Agenda item

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Children and Family Services which provided an overview of the work taking place across the county to support children in their early years.  A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 9’ is filed with these minutes.

Arising from the discussion, the following comments were raised:

i)             In response to a query around financial pressures, the difficulties being faced by providers through the take up of free early education entitlement (FEEE) was highlighted.  It was noted that it was becoming more difficult to balance budgets, partly due to the significant on-costs providers were faced with.  It was also stated that providers were having to promote the use of FEEE in order to attract parents to use their provision.

ii)            Concern was raised by a member that there was the danger of those not using FEEE effectively subsidising the children under the scheme or providers refusing to accept children as it would not be financially viable.  It was acknowledged that the amount of money the government provided per hour for FEEE children in Leicestershire did not always cover the cost per hour for the sector to deliver what was required.  The money from fee paying parents was not being used to subsidise the scheme, but providers were concerned that they would not be able to afford to deliver the free education entitlement.  It appeared that there hadn’t been a significant element of turning children away from provision in Leicestershire, but the funding levels did not support the funding requirements for the early years sector.

iii)           There had been a significant rise in the number of referrals made to the Early Years SEND advisors.  There was now a much better understanding of SEND issues and services were now aligned to better respond to demand.  However, there was still an issue with the number of referrals.  A SEND Board now existed, which gave parents the opportunity to express their views, and an example was given of a positive outcome as a result of intensive support from the team.

iv)           The Committee was pleased to note that the Early Years Autism Team would broaden its remit to better support those children who had not yet been diagnosed but had an identified need relating to social communication and sensory processing.  A review of the Early Years Childcare Service had been undertaken and brought in the 0-5 specialist teaching service, a component of which was staff who were skilled in working with children with autism.  The diagnosis of autism was not as prevalent in the 0-5 age group but the decision had been to look at the skill set of this service and develop a more responsive approach.  Young people would be identified through an assessment undertaken at the setting they were in and through conversations with parents and families.  The aim was to remove the barrier of having a ‘label’ as a result of a diagnosis from health.  In terms of working with the young children, the special needs teaching service skill set was being spread across a wide range of staff and if a child did arrive in a setting with a ‘label’ the staff would be ready to work with them.  It was currently unknown whether this would have an impact on the number of children who would be electively home educated, but there was greater vigilance in the system to better respond to the children who were known to the Inclusion Service.

v)            It was highlighted that 72% of eligible two year olds had taken up the FEEE and of these, 96% accessed good and outstanding provision.  Departmental casework management provided an oversight of performance in all areas of the service and there was confidence that there was sufficiency to highlight any concerns around providers.

The Committee thanked the staff for the work undertaken in this area and was satisfied that things were moving in the right direction.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.