Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to issue guidance to early years providers on (a) term planning and (b) staff resources in advance of changes to eligibility requirements for free childcare.

The ‘early education and childcare’ statutory guidance for local authorities will be updated to reflect the expanded entitlements announced in the Spring Budget and will be published in early spring alongside the amended regulations coming into force.

The department is ensuring a phased implementation of the expansion to the 30 hours offer to allow the market to develop the necessary capacity, and is working closely with the sector on the implementation of these reforms.

The department understands that the recruitment and retention of qualified staff is a key issue for the early years sector. The department is continuing to work with the sector to understand how it might support workforce recruitment and retention, including through data collection, user research, and feedback from an expert advisory group.

In May 2023, the department launched a consultation on proposals to provide more flexibility and remove burdens within the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The consultation will inform changes to the EYFS to offer providers more choice over how they operate and make it easier for them to deliver the EYFS. The consultation closed on 26 July, and the department will be publishing a response in due course. It is our intention that any changes to the EYFS that result from this consultation will come into force for all providers across England in early 2024, giving the sector time to make use of the proposed flexibilities and ensuring they are ready to deliver the new entitlements announced at the Spring Budget.