Agenda item

This report updates forum on the initial allocation of Early Years Block funding for 2025/26 including the extended entitlements for working parents of two year old children and children from age 9 months.

Tony Burton (Head of Finance for Children’s Services and Education) presented the report on the initial allocation of early years block funding for 2025/26 including the extended entitlements for working parents of two-year-old children and children from age 9 months.

·       There is very constrained funding growth in the DfE funding allocation for 3 and 4-year-olds offer at around £0.04 increase per hour, or 0.6% increase in general. There was a £0.12 increase per hour for school nurseries to ensure teachers pay and pension grants for 2025/26 continued to benefit primary schools with nursery provision in 2025/26.

·       The £1.1m maintained nursery school supplementary grant funding included the allowance for maintained nursery school share of teachers pay and pension grant and the September 2024 early years block grant for teachers pay.

·       2-year-old and under 2-year-old offers received increased funding from the DfE of 7.37% and 6.99% respectively on the basic entitlement rates year on year.

Tony Burton also updated that the total central spend on the Early Years budget was proposed at £0.79m. Given the reduction in central spend limit, it was proposed that early intervention services and outreach were to be delivered via H&F maintained nursery schools via an increase in the lump sum budget provision within the 3 and 4-year-old budget model.

Jane Gleasure (Little People, Early Years) enquired how that would be delivered. Tony Burton explained that the allocation was pre-empting a reduction in central spend. The change was only confirmed in December and discussions were underway with maintained nursery schools about the plan going forward. Private and voluntary nursery providers would continue to benefit from the services provided after the proposed change in delivery.

Michele Barrett (Randolph Beresford / Vanessa Nursery) added that there was initial discussion around increasing support in areas that required improvement, and liaison would continue with the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) and childminder sector.

Jane Gleasure noted that they were at a disadvantage compared to maintained schools and maintained nursery schools, facing pressure from inflation and challenges to early years intervention provision in the borough. She was keen to know how funds would be distributed between the PVI and maintained sector and expressed that she would like to be involve in the decision-making process.

Michele Barrett replied that nothing had been finalised yet but would be in place before April. Tony Burton added that the proposal was to shift provision of early intervention to maintained nursery schools and preserve the services delivered to support PVI services specifically. Meanwhile, SEN Inclusion fund continued to expand for early SEND support. Daryle Mathurin (Head of Assets and Resources - Education and SEND) further explained that the plan would be co-produced with PVI providers.

Michele Barrett noted that the maintained nursery sector was under a lot of pressure, and nationally many were looking at closures within the next year or so if no change was in place. Jane Gleasure highlighted that pressure was also coming from the increasing level of social and emotional needs. The Chair assured that those concerns were understood, and work would be done to address them.

RESOLVED

1.    Schools Forum noted the engagement, and briefings were undertaken with schools and early years providers from 6th January 2025 ahead of Schools Forum.

2.    Schools Forum approved the proposed deployment of central budget in Table 4 above and noted the impact of the impact of passthrough requirement on available central funds from 25/26.

3.    Schools Forum noted the proposed 2025/26 Early Year budget across all entitlements including the revised base rates, deprivation and local formulas proposed.