27th April

Underfunding will see early years suffer, cautions NUT
Insufficient funding for free nursery education will lead to an increase in less qualified early years staff, the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) has warned.

Early Years Single Funding Formula has put more pressure on early years teachers’ workload, according to NUT's Christine Blower.

Speaking during the NUT annual conference, Christine Blower said that the extension of free nursery education for three- and four-year-olds had not been accompanied by sufficient funding.

She criticised government for "simply expecting teachers to work longer" and said that teachers should not be exploited.

"Early years teachers were simply expected to work longer, even when they taught two separate groups of children during the day," she said. "This meant that many had few or no breaks and no time to do any of their other essential duties, such as talk to parents and children."

Blower said the introduction of the Early Years Single Funding Formula had caused a loss of income in some settings, causing reductions in staff numbers and more pressure on early years teachers’ workload.

"The NUT is concerned that a reduction in funding will lead to an increased use of less qualified staff," she said. "This will have a significant negative impact on the quality of the teaching and learning for children. It is essential that this issue is addressed.

"We know that the quality of early years care has a huge impact on the future development of children, particularly those from less advantaged backgrounds. Blatant cost cutting today will prove expensive in the long run as children’s education suffers."

source: Janaki Mahadevan, Children & Young People Now

26th April

Daycare Trust in merger talks with NAFIS
Childcare charity Daycare Trust is set to merge with the National Association of Family Information Services (NAFIS).

Anand Shukla: move will also help the trust's efforts to ensure parents are well informed about local services.

Both organisations have confirmed merger talks are under way and Nafis will be recommending its membership approve the move at an extraordinary general meeting taking place on 16 May.

Carole Barnes, chair of NAFIS, said the merger would give a stronger national voice to the network of local family information services it represents.

She said: "Daycare Trust is a well-established charity with strong profile and reputation. The proposed merger will help to ensure that family information services across the country are given the strongest voice possible."

Under the proposed deal NAFIS membership will still be available separately and the branding for NAFIS and its quality assurance scheme Families will continue.

Anand Shukla, acting chief executive of Daycare Trust, said the move will also help its efforts to ensure parents and families are well informed about local services.

He said "Daycare Trust has a history of working closely with NAFIS, and we are excited by this opportunity to unite our organisations behind common goals and principles."

source: Joe Lepper, Children & Young People Now

18th April

Education charities' concern over school entry changes
Proposed changes to school admissions procedures could make the system less fair, education charities have said.

They agree change is needed but fear safeguards that ensure fairness, such as the powers of adjudicators and local scrutiny forums, will be eroded.

The Advisory Centre for Education said the changes could lead to a "watered down code".

The government said the simplified code would be fair while making admissions easier for schools and parents.

At present, a detailed code prevents schools cherry-picking the brightest or wealthiest pupils.

About one in five children applying to state secondary schools in England do not get their first choice.

However, complex admission criteria can be used such as a child's religion, how far they live from a school or if they have siblings already attending.

Sam Murray, of ACE said there were fears the changes would lead to a "watered down code"

Ministers want to simplify what they describe as confusing procedures, and a draft paper is due to be published.

Schools adjudicators, who ensure admission policies are legal, have found schools breaking the code in around half the cases looked at, and can force schools to alter their admissions policies.

Charities fear that could change under the government's plans.

Sam Murray of the Advisory Centre for Education is concerned simplifying the code might water it down, meaning recent changes that have made the system fairer and more transparent might be lost.

"In effect the simplified code could be at the expense of fairness," she said.

Curbing the adjudicators' powers and reducing local scrutiny are among the changes expected, but some groups want the process simplified even further.

Professor Sheila Lawlor, of the Politeia think tank, said: "It's a step in the right direction.

"I welcome driving the process down to school and parents - that is where it needs to be, but it needs to go further.

"We need to take local authorities out of the admission procedures so parents can apply directly to the school, so they make that decision in concert with the teachers of that school - that's what matters."

The government said its reforms would bring higher standards and better choice.

A spokesman said: "We want to improve discipline, give greater freedom to heads, attract the best graduates to teaching, expand academies, set up new schools and we will not hesitate to step in to turn around weak schools.

"Only when every school is considered a good school will we start to remove the anxiety parents suffer when choosing a school for their child."

source: BBC News

MPs recommend Ofsted split
Ofsted should be split into two new organisations covering education and children's care, an influential group of MPs has recommended.

Committee members believe split would raise confidence that inspections are carried out by inspectors with relevant training and experience

A report by the education select committee on the role and performance of Ofsted says a single children’s inspectorate is too big to function effectively and needs greater elements of specialism to give people increased confidence in inspections.

The split would raise confidence that inspections in any setting are carried out by inspectors with relevant training and experience, the report claims.

It also calls for the creation of two new positions within the Department for Education – a "chief education officer" and a "chief children’s care officer".

In addition, it recommends that more school inspectors should be currently serving practitioners and that the DfE states clearly its plans for the direction of Ofsted’s non-schools remit.

Graham Stuart MP, chairman of the committee, said: "Ofsted’s reach is vast and its remit has grown substantially since its inception, but this has come at the expense of providing a more specialised service.

"We need a radical shift in how inspection operates in this country, with a more proportionate, specialist and focused approach. Ofsted has, of course, made a great impact on the quality of provision across the country, but the evidence clearly shows that smaller, more focused organisations could do even more so."

NAHT general secretary Russell Hobby said many of the concerns of school leaders are captured in the findings.

"A good inspection system is in the interest of schools as well as pupils and parents. Implementation of the findings of the report would take us one step closer to this," he said.

"We would encourage the government to build on the direction of travel set out in the report and end the reliance on crude attainment measures."

Nansi Ellis, head of education policy at the Association of Teachers & Lecturers (ATL), said the select committee’s report "doesn’t go far enough", as it presents compelling evidence that Ofsted’s school inspections should end.

"The question now is whether the government will act upon the evidence in this report," she said.

"Rather than fiddling with its framework, the government should initiate a full independent review of Ofsted and the whole accountability system."

Ofsted chief inspector Christine Gilbert said any proposals for further reorganisation need to be carefully considered.

"There are issues about additional costs and a risk of distraction from the core business — namely continuing to deliver high-quality, rigorous inspection that helps to drive up standards for children and learners everywhere.

"There are many constructive suggestions and observations contained in the report and we will now consider these in detail to continue to improve our work."

source: Neil Puffett, Children & Young People Now

12th April

Extra holidays will put pressure on parents' finances
The extended Easter break is set to cost parents and carers an average of £267 per child in childcare and entertainment costs, a study has found.

Extended Easter break is set to cost parents £100 per child on average in childcare costs.

The back-to-back bank holidays following the Easter break are causing one in 10 parents concern over the additional costs of looking after a child, according to the poll of more than 500 parents by insurance company LV=.

Analysis conducted by the Centre of Economic and Business Research for the company also showed that the extended Easter break is set to cost parents £100 per child on average in childcare costs and £167 per child in activities.

Mark Jones, the company’s head of protection, said: "With an average 13 weeks of school holidays a year, parents will feel pressured to find the cash to keep their kids entertained, and keep boredom at bay.

"All parents know that days out aren’t the cheapest option especially once you add travel costs, food and drink to the entrance fee for many attractions."

One in 10 respondents said they will be relying on family, including grandparents, to look after their children at no cost. But even without the cost of childcare, 93 per cent said they will spend money occupying children over the holidays with activities such as trips to the cinema and visiting family and friends.

source: Janaki Mahadevan, Children & Young People Now

7th April

Parents need comparison website for childcare providers, says think-tank
The government should set up a comparison website for childcare providers to drive-up quality and engage parents, a think-tank has said.

The IPPR's call for a comparison site for childcare providers has raised concerns from the National Day Nurseries Association. Image: Becky Nixon

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said parents need to be able to go online and provide feedback and user satisfaction levels for other families to be able to choose the best local providers.

The call comes on the back of research conducted by IPPR which questioned 104 low-income parents from across the UK in a series of workshops. The aim of the research was to identify parents who do not normally access early years provision and who live in poverty or are at risk of falling into poverty.

Nick Pearce, IPPR director, said: "Parents need to know before they send their children to a nursery whether other parents think it is any good. One of the best ways to drive up the quality of nurseries and other childcare providers is to have a national website where parents can rate them."

He added that a national site for parents would build on Ofsted ratings and parenting websites such as Mumsnet.

But Claire Schofield, policy director at the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said while it is important for parents to access information, visiting a nursery is the best way to see if it suits them.

"It is important that parents can access information about childcare options and local authorities still have a duty to provide this," Schofield said. "It is important that parents recognise that childcare is unique and while the views of other parents are of course helpful, different nurseries will suit different children.

"NDNA would be concerned if such a website worked in the same way as a price comparison website that ranks services according to cost. Parents really need to understand the huge variety of factors that go into the cost of a nursery, and it would be extremely difficult to give an accurate indication when many nurseries operate a ‘sliding scale’ according to usage and discounts for siblings.

"It is important to look at how we can ensure the existing sources of advice can be enhanced so that parents can access information that is unbiased and helps them understand how they can make the right choice for their child."

source: Janaki Mahadevan, Children & Young People Now

6th April

New tax year and changes to your benefits
Few people will consider it a cause for celebration - but 6 April marks the start of the new tax year.

This coincides with a series of changes to taxes, some benefit entitlements, and rights for employees.

Some suggest that these changes will show the impact of the government's austerity measures.

Ministers argue that the changes are needed to tackle the deficit and to improve the entitlements system.

Tax changes

Changes to the thresholds in the income tax system will push thousands of people into new tax bands.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) estimates that 500,000 people will no longer pay income tax because the point at which any income tax starts to be paid - known as the personal allowance - has risen by £1,000 to £7,475.

But the IFS also estimates that 750,000 people have become higher rate taxpayers, because the basic rate limit has fallen from £37,401 to £35,001.

A long-term plan from the previous government means the main rate at which National Insurance is charged is going up. This employee contribution rate for those who qualify is rising from 11% to 12%.

Key entitlements for 2011

• State pension: £102.15
• Carer's allowance: £55.55
• Statutory maternity pay: £128.73

Changes made 11 April 2011. Each is per week.

Those who must pay a contribution over the upper earnings limit, estimated as those earning more than £817 a week, will see that rise from 1% to 2%.

A new stamp duty rate of 5% will be charged on residential property purchases of more than £1m. This is expected to relate to 1% of housing transactions.

For those who have furnished holiday lettings, new tax rules mean losses cannot be offset against other income in the same tax year.

For businesses, the 2% reduction in corporation tax came into effect at the start of April, with future falls announced in Chancellor George Osborne's Budget.

Benefits

The annual increase in the state pension, as well as benefit entitlements, will actually kick in on Monday, 11 April.

The uprating of entitlements is aimed at accounting for the effects of inflation, so there are a host of new benefits where payments will rise.

However, the measure used to judge how much these entitlements increase by is changing, and is not uniform across all pensions and benefits.

How your benefits will change
Type of benefit	Previous method of annual increase in April	New method of annual increase in April 2011
Jobseeker's Allowance, Income Support, Housing Benefit, and other income-related benefits	The Rossi index of inflation - which does not include housing costs, rent and council tax - in September	Consumer Prices Index (CPI) in September 2010: 3.1%
Disability Living Allowance, Carer's Allowance and other non income-related benefits	Retail Prices Index (RPI) in September	Consumer Prices Index (CPI) in September 2010: 3.1%
State pension	Retail Prices Index (RPI) or 2.5%, whichever is higher in September	Retail Prices Index (RPI) in September 2010: 4.6% (this method will change in subsequent years)
Tax credits and public sector pensions	Retail Prices Index (RPI) in September	Consumer Prices Index (CPI) in September 2010: 3.1%

So, the basic state pension will increase by £4.50 to £102.15. This is because it is linked to the Retail Prices Index measure of inflation the previous September, which was 4.6%.

From now on, it will rise each year in line with average earnings, the Consumer Prices Index measure of inflation, or 2.5%; whichever is highest.

The majority of working age benefits will increase by 3.1% on 11 April. That is because these benefits are already linked to the CPI rate of inflation from the previous September.

On 1 April, the first element of changes to housing benefit came into force. This affected new claimants, with existing claimants' entitlements changing later in the year or in subsequent years.

Other pensions

A new reduced annual allowance for tax-free pension saving is now in place.

Pension contributions that qualify for tax relief will be reduced to an annual allowance of £50,000 instead of the previous limit of £255,000.

New rules from 6 April also mean a change to converting pension pots into income.

These include the end of the effective compulsion to buy an annuity by the age of 75.

Existing pension drawdown arrangements have also changed, which gives investors more flexibility and control over their pension options when they retire.

Tax credits and families

Some of the most controversial changes that have come into force from 6 April are changes to the thresholds in the tax credits system.

These are complex but will ultimately see payments reduce faster as income rises.

Tax relief for employer-supported childcare is no longer available to new claimants who are high-earners.

Universal child benefit is now frozen for three years, at £20.30 for a first or only child and £13.40 for each other child.

Savings

The limit for saving in a tax-free Individual Savings Account (Isa) has risen to £10,680, of which half can be saved in cash.

The total amount, which has risen from £10,200, can be invested in a stocks and shares Isa.

In the future, the limit will rise each April in line with the RPI measure of inflation.

Rights for parents

New paternity leave rules, meaning that parents will be legally entitled to share time off work during their baby's first year, came into effect on 3 April.

The new rules mean parents could take six months off work each.

Additional paternity leave (APL) will allow an employee to take up to 26 weeks' leave to care for the child, on top of two weeks of ordinary paternity leave.

This can only be taken 20 or more weeks after the child's birth or placement for adoption, and once the mother has returned to work from statutory maternity or adoption leave or ended her entitlement.

source: Kevin Peachy, BBC News

5th April

Disability Living Allowance to be replaced with new benefit
Disabled people will continue to be able to rely on a non-means tested cash benefit as Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is replaced with a new Personal Independence Payment. 

The new benefit will continue to help disabled people live independent lives and will for the first time include regular reassessments to ensure that people are getting the right level of support when they need it most.

This follows one of the biggest ever consultations at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) with more than 5500 responses from disabled people and disability organisations.

Responding to the consultation today, Maria Miller, Minister for Disabled People said:

"Disabled people are at the heart of our welfare reform plans and severely disabled people who need extra help and support will always get it.  That’s why we have spent the last few months working closely with disabled people and disability organisations to make sure we are making the right changes to DLA.

"We’ve listened to what they have told us and we will be working with them to make sure that the new Personal Independence Payment does what it should.

"We have also said that we won’t remove the mobility component from care home residents in 2012 and instead we are reviewing the mobility component as part of our wider reforms of DLA."

• DLA is paid to help people who cannot do things like walk or wash and dress themselves.
• It provides a contribution to the extra costs severely disabled people incur.
• DLA is claimed by 3.2 million people at an annual cost of £12bn.
• Currently more than 2 million people get the benefit indefinitely which means there is no way of knowing if their condition has changed or if they actually need more help and support.
• Nearly a quarter of all working age people on DLA have not had any review of their claim in 10 years.

The Personal Independence Payment can be claimed by disabled people whether they work or not. It will also:

• Introduce a more objective assessment of need, which will be developed with the help of disability organisations and disabled people
• Allow disabled people to be reassessed over time – something that is lacking in the current system - to ensure everyone receives the correct support if their needs change.

source: Department for Work and Pensions

Funding formula fails nurseries as losses rise
Rising costs coupled with reduced funding are putting nurseries under increasing strain as they try to lighten the financial burden of childcare for low to middle-income families.

The National Day Nursery Association (NDNA) has said hidden problems with the administration of the Early Years Single Funding Formula (EYSFF) and cuts to funding for early years professionals (EYPs) has left nurseries reeling as they try to freeze or keep costs low for parents.

According to NDNA research, settings are losing an average of 98 pence per child per hour in funding because of the formula, which equates to a £22,000 loss for a nursery with 40 children.

Purnima Tanuku, NDNA chief executive said: "NDNA is concerned that providers in some areas are reporting that the EYSFF has not produced a rate more reflective of costs and in some cases providers are actually facing a decrease," she said. "NDNA is urging nurseries to work with their local authority to ensure that they can understand what the new early intervention grant contains and apply for support."

Another pressure is the increase in low to middle-income parents wanting flexible and part-time hours as they try to manage more informal care, leaving gaps in nurseries.

Joanne Jump is director of two nurseries in Lancashire, one of which serves a deprived community attached to a phase one children's centre. She said: "A lot of the low-income parents are having hours reduced at work or completely losing their jobs.

"Parents are also questioning their invoices and saying they are not paying for services if they don't use it one week. Other parents will reduce days but want more days the week after depending on what shifts they get - you can't run a business like that."

Money for training and EYPs has been absorbed into councils' unringfenced early intervention grants, leaving nurseries with insufficient funds to pay for professional development and highly qualified staff.

Coventry nursery manager Claire Richmond said: "We have just recruited an EYP and while I agree the commitment should be there for a graduate-led workforce, the commitment to fund it should also be there."

While many parents who use her nursery don't qualify for benefits, they are still struggling to pay fees.

"As a nursery in a middle-class area we are finding that among the parents who use the nursery there have been quite a few redundancies. They don't want to lose their place so get in debt trying to pay fees without a job. Over the past year we have had to deal with £20,000 in bad debt and we know we are not going to get that back."

source: Janaki Mahadevan, Children & Young People Now

4th April

Better take-up of free entitlement needed to improve social mobility, says IPPR
The take-up and quality of the free entitlement to early years education and childcare must be improved for greater social mobility to be achieved, a think tank has claimed.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has made the call ahead of the publication of the government’s social mobility strategy, which is expected to be unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg tomorrow (5 April).

In the report Parents at the Centre, due to be published on Wednesday, IPPR will argue that many low-income parents will not use their free entitlement without encouragement, in particular those with two-year-olds.

Nick Pearce, IPPR director, said: "Expanding early years provision is an important objective but will only increase social mobility if the places are of high quality and parents take them up. Otherwise the money will be largely wasted."

To encourage take-up of free early education, the think tank will recommend that outreach workers should be protected from local authority spending cuts and that low-income parents be given payments on condition that their child attends free early years education.

To drive up standards, IPPR is expected to suggest that all early learning for two-year-olds in disadvantaged areas be delivered by a graduate-led provider.

source: Janaki Mahadevan, Children & Young People Now

1st April

Experts call for more action on eating disorders in younger children
Urgent action is needed to improve the detection of eating disorders in children aged five to 13, experts from University College London Institute of Child Health have said.

According to research conducted by a team at the institute, early-onset eating disorders affect around three in every 100,000 children under the age of 13 in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Using the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit and a new system developed by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, 208 cases of early-onset eating disorders were confirmed over a 14-month period. Of the children diagnosed with eating disorders, 50 per cent were admitted to hospital for treatment.

Lead researcher Dr Dasha Nicholls, a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, said: "It is too early to say if there has been a rise in the numbers of children with eating disorders in recent years, but we hope our research can be used as a baseline from which to monitor future trends.

"Unfortunately, many eating disorder services are aimed specifically at adolescents. Childhood eating disorders are not quick or easy to treat. For a minority of children it may be the start of a severe and enduring illness, with death rates comparable to some forms of leukaemia. Our study shows there is an urgent need to consider the needs of children with eating disorders separately — and not simply lower the age range of existing adolescent services."

Most of the 208 children were girls (82 per cent). In total, 37 per cent of the children were diagnosed with anorexia, 43 per cent were classified as having an unspecified eating disorder, one per cent suffered from bulimia while the remaining 19 per cent had symptoms of food avoidance, but did not have a preoccupation with their weight or shape.

source: Janaki Mahadevan, Children & Young People Now

Future of careers advice 'could be online-only'
The government is considering making its new all-age careers service an online-only facility, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders has revealed.

Speaking at a national conference on the future of information, advice and guidance (IAG) services for young people, Brian Lightman urged the government not to turn away from offering face-to-face careers advice for young people.

"There is so much uncertainty. At the moment the all-age careers service is looking like an all-age website and telephone service, and at best an all-age franchise," he said. "That is not the way to structure this really important area of activity."

Lightman warned that schools and colleges are in the dark about the future of IAG.

"Schools and colleges desperately need more information from the government," he explained. "We have persuaded skills minister John Hayes to write to schools about what is actually happening but I’m afraid a lot of it hasn’t been decided yet."

He called on government to set out a coherent plan for careers advice in schools, rather than leaving everything to local determination.

"It is quite clear from what we’re hearing from government that it’s going to be down to institutions to decide what they want to do," he said.

"There is a danger that autonomy can go too far and lead to fragmentation. We think this needs some co-ordination."

On the government decision to make careers education optional, Lightman warned that the effectiveness of careers advice would suffer.

"We think careers education is really important and you can only provide careers guidance in the context of a careers education programme," he said. "Our advice to members is to continue those programmes."

source: Lauren Higgs, Children & Young People Now