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ITEM EX7

EXECUTIVE – 10 DECEMBER 2002

EARLY EDUCATION AND CHILDCARE DEVELOPMENTS

Report by Acting Chief Education Officer

1. The Executive on 25 June 2002 approved strategies for meeting the County Council's statutory duties for sufficiency of funded education places for 3 and 4 year olds and for the development of childcare to meet targets as set out in the Early Years Development and Childcare Plan. This report updates members on recent developments and makes specific recommendations for:

• approval of the County Council Partnership Early Years Unit Scheme;
• approval of plans for Local Authority managed Neighbourhood Nurseries in Wood Farm and Barton and revised plans for a Neighbourhood Nursery in Banbury as part of the developments for Orchard Fields Primary School;
• expenditure of capital grant for places for 3 and 4 year olds for 2003/2004.

3. The County Council has a statutory duty to ensure sufficiency of funded places for eligible 3 and 4 year olds. There is a requirement to expand the entitlement to universal provision by September 2004.
4. Proposals for implementing the Foundation Stage and ensuring sufficiency as well as improved quality of funded places, including proposals to change the age of admission to primary school and support for partnership projects, are currently undergoing extensive consultation within the County. Recommendations will be set out in a separate report which will be presented to the Executive on 7 January 2003. As part of these proposals officers have been working closely with schools, voluntary sector providers and the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnership in developing an appropriate framework to support partnership provision for early years education.
5. Current trends in participation rates are as follows:

	Spring 2001	Spring 2002
% of 3 and 4 year olds in maintained Early Education	35.5%	35.3%
% of 3 and 4 year olds in non-maintained Early Education	55.6%	61.0%

This chart shows that there has been rapid growth in the number of places (includes both funded and, as yet, unfunded places) in the non-maintained sector. Most of this growth is taken up by 3 year olds.

6. Achievement of universal provision of places will be subject to several factors, including sufficient allocation of Nursery Education Grant (via SSA from 2003) from the DfES, and more support for capital developments – in particular to replace dilapidated buildings in some areas and providing additional accommodation in areas of need.

Partnership Early Years Units

7. There are 4 formally established partnerships between schools and pre-schools and many more in the pipeline. The advantages to schools and their local pre-school in forming such partnerships include developing the capacity to provide sufficient and sustainable funded places for younger 4 year olds and 3 year olds in their community. It also promotes continuity of education and consistency of quality in the Foundation Stage, when children often transfer between more than one setting.
8. A handbook has been developed to support schools in such initiatives. Full copies of the draft are available in the Members’ Resource Library. The only part of the handbook which entails a change in current OCC policy is the model partnership agreement (see(Annex A) of this report). The Executive is asked to endorse this model agreement and to give delegated powers to the Chief Education Officer or nominated representative to sign such agreements on behalf of the County Council.

Childcare

9. A report to the Executive on 25 June 2002 Childcare Developments in Oxfordshire, highlighted that childcare is an under-developed sector within the local economy, and one which could contribute significantly to the Council’s priorities of sustaining our prosperity, helping people to fulfil their potential and safeguarding our communities. Childcare is also a major thrust of recent national policy initiatives such as Extended Schools and the interdepartmental review: Delivering for Children and Families.
10. Oxfordshire Early Years and Childcare Service has been successful in putting together consortium bids attracting over £1,000,000 of New Opportunities Fund grant money to develop over 2000 new childcare places for school aged children. It is also working to develop new models of directly managed and partnership childcare provision and seeking to encourage schools to extend such provision themselves under new powers created under the Education Act 2002.

Neighbourhood Nurseries in Blackbird Leys and Rose Hill

11. Oxfordshire was initially allocated funding to develop 3 X 50 place nurseries in Blackbird Leys, Neithrop and Rose Hill. The objective is to provide affordable and quality childcare in areas of disadvantage where there is little or no provision. The EYDCP is working in partnership with the Oxford, Swindon and Gloucestershire Co-operative Society to create Neighbourhood Nurseries in Blackbird Leys and Rose Hill, adopting a social enterprise model, with community and parental involvement.

Revised Plans for a Neighbourhood Nursery in Banbury

12. The Co-Op has recently withdrawn from Neithrop project due to the difficulties of meshing in with the proposals for the new Orchard Fields school site in terms of timescale and building programme. Discussion are being held with the Steering Group of the Orchard Fields development to develop a shared vision for an integrated education and childcare provision catering for the needs of children aged 0 - 11 and their parents/carers, including wider family community support on the same site.
13. The rationale is that research evidence confirms that the best quality care and education for the under 5’s is provided in a seamless setting with continuity of care throughout the day. This provides the best possible outcomes for the children, which then impacts positively upon the school, parents/carers and the community.
14. In order to achieve this integration and maintain control over quality it is envisaged that the nursery provision will be County Council owned and probably managed by the Governors of the school
15. The vision is to take advantage of the unique opportunity to include a Neighbourhood Nursery within the new build being proposed for the site. It is anticipated that there would be no capital implications for the Council, as funding for the building works is being sought by combining the DfES Fresh Start Initiative, with the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative.

    New Neighbourhood Nursery Allocations for Oxford City

16. In September 2002 Oxfordshire EYDCP was successful in obtaining further funding from DfES and New Opportunities Fund to develop a further 94 full daycare places for 0 –5 years old children.
17. The bid included funding for 2 further projects:-

• Oxford - Barton - a 49 place nursery located in the soon to be vacated part of Ormerod School, which will also incorporate the local Family Centre, providing an integrated provision with the remaining nursery children at Omerod School assessment nursery. The provision will be centrally managed by Oxfordshire County Council under the auspices of the Family Centre
• Oxford Wood Farm – a 45 place nursery to be located adjacent to the Slade Nursery School and Wood Farm Primary School, providing an integrated provision from 0 - 11. Building requirements currently at feasibility stage but preferred proposal is a refurbishment, locating the Neighbourhood Nursery in the wing adjacent to the Nursery School. The nursery will be managed by the County Council under the auspices of the Slade Nursery School.

18. These models will enable schools to work together to provide consistent arrangements for pre-school children whose parents need to make arrangements for their child's extended childcare during working hours. Full business plans for these projects are available in the Members’ Resource Centre. A model summary of projected income and expenditure is attached at Annex B. of this report.
19. Projected building costs for the two new projects are as follows:

	Barton	Wood Farm	Total
Renovations	£180,000	£250,000	£430,000
Equipment	£28,100	£23,000	£51,100
Total	£208,100	£273,000	£481,100
NOF (provisional)	£133,434	£148,000	£281,434
Council match funding (requested)	£75,000	£75,000	£150,000
Externally raised funds (projected)		£50,000
Total	£208,434	£273,000	£481,434

OCC Capital funding (early years grant) 2003/04

20. Oxfordshire has been allocated £220,236 grant from the DfES for development of places for three and four year olds in 2003/04.
21. On 25 June the Executive agreed to:

"note the updated sufficiency of places analysis as the basis for prioritising capital funding for new early years projects that Neighbourhood Nurseries should be included as a priority for the DfES capital grant for 2003/04"

22. It is therefore recommended that the County Council agree £150,000 of this grant to match fund the Neighbourhood Nursery Capital from the DfES for Wood Farm and Barton.
23. The sufficiency of places analysis identified a great many project requiring capital funding in order to meet the demand for new places. In addition many voluntary pre-schools are struggling to meet the demand for delivering the Foundation Stage Curriculum and the requirements of the EYDCP and Ofsted in temporary or inadequate shared use building.
24. Development officers are working closely with schools and preschools to help them to develop partnership projects and also to identify external sources of income to support them. This is an issue also raised as part of the 3 – 5 s Learning consultation which will report to the Executive on 7 January.
25. Of the priorities highlighted in the June 2002 the following progress can be reported:

• The Manor School, Didcot with Ladybird Pre-school, Didcot. This group has received considerable support from development workers within the Early Year and Childcare Service. They have now raised sufficient funds to secure their building, including over £30,000 via OCC/EYDCP small grants.
• St Joseph’s RC Aided School. This school currently has sufficient accommodation for existing children but as currently configured the accommodation does not offer seamless foundation stage education. Support is being given, in discussion with the Diocese, to look at organisational issues as well as plans for improved accommodation. This is likely to require extensive building work which is outside of the scope for funding available for 2003/04
• Riverside at Thameside School. Officers are supporting this group to secure a building to be located in Thameside School. Continued support will be given to ensure the development and sustainability of this group once established on site.
• Bloxham Primary, Banbury . This school is located in a Band 2 ward with only 39 funded places per 100 3 and 4 year olds. The School has been working with its local pre-school to develop a partnership scheme to extend its provision to meet locally identified need. The project has already secured £106,000 of funding. It is recommended that the County Council award £70,000 or Early Years Grant funding to enable this scheme to be completed within 2003/04, providing that the plans and project management satisfy the County Council’s standards and procedures for a grant funded early years projects.

26. Revenue There are no revenue implications arising from the proposed Partnership Early Years Unit Handbook and agreement (Annex A)The business case for both County Council managed Neighbourhood Nurseries is attached (in Annex B).The running of the nurseries should have no financial implications for the Council, as revenue support is available from the DfES on a sliding scale over 3 years, after which the Nurseries are expected to be self financing. The nursery staff will be County Council employees. The schemes will be monitored and reviewed annually during the period of subsidy to ensure that any liability of the County Council for staffing costs is limited.
27. Capital: It is recommended that the available £220,000 capital grant is divided as follows:

• £150,000 matched funding for Neighbourhood Nursery Development in Oxford City (Headington)
• £70,000 provisional matched funding to support partnership early education and childcare provision in Bloxham.

28. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

1. approve the Partnership Early Years Unit Agreement, and authorise the Acting Chief Education Officer/Director for Learning & Culture or his nominated representative to sign agreements on behalf of the Authority in individual cases;
2. support in principle the proposals to develop a Neighbourhood Nursery as part of the new Orchard Fields School in Banbury;
3. approve the plans to develop Local Authority-managed Neighbourhood Nurseries in Oxford City;
4. approve the allocations for capital developments from Early Years Capital Grant 2002- 2003 as proposed in the report.

ROY SMITH
Acting Chief Education Officer

Background Papers:

Contact Officers Annie Davy: Head of Early Years and Childcare Tel: 01865 815493, Amanda Powell: Childcare Development Manager Tel: 01865 815618

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