Data, it has been said, is the sword of the 21st century. Information on funding, training, demographics and other crucial areas can help nursery leaders find out more about the local market and inform their management decisions.
Unfortunately, access to this vital data varies considerably. In some areas it is hard to come by, while in other localities managers can be bombarded by so much information it is difficult to focus on what is useful.
‘There are 150 different approaches to how local authorities work with providers,’ says Jonathan Broadbery, director of policy at the National Day Nurseries Association. ‘There are positive examples, but in other areas, getting information from a local authority is like getting blood out of a stone.’
Funding information
So how can settings keep on top of issues such as the amount of money they are set to receive for the funded entitlement, a vital piece of data when it comes to setting fees? Some providers have complained about not receiving information about annual rates until late March or even early April. Jackie Howse, director of Coppice Childcare Shard End in Birmingham, says she understands the pressure on councils, but receiving funding information late makes financial planning challenging. ‘It can come a bit late for us to do budgets,’ she says.
There are ways providers can get involved with local authority decision-making. Howse, for example, is a member of a range of forums, including Birmingham’s Schools Forum and Early Years Forum. All councils are required by the Government to have a Schools Forum, which must include at least one representative from the PVI early years sector, as well as schools, academies and other, non-school, organisations.
Schools Forums
The forum acts as a consultative and decision-making body where members can put forward their views to the council on matters such as funding of early years provision, supplies and services, and arrangements for special educational needs. Schools Forums are required to be open to the public, and papers, agendas and minutes must be publicly available well in advance of each meeting. Nursery managers should be able to contact their Schools Forum representative to raise issues.
Some areas also have an early years forum which feeds into the Schools Forum.
‘The only way to have a voice and get to the people that you need to speak to is volunteering for these things,’ says Howse. Many areas also have early years networks, which may be organised and run by the local authority, or by an organisation such as the NDNA, or created by settings themselves. ‘Where a network exists, it can give local authorities a conduit to the sector, making relationships easier,’ says Broadbery.
Birmingham City Council’s Early Years Network website flags up training opportunities, information on the EYFS and events. The council also uses a password-protected website to disseminate information to settings including funding and sufficiency data, and sends out email updates.
Managers of smaller settings in particular may find it hard to keep up with this flow of information, says Howse. ‘They may not have a background in business or understand the importance of keeping on top of statistics,’ she says. ‘But I think it is up to us as providers to access this information.’
The NDNA has published a report into local authority early years funding, which found £55 million was left unspent or allocated to other budgets in 2021/22. Providers can use this report as a starting point for negotiations, says Broadbery. ‘Our members can have conversations with their local authority, saying “I have seen in this report there is an underspend of £x, what is happening with that?”. People have told us that as a result of these conversations, local authorities have provided a one-off funding increase or committed to a change in funding rates.’
Local authority support
As funding has been cut and early years teams have shrunk, local-authority-provided training is no longer so widely available. However, the move to digital provision is having a positive effect in some places. Bolton Start Well, for example, offers a wide range of free online briefings and surgeries, and e-learning courses, including Behaviour and Self-Regulation in the Early Years, and Early Years Communication and Language Development.
In other areas, local authorities are providing support with recruitment. Broadbery cites St Helens Borough Council, which organised recruitment events in the town centre where providers could promote early years as a career.
The NDNA also encourages settings to think beyond the early years team when looking for local authority support. Business planning, advice and funding may be available from local enterprise partnerships or local authority business support or economic development teams.
Market data
‘Understanding services on offer and fees being charged in an area is vital information to inform financial planning,’ says James Hempsall, director of consultancy Hempsall’s. Information of interest to settings includes the type of childcare local parents are looking for, the population requiring childcare, transport links, and the characteristics of existing local provision. A good starting point is the local authority Childcare Sufficiency Assessment, an annual report that identifies gaps in the provision of childcare across the local area, but may also contain additional information.
‘There is an element of being proactive,’ says Broadbery. ‘Go to the local authority and ask what knowledge they have on the local market, is there demographic information you can tap into.’ Freedom of Information requests can be used also.
SEND information
Local authorities are obliged to publish their ‘local offer’, clear, comprehensible and up-to-date information about support services available to children and young people with SEND. ‘It is expected the local offer is defined and communicated, and a simple internet search should find it,’ says Hempsall. He cites West Sussex as a good example of an effective local offer (https://westsussex.local-offer.org).
‘The local offer is still a very mixed picture,’ says Broadbery. ‘In some local authorities, information is easily locatable, others you have to really hunt for it. We are talking to the DfE about taking a national approach, not just around what is delivered but also around the information available to families and providers.’
Information about funding available for SEND provision can also be hard to access.
‘I think it is fair to say that demands upon SEND budgets like the high needs block, the disability access fund (DAF) and the Special Educational Needs Inclusion Fund (SENIF) are high,’ says Hempsall. ‘People are reporting that the need has increased even more as a result of the pandemic and what has been a reduced early identification and intervention period. I can understand if a local area is reluctant to shout out about available funds, as they do not need to drum up demand for these funds, many of which are oversubscribed. However, I also understand it is important everyone has equal access to such information and a chance to apply for it – it is a tricky balance.’
The pandemic might have enhanced communication between local authorities and providers in many areas. ‘Pre-pandemic, I would have said communication was OK but not brilliant, but when the pandemic hit, everything went online,’ says Howse. ‘Zoom has enabled settings to have more input. Communication has definitely improved.’
Practical tips on working with local authorities
The process local authorities go through to allocate early years funding is complex and various announcements can be confusing, so it is easy for settings to find it difficult to get to grips with all the details around funding rates.
The best way is to simply talk with local authority early years teams, and even the early years rep on the Schools’ Forum, about the current rates and how they are designed, and discuss how they may be changing in the future, and when. There are often opportunities to get involved in consultations around proposed changes to the rates paid.
Gone are the days when there was a plethora of training and support offered by local authorities, although most areas still retain a focus on the statutory training requirements such as first-aid and safeguarding. However, there are growing concerns about business health as a result of the pandemic and other issues, so you may find some training offers along business-related themes. Take-up of this can be low – I say use it or lose it; business training can be enormously beneficial even for the most experienced manager. I have seen other themes emerging recently including health and wellbeing of the workforce, recruitment and retention of the workforce, and speech, language and communication.
All local authorities will have someone with the responsibility for childcare sufficiency and sustainability, whether that be all or part of their job. They are a good contact and a fantastic source of information. All councils still need to report on the sufficiency of childcare in their areas; it is a legal requirement. Various pieces of research are completed, including talking with providers and parents to understand the needs and demands for childcare, and how they are changing or trending. In recent times this has become a much more dynamic issue and one that directly affects provider business models and sustainability.
If asked for your view, do get involved. Seek out the annual reports, and if you prefer, why not talk to that officer, or a locality based officer who may be able to share all sorts of market intelligence.