[Report of the Assistant Director for Commissioning. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Children and Families]The report sets out the implications for Haringey of the implementation of the National Early Years Funding Formula for Haringey from April 2017.
Minutes:
The Cabinet Member for Children and Families introduced the report which set out proposals for a new early years funding formula in Haringey which would ensure that the Council continues to meet its statutory responsibilities in relation to funding the free entitlement for 2, 3 and 4 year olds. The proposals also sought to ensure that the Council were able to implement changes in a fair and transparent way, acknowledging that work would need to continue to manage the impact of the changes on the local childcare market.
The Cabinet Member thanked officers in Commissioning and early years for their hard work in taking forward the consultation on the national funding formula for early years in tight timescales which had been extremely challenging.
RESOLVED
- A universal base rate for 3 and 4 year olds in Haringey set at £4.88 per hour, per child
- Mandatory deprivation supplement funding of £0.30 per hour, per child, derived from the £0.52 per hour per child available for supplements
- A supplement for quality with an annual budget of £76,000 to facilitate system leadership for providers requiring support
Reasons for decision
Local authorities have been advised by the DfE to use the proposals set out in its consultation on an early years national funding formula to develop local funding formula arrangements and to progress local consultation and decision-making in order to meet the April 2017 deadline imposed for the introduction of the national funding formula for the existing universal 15 hours per week entitlement for eligible three and four year olds. The proposals will support the introduction of the 30 hours funded entitlement for the three and four year old children of eligible working parents from September 2017.
The proposals set out under 3.1 will enable the Council to meet its statutory duties from April 2017.
Alternative options considered
Local authorities are required to meet the April 2017 deadline for the introduction of the new national funding formula. Consultation has been carried out to inform the discretionary elements of the formula including the date of introduction of the new universal hourly base rate, whether to introduce supplements for quality and flexibility in addition to the mandatory supplement for deprivation, the level of supplement to be applied within the constraints set out within the formula and the deployment of the centrally retained funding.
In addition, the Council has considered whether to retain its role in setting a fee structure for all maintained settings, including schools. Through officers’ engagement with the school-run maintained childcare settings, it has become clear that the schools themselves are best placed to determine the fee level that fits with their developing business models in the context of the national funding formula.
Supporting documents: