Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education on 23 October 2023, Official Report, column 585, what the budget will be of the childcare staff recruitment campaign in each of the next three financial years.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The campaign budget for the 2023/24 financial year is £6.5 million. The budget for future years is still to be confirmed. The department intends to measure the awareness amongst its target audience of the following: the opportunities available in early years, positive perceptions of careers in the sector and consideration of applying for early years roles. The department also intends to measure visits to a dedicated website where people will be able to find out more about early years, and the number who go on to take action on the site, for example in accessing the Find a Job platform, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/find-a-job.
The departmental campaign strategy is based on in depth analysis of the target audience and has been reviewed by a variety of key early years stakeholders and setting managers and staff.
Overall, the number of paid early years staff has remained stable in recent years. Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey 2022 data shows that between 2021 and 2022, the total number of early years staff increased by 5,900 (or 2 per cent), from 328,500 to 334,400. The survey data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-provider-survey/2022.
The Provider Survey publication included estimates for the number of staff that were recruited by group-based and school-based providers in the last twelve months, as well as estimates of the number of number of staff who have left these providers in the last twelve months. However, these estimates do not distinguish between those who have joined or left from other early years providers, and those who joined or left from outside the sector. The department will publish updated estimates for the above in December, as well as new data on the destination of leaving staff members. The estimates of the approximate number of additional staff, required to meet demand from the new entitlements will be published in due course.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education on 23 October 2023, Official Report, column 585, what discussions her Department had with relevant stakeholders when designing the childcare staff recruitment campaign; and if she will publish (a) summaries of those discussions and (b) other evidence her Department received on the establishment of the recruitment campaign.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The campaign budget for the 2023/24 financial year is £6.5 million. The budget for future years is still to be confirmed. The department intends to measure the awareness amongst its target audience of the following: the opportunities available in early years, positive perceptions of careers in the sector and consideration of applying for early years roles. The department also intends to measure visits to a dedicated website where people will be able to find out more about early years, and the number who go on to take action on the site, for example in accessing the Find a Job platform, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/find-a-job.
The departmental campaign strategy is based on in depth analysis of the target audience and has been reviewed by a variety of key early years stakeholders and setting managers and staff.
Overall, the number of paid early years staff has remained stable in recent years. Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey 2022 data shows that between 2021 and 2022, the total number of early years staff increased by 5,900 (or 2 per cent), from 328,500 to 334,400. The survey data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-provider-survey/2022.
The Provider Survey publication included estimates for the number of staff that were recruited by group-based and school-based providers in the last twelve months, as well as estimates of the number of number of staff who have left these providers in the last twelve months. However, these estimates do not distinguish between those who have joined or left from other early years providers, and those who joined or left from outside the sector. The department will publish updated estimates for the above in December, as well as new data on the destination of leaving staff members. The estimates of the approximate number of additional staff, required to meet demand from the new entitlements will be published in due course.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education to the question from the hon. Member for Walthamstow of 23 October 2023, Official Report, column 585, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the expansion of subsidised childcare hours on the number of childcare staff required to meet demand.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The campaign budget for the 2023/24 financial year is £6.5 million. The budget for future years is still to be confirmed. The department intends to measure the awareness amongst its target audience of the following: the opportunities available in early years, positive perceptions of careers in the sector and consideration of applying for early years roles. The department also intends to measure visits to a dedicated website where people will be able to find out more about early years, and the number who go on to take action on the site, for example in accessing the Find a Job platform, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/find-a-job.
The departmental campaign strategy is based on in depth analysis of the target audience and has been reviewed by a variety of key early years stakeholders and setting managers and staff.
Overall, the number of paid early years staff has remained stable in recent years. Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey 2022 data shows that between 2021 and 2022, the total number of early years staff increased by 5,900 (or 2 per cent), from 328,500 to 334,400. The survey data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-provider-survey/2022.
The Provider Survey publication included estimates for the number of staff that were recruited by group-based and school-based providers in the last twelve months, as well as estimates of the number of number of staff who have left these providers in the last twelve months. However, these estimates do not distinguish between those who have joined or left from other early years providers, and those who joined or left from outside the sector. The department will publish updated estimates for the above in December, as well as new data on the destination of leaving staff members. The estimates of the approximate number of additional staff, required to meet demand from the new entitlements will be published in due course.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education to the question from the hon. Member for Walthamstow of 23 October 2023, Official Report, column 585, what metrics her Department plans to use to measure the success of the childcare staff recruitment campaign.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The campaign budget for the 2023/24 financial year is £6.5 million. The budget for future years is still to be confirmed. The department intends to measure the awareness amongst its target audience of the following: the opportunities available in early years, positive perceptions of careers in the sector and consideration of applying for early years roles. The department also intends to measure visits to a dedicated website where people will be able to find out more about early years, and the number who go on to take action on the site, for example in accessing the Find a Job platform, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/find-a-job.
The departmental campaign strategy is based on in depth analysis of the target audience and has been reviewed by a variety of key early years stakeholders and setting managers and staff.
Overall, the number of paid early years staff has remained stable in recent years. Childcare and Early Years Provider Survey 2022 data shows that between 2021 and 2022, the total number of early years staff increased by 5,900 (or 2 per cent), from 328,500 to 334,400. The survey data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-provider-survey/2022.
The Provider Survey publication included estimates for the number of staff that were recruited by group-based and school-based providers in the last twelve months, as well as estimates of the number of number of staff who have left these providers in the last twelve months. However, these estimates do not distinguish between those who have joined or left from other early years providers, and those who joined or left from outside the sector. The department will publish updated estimates for the above in December, as well as new data on the destination of leaving staff members. The estimates of the approximate number of additional staff, required to meet demand from the new entitlements will be published in due course.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Government's planned expansion of subsidised childcare announced in March 2023, what estimate she has made of the additional number of staff required as a result of that expansion by (a) April 2024, (b) September 2024 and (c) September 2025.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department knows that to deliver the expanded early years entitlements, the sector will require additional staff. The phased implementation of the free hours offers will allow the market to develop the necessary capacity. The department continues to monitor sufficiency of childcare provision, including recruitment challenges, through our regular conversations with local authorities, and we are implementing a range of interventions to support the increase required.
In early 2024 we will launch a new, national, multi-channel broadcast recruitment campaign to boost interest in the sector and support the recruitment of talented staff. Alongside this, the department will consider how to introduce new accelerated apprenticeship and degree apprenticeship routes so everyone from junior staff to senior leaders can easily move into a career in the sector.
The department is also committed to delivering flexibility for providers to help them meet the ambition of the Spring Budget investment and has carried out a consultation on a package of possible flexibilities that could be introduced to the early years foundation stage framework.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on the Care to Learn scheme in each of the last five years; and how many people have (a) made a claim and (b) been eligible for support under that scheme in each of the last five years.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Data showing the number of people eligible for support under the Care to Learn scheme and the total payments made for academic year 2022/23 is not yet available.
Eligible students apply for Care to Learn support through their education institution. The department does not routinely gather information about rejected applications from them.
The figures below cover the previous five academic years:
Academic year | Care to Learn Take-up | Total payments |
2017/18 | 2,345 | £10,292,914 |
2018/19 | 2,003 | £8,096,905 |
2019/20 | 1,376 | £6,090,356 |
2020/21 | 1,155 | £5,034,029 |
2021/22 | 1,052 | £4,665,735 |
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on the Childcare Grant for undergraduate students in each of the last five years; and how many people have (a) made a claim and (b) been eligible for support under that scheme in each of the last five years.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The information on how much the department has spent on the Childcare Grant for undergraduate students for each of the last five years and how many people have claimed this can be found in the Student Loan Company’s (SLC) ‘Student support for higher education in England 2022’ publication, which can be found in Tables 4C(i) and 4C(ii) at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-support-for-higher-education-in-england-2022,. Data for the 2022/23 academic year will be available in November 2023. Data for the 2021/22 academic year is currently provisional, as it has an earlier effective date of 31 October of the relevant academic year, and will be finalised in November 2023.
In the 2019/20 academic year, Childcare Grant payments changed from being paid to new and continuing students based on estimated costs, to being paid to childcare providers directly via a third-party system, based on actual costs incurred. As a result of this change there is a break in the time series when reporting Childcare Grant amounts. Up until the 2019/20 academic year, Childcare Grant has been reported as awards based on a student’s given estimates for the year, which are then finalised a year later in the subsequent publication. From the 2019/20 academic year, actual payments will be reported as with other loan products, in a new table, Table 4C (ii).
The department and SLC do not hold information on the number of people who have been eligible for Childcare Grants over the last five years.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans that the review of the relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance will (a) begin, (b) invite views from stakeholder organisations, (c) conclude and (d) be implemented in schools.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is in the process of identifying and appointing the members of the independent expert panel, which will inform the wider review of the Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) guidance. The review started recently and will cover the full scope of the statutory RSHE guidance.
The Department will seek to gather evidence from a wide range of stakeholders over the coming months and to consult publicly on an amended draft in the autumn, to conclude by the end of the year. The amended guidance will be published soon after, in early 2024.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of local authorities which (a) do not have sufficient childcare places in their area for children aged between 0 and 3 years old and (b) do not hold data on sufficiency for this age group.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the Early Education and Childcare statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents.
The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing.
Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges we discuss what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
The department monitors take up of the early years entitlements through the annual census and publishes the results at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-provision-children-under-5.
The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published on 2 March 2023, sets out how an effective single national SEND and AP system will be delivered. Many of the proposals in the improvement plan will include early years education, including the funding we are providing to train up to 5,000 early years Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinators (SENCOs) to gain an accredited Level 3 Early Years SENCO qualification.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of local authorities which do not have sufficient childcare place sin their area for children with disabilities aged between 0 and 17 years old.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the Early Education and Childcare statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents.
The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing.
Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges we discuss what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and where needed, support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
The department monitors take up of the early years entitlements through the annual census and publishes the results at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-provision-children-under-5.
The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published on 2 March 2023, sets out how an effective single national SEND and AP system will be delivered. Many of the proposals in the improvement plan will include early years education, including the funding we are providing to train up to 5,000 early years Special Educational Needs Co-Ordinators (SENCOs) to gain an accredited Level 3 Early Years SENCO qualification.