Agenda item

The implementation of the National Early Years Funding Formula in Haringey

[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

 

  1. To note the outcome of the consultations undertaken with providers of early education and childcare in Haringey, and with the Schools Forum, as set out in the appendices to this report.

 

  1. To agree the introduction of a revised early years funding formula for Haringey from April 2017 which includes:

-          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

 

  1. To agree that there will be no supplements set for Rurality / Sparsity, Flexibility or English as an Additional Language.

 

  1. To agree to reduce from April 2019 the current local authority funding rate of £6 per hour for providers of the 2 year old free entitlement, to the funding rate (£5.66 per hour) received by the local authority from the DfE.

 

  1. To agree that £0.7m of Dedicated Schools Grant be set aside as transitional funding to subside childcare for the period from April to August 2017 prior to the introduction of new fees and the 30 hours funded entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds.

 

  1. To agree to remove the Council’s involvement in setting the fees for school-based early years provision, allowing the four maintained school-run settings to set their own fees.

 

  1. To agree to replace the current single fee structure, applied across all four Council-run childcare settings with a new structure where fees differ from setting to setting.

 

  1. To agree to the further exploration of a refreshed, financially viable childcare offer to be in place at the Park Lane setting from as early as September 2017.

 

  1. To agree to increase fees for the four Council–run childcare settings from current levels in order to generate the levels of income required to mitigate the loss of subsidy funding. This change to fees would be implemented from September 2017 and kept under review due to the risk of a negative impact on service take-up and therefore, fee income generation.

 

  1. To agree that, where there may be early years funding remaining, once the early years funding formula and centrally retained items have been taken into account, any available funding is directed towards ensuring access to good quality early education for our most vulnerable children.

 

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: