Early Years

Tender description

The Government launched the 30 hour free childcare initiative in September 2017. This enables eligible parents to access 15 hours additional childcare on top of their universal entitlement of 15 hours for all children. In order to support Local Authority (LA) with the first year of delivery, and to enable them to support their providers to deliver sufficient 30 hours places, the Department for Education awarded local authorities a grant to implement work that directly benefits 30 hours delivery and will create (directly or indirectly) new 30 hours places for the 2018 summer term, and beyond. Surveys have shown us that parents primarily access childcare information via ‘word of mouth’. Therefore, we aim to work in conjunction with voluntary and community sector organisations to host, recruit, and train volunteers as Childcare Champions. We would like this outreach project to target families, who do not traditionally access their childcare entitlements (parents, including those with children with a Special Educational Needs requirement (SEND)and BAME (Black, Asian, Ethnic Minority groups), moreover improving their choice and access to employment and social mobility. We will also improve parental access to Disability Access Fund and accessibility to suitable childcare for children with SEND. In conjunction with the LA this initiative will aim to increase the knowledge and confidence of volunteers within a variety of organisations, to assist and support parents with their childcare choices, to understand and navigate the childcare benefit system, so that parents feel better informed and enabled to choose suitable quality childcare. Keywords: Training, Early Years, Children, Parent engagement