Agenda item

The Board considered a report of the Executive Director – Children’s Services, which provided a summary of the revised Sufficiency Duty Report (SDR) – this document was appended to the report Childcare Sufficiency Duty Report 2023-24 Review.

It was reported that the SDR detailed information on Halton’s childcare sector and outlined the projected supply and estimated demand for childcare places over the next 12 months.  It also highlighted any gaps in provision and how these were being addressed. 

The report also gave information on the expansion of the early years entitlements, due to launch in April 2024, and the initial estimates on how the demand for new places would impact upon the childcare market in Halton.  Information was also shared on other factors affecting childcare and sustainability, at both local and national level, such as the impact of Covid 19, cost of living, and challenges with the recruitment and retention of staff.  It was noted however, that despite the challenges faced by the Early Years sector, the childcare market in Halton continued to be secure and sustainable.

The following responses were provided to questions raised by Members:

·         The data around 5-10 year old holiday provision did not include figures from groups, such as short breaks and activities funded through the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Programme.  Future mapping and supply of demand, regarding the Wraparound Programme in Halton, would consider the needs of children with SEND and how best to facilitate this;

·         A range of Early Years provision is required in order to give residents greater flexibility and choice so they can return to work and childminders formed part of this – there were 59 in Halton;

·         The impacts that childminder settings can have on neighbourhoods (such as noise, parking problems, garden noise) was recognised, but complaints were few as most childminders had small numbers of children.  Any complaints were dealt with according to legislation;

·         The difference between a childminder and a nursery was that a childminder has a domestic premises ie, their home, and a nursery was in a non-domestic setting.  A childminder also had a cap on the number of children they could take, whereas a nursery could take bigger numbers;

·         A comment was made by one Member regarding funding – nurseries relied on Government funding and a childminder is a private business and  exempt from paying business rates;

·         Despite data showing a deficit of 51 places in Windmill Hill there were vacancies in settings in the area – this was explained as an anomaly with the data recording.  Members were reassured that there were no issues with the availability of places at any of the nurseries in Windmill Hill;

·         Three new Speech and Language programmes were about to launch in Halton – Tots Talking (for children aged between 0-3), Early Talk Boost (3-4 year olds) and Talk Boost (5-7 year olds), adding to the existing Speech and Language services currently available; and

·         Recruitment and retention of staff in Early Years was raising concerns.  It was noted that the requirement for certain qualifications had been introduced in recent years which may be affecting recruitment along with poor pay.  Also, staff were leaving and the reasons for this were varied, eg. retirement, poor pay, legacy of Covid-19.  Different routes into the profession were being explored, as was on the job training.

RESOLVED:  That the revised Sufficiency Duty Report (previously known as the Childcare Sufficiency Assessment) be noted.