This week the Labour party has held its Annual Conference in Liverpool attended by PACEY’s chief executive, Helen Donohoe. At the conference, the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson described a “new era of child-centred government” and outlined some of Labour’s plans for early education and childcare.
School-based nurseries: As reported by The Guardian this morning, Labour has pledged to open 300 new or expanded state nurseries in England. Schools will be able to start bidding for funding next month, with the funding allocated next Spring. PVI providers will be able to work with schools as part of this policy. PACEY awaits more details from the Government about how childminders will fit into these plans, and will update members when we know more.
Free primary school breakfast clubs: The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves announced on Monday that up to 750 primary schools will start delivering free breakfast clubs beginning from April 2025. This will be a pilot program between April – July 2025 before any national rollout takes place. The government has promised to “work with the sector, including local authorities and childcare providers, businesses and charities to consider the best approaches to delivering breakfast clubs in schools.”
PACEY will continue to work closely with the Department for Education to ensure that registered childminders are involved in all remits of early education and childcare policy.
Helen Donohoe, Chief Executive at PACEY attended the conference and said:
“Listening to the Secretary of State’s speech today I was delighted to hear once again that early education is a key priority for our new government, and I welcome the announcements on expanding provision, particularly in areas of disadvantage. But this must of course be part of a wider, long-term strategy that addresses the embedded structural and funding issues that we have, with urgent action to grow the workforce including registered childminders.”
New PACEY childminder survey: Help us represent you!
PACEY is inviting registered childminders in England to take our latest survey to help us lobby for increased government support and ensure you are represented in policy plans. The survey will only take around 5 minutes to complete. It’s open to PACEY members and non-members so please share it with your childminding networks!
