Primary education services

Tender description

Caerphilly CBC (Council) has established an arrangement to deliver childcare places, within the non-maintained sector. For the purpose of this arrangement, the term ‘childcare provision’ will be used for the non-maintained sector including Playgroups, Cylchoedd Meithrin, Day Nurseries, Childminders, Out of School provision in both Welsh medium and English medium, including Wrap around, before and after school and holiday provision. In line with the original terms and conditions of the arrangement The Council has re opened the arrangement for any new childcare providers to apply to join or existing childcare providers to apply for further lots within the arrangement as set out within the ITT. Service providers may bid for one or multiple lots. The 4 lots are detailed below: Lot 1: Early Years Education; Lot 2: Flying Start childcare; Lot 3: N/a; Lot 4: Assisted and Supported Places. In accordance with Welsh Government guidance, Caerphilly County Borough Council offers every child, whose parent want it, a free part-time early years education place within an approved setting, from the term following their third birthday. An approved setting could be a ‘maintained’ setting, i.e. a nursery class in a school, or a ‘non-maintained’ setting, which could be an English or Welsh medium playgroup, a private day nursery or a childminder who is part of a quality assured childminding system. All non-maintained settings must be named in the Council’s early years plan, and must therefore be registered with the Councils early years service to offer early years education. This service is funded by the Welsh Government. Settings are to provide a minimum of 10 hours of education provision over 4-5 days per week, for 26 weeks a year (spring and summer terms), for no more than one session per day in respect of any one child. The purpose of the flying start programme is to support families to give children the best start in life; offer improved child opportunities through high quality registered childcare and universal parenting support programmes, such as, Early language development; and improve engagement of families with flying start opportunities by offering local services based within flying start communities. The flying start programme is Welsh Government funded. The flying start childcare provision will be provided for children who live in the flying start postcode catchment areas from the term after their second birthday until the term of their third birthday, to enable smooth transition into their rising 3 place in early years education. Welsh Government flying start guidance states that childcare is required to run 5 days for 2,5 hours a day for 39 weeks a year (term time) with some Council and setting discretion for flexibility where parents are attending training or working. Settings should be able to offer some flexibility for no more than 2 sessions per day, but this arrangement is exceptional and must be agreed by the Council in advance of the offer being made to the family. Any arrangements made without prior Council approval of placement, will be the responsibility of the setting to finance. The early years service area of the Council operates an assisted places scheme, for children who have emerging needs or disabilities and are referred for a placement into a childcare setting, one or two terms dependent upon need, this will be determined by referral information. The purpose of the scheme is to support the improvement in the welfare or quality of life of the child by providing access to quality childcare placements to support a child’s development and to address a child’s needs. The scheme will pay for the parental fees for individual children to access childcare provision where other funding (e.g. early years education or childcare offer for wales or flying start funding), is not available. An additional element of Lot 4 is the supported places scheme. Community based childcare settings can be funded to employ an extra member of staff to support children who require additional support in order to attend and access learning opportunities. The funding will be part of the assisted places scheme identified by the ISCAN multi agency team of professionals, including educational psychologists. Children accessing this scheme will not necessarily be accessing an assisted place, but will have to be observed and assessed by Council officers to determine the need and level of support required.