School Organisation Strategy Consultation 2025

Background

Under the Childcare Act 2006 (sections 7, 12 and 13) and 2016 (sections 1 and 2) Bristol City Council is required to undertake an annual childcare assessment and report this to Council Members to demonstrate that the statutory duty to provide enough Early Years provision is being met.

Looking ahead, the landscape for early education and childcare is changing, following the Government announcement to expand and phase in 30 hours of early education and childcare for working families with younger children. By September 2025 there will be:

• 30-hour entitlement for working parents of under 2-year-olds (from September 24)
• 30-hour entitlement for working parents of 2-year-olds (from September 24)
• 15-hour entitlement for Eligible 2-year-olds (from April 2024)
• 15-hour entitlement for parents of 3 and 4-year-olds (the Universal Free Hours)
• 30-hour entitlement for working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds (previously known as the Extended Free Hours)

Therefore, from September 2025 working parents of children under the age of five will be entitled to 30 hours of early education and childcare a week.

Our proposed recommendations for Early Years are:

• Invest capital funding in creating more places for Under 2s, prioritising the wards with the lowest number of places.
• Maximise the hourly base rate (which is the amount paid to providers for childcare) as far as is practical to make sure a lot of registered Early Years providers take up the offer.
• Create incentives for Early Years providers to keep places open for eligible 2-year-olds by introducing a higher hourly base rate in 2025/2026.