Teaching schools can apply for funding of up to around £60,000.
Some teaching schools are already working with early years providers. Teaching schools have a large remit to provide training and development to other schools and early years providers in a number of different ways.
The funding is aimed at encouraging local areas to explore ways of improving their early years practice, ahead of the introduction of the Early Years Pupil Premium next April.
The National College for Teaching & Leadership said it wants to ‘foster a school-led self-improving system through Teaching Schools’.
Funding could be used to support teaching schools on continuing professional development, supporting other schools, including through specialist leaders of education, and identifying and developing leadership potential.
It suggests that action plans could include ‘a focus on raising numeracy and literacy skills’; sharing a graduate teacher with early years across a number of settings; supporting a ‘smooth transition from early years to reception’; offering advice to schools from early years providers on how to expand their childcare offer to parents, for example setting up nursery classes, taking disadvantaged two-year-olds and providing more wraparound care.
Childcare and education minister Sam Gyimah said, ‘Increasing quality in early years is a vital part of our plan for childcare.
‘Giving children the best start in life should be the number one priority of everyone working in the childcare sector and I want local areas to look hard at the range of expertise they have and really work together to achieve the best for every child.’
Teaching school networks have to be open to all providers and the Department for Education aims to have a network of 600 teaching schools by March 2016.
Commenting on the funding, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said, 'We of course welcome new sources of early years funding, and in particular the recognition that more must be done to support PVI providers.
'However, we are disappointed that the initiative appears to be taking a narrow view of "good practice", focusing primarily on the development of literacy and numeracy skills. High-quality early years provision should ensure that children are supported across all areas of learning, including physical, emotional and social development, and we would be concerned that the Government’s desire for a school-led early years system will lead to an emphasis on "teaching" that is inappropriate for children of this age.
'We would also question the DfE’s suggestion that these partnerships could be used as an opportunity for early years providers to advise schools on how to expand their childcare offer to disadvantaged two-year-olds. Given that the vast majority of practitioners are strongly opposed to plans to place children of this age into a school environment, they are highly unlikely to support such an arrangement.'
- The application process is in two stages. Expressions of interest must be received by Monday 6 October. Successful applicants will then be asked to submit an action plan by Friday 28 November. More information on the application process is available here