Pre-school Education: Coronavirus

(asked on 25th June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allocating additional funding to (a) nurseries and (b) early years childcare providers that are working with a reduced occupancy rate as a result of the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.


Answered by
Vicky Ford Portrait
Vicky Ford
This question was answered on 3rd July 2020

The government wants to support nurseries, pre-schools and childminders during what must be a worrying and uncertain time.

We have said that we will continue to pay local authorities their regular instalments of Dedicated Schools Grant, including the early years block, as usual. It remains the case that local authorities can redistribute their free early education entitlement funding, in exceptional cases. That should only be done at local authorities’ discretion, as a last resort and in a clearly focussed and targeted way, from providers who have closed to those who are open, in order to secure childcare for the children of critical workers and for vulnerable children.

Further, a package of support is available for individuals and businesses which will benefit childcare providers, including a business rates holiday, business interruption loans, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) and help for the self-employed. Details of support are available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures#funding.

As more settings open, the need to furlough staff may reduce. In such cases, if still required, settings can continue to access the CJRS to cover up to the proportion of their salary bill which could be considered to have been paid for from their private income (and in line with the appropriate guidance). As local authorities, working with childcare providers in their area, are best placed to make decisions in the interests of their local communities, they should continue to work in partnership with their early years sector and in doing so, should consider the current sufficiency of childcare for vulnerable children and children of critical workers, and the financial security of individual childcare settings. Guidance on the CJRS is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme.

We are continuing to work with the sector to understand how the early years sector can best be supported to ensure that sufficient safe, appropriate and affordable childcare is available for those returning to work now, and for all families who need it in the longer term.

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