Looking for an activity theme over the next few months? How about focusing on space to celebrate the European Space Agency’s (ESA) six month ‘Principia’ mission. The mission began in December... ...
BANDNews back issues: Rates Boost Childcare Equality?
From MAY 2017
Anew report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) suggests that the governments’ proposal to allow local authorities to retain 100% of their Business Rates could help tackle inequality of access to childcare.
Although the report acknowledges that sufficiency of high-quality, flexible childcare is an issue across the country, it focuses on London which it says faces unique challenges in terms of affordability, inequity and undersupply: there are only 32 childcare places for every 100 children under five.
As a result of these factors, London’s maternal employment is the lowest of any region in the UK with 40% of unemployed mothers saying that childcare is a key barrier to getting a job. Low maternal employment is a key driver of child poverty with associated impact on the development, health and wellbeing of children, it also suppresses regional and national economic growth.
The report claims that £1.43 billion of annual public funding for childcare in London is spent in messy, complex ways and delivers poor value for money. Thethree main forms of funding (in-kind support such as free childcare places, income top-ups such as tax credits, and direct local authority funding such as funding for Sure Start children’s centres and free or subsidised nursery schools) are a mix of supply-side and demand-side funding, which is handled by four different government departments before reaching parents and LAs. IPPR proposes a single supply-side funded grant for childcare providers in London to replace the current complex array of income top-ups, grants and in-kind support.
So could this system work for Bristol and other areas of the country? Key to the whole discussion is whether the 100% Business Rate Retention proposal makes it onto the statute books of the government. It’s possible there could be huge winners and losers with such a proposal, since some areas are able to generate far more in Business Rates than others.
While many may see this as a windfall for local authorities in reality replacing much central government funding with their own Business Rates would leave authorities with a huge list of services to directly fund, with childcare trying to fight it’s way to the top of that list.
FFi: http://www.ippr.org/publications/the-future-of-childcare-in-london
Read more from BAND News...
BANDNews-Back issues: Short Changed?
BANDNews-Back issues: Short Changed? From MAY 2017 A lthough the national minimum wage and living wage levels increased in April, research by the DfE in 2016 and more recently by the Family... ...
BANDNews-Back issues: Rates Boost Childcare Equality?
BANDNews back issues: Rates Boost Childcare Equality? From MAY 2017 Anew report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) suggests that the governments’ proposal to allow local authorities to retain 100%... ...
BANDNews-Back issues: Movement in Mind
BANDNews-Back issues: Movement in Mind From MAY 2017 In recent years, we’ve heard a lot about the importance of playing outside and being able to run around for children’s development. Further neuroscience... ...
BANDNews – Back issues: Building Relationships Across Generations
Building Relationships Across Generations May 2017 Becket Hall Day Nursery and Osbourne Court Care Home have entered into an unusual partnership; for the last 5 months, a group of children from the... ...
BANDNews – Back issues: A Grand Day Out
A Grand Day Out From JULY 17 So many places to go, how can you make sure your playscheme trip goes really well? The first question to ask is what are the... ...
BANDNews-Back Issues: Lockdown Procedure
Lockdown Procedure From JULY 17 Does your setting have a robust and tested Lockdown Procedure? We recommend all settings consider having a Lockdown Procedures as a sensible response to any external or... ...
BANDNEWS – BACK ISSUES: Learning from the death of four year old Chadrack Mulo
Learning from the death of four year old Chadrack Mulo What should we do when a child has an un-notified absence? From JULY 17 Chadrack Mulo was a four year old boy... ...
BANDNEWS – BACK ISSUES: Cooking Corner: Ice Cream in a Bag
BAND NEWS – BACK ISSUES: Cooking Corner: Ice Cream in a Bag From JULY 17 When summer comes, the days will be hot and balmy and we will all be longing for... ...
BANDNews-Back Issues: Safeguarding Bristol’s Children
Safeguarding Bristol’s Children From 2017 In September, Bristol Safeguarding Children Board (BSCB) issued new guidance around making referrals to First Response that all childcare and school settings should have received. First Response... ...
BAND newsletter
This article is taken from BAND News - our Newsletter which BAND members receive 6 times a year.
To read more BAND news articles like this click here.
