am now already getting worried that we will end up with 2 funding rates 1 for the 15 hours and 1 for the 30 hours (most probably neither of them sustainable rates!!!!!) - I will let you know what the survey questions look like when I have frittered away another 20 minutes of my life!!

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

We would like to thank you for contributing to the Department for Education’s call for evidence. We were delighted to receive over 2,000 responses, and we are now analysing them carefully. Since you indicated that you would be happy to be contacted for further information, we are inviting you to take part in our survey.

The Department for Education is currently undergoing a review into the costs of childcare, supported by Deloitte. This is to support delivery of the recently published Childcare Bill's new entitlement for 30 hours of childcare for 3 and 4 year olds, as part of the Government's commitment to providing quality care. We are currently undertaking research into the costs of early education and childcare provision to provide an evidence base for the development of sustainable funding for childcare providers, which will have a direct impact on providers and support the delivery of the new entitlement.

As part of this research, through this survey we would like to understand how we can support providers to deliver the entitlement, and gather detailed unit cost information. The results of this will form part of the evidence base for the development of sustainable funding for childcare providers.

We anticipate that this survey should take no more than 20 minutes of your time. The deadline for completion of this survey is 9th September.

Should you have any questions in relation to this survey, please get in touch with Rushmila Alam who will be delighted to discuss this with you further.

We thank you in advance for your support in this matter, which help support us in conducting a fair and wide-reaching review of childcare provision within the UK.

Kind Regards,

Patrick Flack
Team Leader, Early Years Team
Department for Education
​

[Rafa]

Hmmm yes think you may well be right about different rates for those who do 30 hours and those who WON'T! Why would we not be surprised - being completely by-passed.........Oh well, another waiting game........

[lsp]

Oops! Think I may have deleted this email. Was it called TEST or something similar?

[lsp]

No managed to save it from the recycle bin!!!! Just looks like a spam email. Will save for the weekend. I notice there is only a week to reply before the deadline.