Somerset County Council

1 Somerset County CouncilScrutiny for Policies, Children and Families Committee 09 December 2016 early Years Bid for Capital Funding to the EFA for projects to secure 30 hours funded places for working parents of 3 and 4 year oldsLead Officer: Dave Farrow, Head of Commissioning Educational Outcomes and SufficiencyAuthor: Charlotte Wilson, Service Manager, early Years CommissioningContact Details: 01823 357386 Cabinet Member: Cllr Frances Nicholson Cabinet Member for Children and Families Local Members: Andrew Govier, Mike Rigby, James Hunt, Simon Coles, David Loveridge and Linda authorities in partnership with early years providers, were invited to bid for a share of the 40m capital funding being made available to support the delivery of the government s commitment to provide 30 hours funded childcare for working parents of 3 and 4 year olds from September funding will help create sufficient childcare places for the 30 hours extended entitlement for 3 and 4 year olds in Somerset and supports the Somerset s Children and Young People s Plan 2016-19 (CYPP) seven improvement programmes including Promoting healthy outcomes and giving children the best start in life.

2 The CYPP links to the Education target in the County Plan 2016 -2020. Sufficiency of early years places for 3 and 4 year olds is also a statutory duty under the Childcare Act 2006 and 2016. County Council submitted six projects in their bid to the Education Funding Agency (EFA) for early Years Capital funding in August 2016. These were selected using the criteria given by the EFA that would demonstrate an eligible project. The EFA do not guarantee the success of any submitted project, and will notify the early Years Service Manager for Commissioning in December 2016. A key decision will be taken on 15 December 2016 to approve the capital commitment by the Local Authority (if applicable) to meet the minimum 25% contribution to any successful project. Capital commitment is only required for a successful project.

3 For consideration / report introduces members of Scrutiny Committee to the proposed capital projects that have been put forward as part of the local authority bid to the Education Funding Agency (EFA) to contribute to the delivery of 30 hours funded childcare for three and four year olds in Somerset from September local authority will be notified in December 2016 whether or not our bid has been successful and successful bidders will receive grant awards within the 2016/17 financial committee is invited to comment on the individual projects making up the bid and provide scrutiny on the percentage of capital funding committed by the local authority and early years committee is asked to provide feedback on the projects that the local authority should consider funding if the bid is committee is also asked to note that all projects must comply fully with the terms and conditions outlined by the EFA should funding be Childcare Act 2016 discharged a duty on local authorities to provide

4 Sufficient places for the extended entitlement of 30 hours childcare for eligible working parents of 3 and 4 year olds. The government has recognised that capital funding will be required to support the delivery of this offer. Somerset submitted six projects for consideration by the Education Funding Agency on 31 August 2016 using a standard application form designed by the EFA. EFA capital grant will fund 75% of the cost of any successful project bid in Somerset , and expects the project to be completed for September 2017. The local authority has limited capital funds in austere times to take on extra projects past basic need, and can achieve a saving by accessing this capital from the EFA. of interest were sought from the early year s sector; these were advertised through various communication channels and through Schools Forum.

5 Applications were scored against the EFA criteria set out in the application guidance. The six projects put forward scored the highest scores at shortlisting and are most likely to meet the tight timeframe to be ready to deliver 30 hour spaces in September 2017. The final six projects are a combination of both Local Authority led bids and private providers. Deputy Director for Education and Cabinet member for Children and Families authorised the bid application on 11 August 2016. consultation of early years providers and the general public was carried out between May 2016 and July 2016 to identify supply and demand for the 30 hours offer across Somerset . All providers were able to register their interest and be considered if they could meet the EFA criteria. The EFA requirements for the bid process specify that at least 25% of the project cost needs to be provided by a partner or local authority.

6 The total local authority capital contribution for all 6 projects is 347,769. It will be highly unlikely to gain more than one successful bid from the EFA. ProjectTotal Project CostLA contributionEFA contributionProvider contribution1- School based provision Rockwell Green 226,143 57,000 169,143 NIL 2- Private provision Norton Fitzwarren 374,699 40,000 259,699 75,0003- School based provision Wiveliscombe 247,703 61,926 185,777 NIL4- Private provision Taunton 551,372 107,843 413,529 30,0005- Private provision Bridgwater 365,755 NIL 215,755 150,0006- School based provision Neroche 362,123 81,000 271,123 10, potential impact of the projects is detailed in the individual scheme submissions. Each project contributes towards the Local Authority being able to meet a sufficiency duty for 30 hours from September 2017.

7 Must meet the terms and conditions stipulated by the Background A Schedule of projects making up Somerset County Council s bid to the EFA early Years Capital Fund for delivery of 30 hours funded childcare spaces from September early Years Capital Bid Application Part A (submitted to EFA on 31 August 2016). Key Decision taken by the Deputy Director of Education 11 August 2016 Note:For sight of individual background papers please contact the report author