Dorset Childcare Sufficiency Report 2022 2023

We want Dorset to be the best place for children to grow up. We want communities to thrive, and families supported to be the best they can be. We will build on the work of the partnership so far and through the priorities in this plan. We intend to deliver that vision through the Dorset Council Children Young People and Families Plan. We will focus on improving outcomes for all children and young people. We will do this through our 7 priorities:  

1. best start in life  
2. young and thriving 
3. good care provision 
4. best education for all  
5. best place to live 
6. delivering locally 
7. safe at home and in the community  

Section 6 of the Childcare Act (2006) requires all local authorities in England to make sure there is enough registered early years childcare. This is where reasonably practicable. This should be for working parents. It is also for parents studying or training for employment.

Sufficient childcare should be available for children aged 0 to 14 years of age. This will be 18 for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The Childcare Act (2016) extended the 2006 Act to include new early year’s entitlements. Local authorities will deliver this to include the 30 hours offer.  

Our goal is to facilitate a diverse and active market that is flexible to the demand from families. We can break the way that we support the market into 4 stages:  

• understand: we gather information together. This is so that we can better understand what is being delivered throughout Dorset 
• plan: we map out provision and identify where there may be gaps and the size and nature of those gaps  
• do: we will support existing and new providers to set up or expand provision. This will be in areas where gaps have been identified  
• review: we will consider the data. We will work with partners to see how far the gaps are being closed and identify where new gaps are emerging 

Accurately assessing the supply of, and demand for childcare during a pandemic was not possible. The market constantly changed and the reduced demand for childcare has continued. This is according to family circumstances, including financial and employment changes.  

The supply of childcare can also fluctuate due to: 

• staffing changes 
• self-isolation requirements 
• financial sustainability 
• premises restrictions  

because of the pandemic.    

The quality of the supply continues to be above national average. In Dorset, 99% of early years provision judged as good or outstanding by Ofsted.  

• there has been a net decrease of 9 childcare providers since the last Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 
• 82% of eligible children take up their 2-year-old funding entitlement. This is better than national average. 
• 97% of 3- and 4 year olds are accessing their early education funding entitlement. This is better than the national average.  
• there are 74 children in care aged 0-5 years; 24 have a Personal Education Plan. A new digital Early Years Personal Education Plan was rolled out in September. The Virtual Schools Team offer Early years settings training.  
• the quality of early years provision is good. 99% of provision is Ofsted ‘Good or above’. This is better than the national average. 
• since 2020 through the Pandemic, Dorset Council has paid £291,671 in 2 financial years to 55 early years settings. This is to support their sustainability. 13 childminders and 42 group settings received this payment.  
• free consultancy and training has been secured through early years SEND experts, Dingley’s Promise. This is to impact positively on inclusive practice for our youngest children in early years settings. This includes school-managed provision.  
• to support families of children with a SEND we have digitalised the process for settings applying for Early SEND Support funding. This involves the family from the start. It developed the Portage pre-school support offer.  

We conducted a survey advertised in a range of places. We received 387 responses from families who are responsible for almost 700 children. From family responses, we know that the most significant gaps lay in the supply of childcare for babies and wraparound provision. This happens particularly for children with SEND:  

• before school  
• after school  
• during school holidays 

From the parents and carers who responded to the survey we know finding childcare for babies was a particular issue for respondents in Wimborne.   

We also know 21% of respondents (82) report issues with finding out of school provision. They cite their main reason for needing childcare as going to work. The most significant responses received were from:  

• Weymouth  
• Dorchester  
• Wimborne  

Responses also provided evidence of the supply available not always meeting the needs of working parents and carers. This is because of operating hours. Many parents reported needing childcare from 07:30am or after 5:30pm.  

Generally, most families use a group provision (240). The second most used option being friends or relatives. 52 families use a registered childminder.   

65% of respondents considered childcare manageable or very affordable.  

As a result of the childcare sufficiency assessment, we will carry out actions to support out statutory duties in the following areas:  

• early years supply   
• childcare provision for children and young people with SEND  
• workforce development  
• information, advice, and guidance to families  

To support early years supply we will:  

• continue to work with early years providers and schools to increase the availability of wraparound provision. This will be for children aged 0 to 14 (or 18 if they have SEND)   
• work with early years providers and schools to improve information available about wraparound provision for children. This will be for children aged 0 to 14 (or 18 if they have SEND)  
• improve the platform for early years providers to promote their service. This will enable families to search for specific types of childcare. This could be for older children with SEND who need holiday provision  
• support childminders to register for, and advertise their overnight care offer  

To support childcare provision for children and young people with SEND we will:  

• continue to ensure early years providers receive information, advice, and training. This will help them to support children with SEND  
• collaborate with service providers and service users to inform our planning  
• include the expectations of early years settings to access free inclusion training. This will help to increase the number of children with SEND able to access their full early years entitlements  
• monitor the impact of evidence-based interventions ‘WellComm’ and ‘Early Talker Boost’. This will provide additional support and signposting where required  
• undertake a ‘deep dive’ into the journey for early years children with SEND. This will help to identify areas for service and supplier improvement  

To upskill the workforce and support improving outcomes for children we will:  

• address gaps in knowledge and skills of the childcare workforce at a mandatory and advanced level. This is to provide opportunities for continued professional development   
• use data, for example Ages and Stages questionnaires (2-year progress check) to inform continuous professional development plans and the parenting offer in localities  
• ensure the workforce development strategy for early years and childcare professionals reflects the vision to deliver evidence-based interventions with a particular focus on:  

1. speech language and communication needs  
2. phonics  
3. maths skills  
4. attachment  
5. school readiness  
6. themes related to Ofsted inspection actions and recommendations   

To provide information, advice, and guidance to families around childcare choices we will:  

• ensure the Family Information Directory is accurate. It will show all types of early education and childcare provision available in Dorset  
• promote childcare funding streams and childcare options to families. This includes Early Years Pupil Premium funding eligibility

Dorset is a coastal, largely rural county with pockets of deprivation mostly in urban areas. There is also some rural deprivation due to isolation. There is difficulty accessing: 

• housing 
• transport 
• essential services 

The total population of Dorset is 379,791 Office for National Statistics (ONS) June 2021. This includes 74,305 children and young people aged 0-19. This represents 20% of the total population. We have approximately 3,327 children and young people aged 0-19 years with their SEN supported through an education, health, and care (EHC) plan.  

There are 83 different languages spoken in Dorset schools. This is children with a language other than English as a first language.

9.2% of school age children are from black and minority ethnic communities (non-white British). This compares to 36.1% nationally. (January 2022 school census).  

Live births in the Dorset Council area have been steadily dropping since 2012 from 3,296 to 2,697 in 2020. Locality data shows a significant drop in Chesil, Dorchester, and West Dorset. East Dorset shows an increase of 71, North an increase of 29 and Purbeck an increase of 2 children.  

Changes in the population of 0 to 5 year olds are shown below. As a result of this decrease, we can be confident there will be a drop in demand for early years care and education. The number of:  

• 3 to 5 year olds has dropped steadily since a high of 11,230 in 2015 to 10,298 in June 2021  
• 0 to 2 year olds have been dropping steadily from 10,190 in 2010 to 8,728 in June 2021  

Supply of childcare  

This section summarises our analysis of the market position. The supply of childcare can vary in different areas. Most early years and childcare providers advertise through our Family Information Directory.  

There are 282 Ofsted (Ofsted registration data August 2022) registered early years providers. They offer a total of 6,449 full-time equivalent childcare places consisting of:   

• 138 childminders   
• 2 childcare on domestic premises   
• 142 group providers including 2 Dorset Council nurseries   
• 24 home childcarers (nannies)   

In addition, there are:   

• 36 early years settings managed by schools and academies under the school Ofsted registration. This takes the total early years provision to 375  
• a further 48 settings offering wraparound provision. This is as part of their existing early years registration  
• 149 wraparound providers advertising on the Dorset Family Information Directory:  
• 63 breakfast clubs,  
• 52 after-school clubs  
• 34 holiday clubs  

The Holiday activity and food programme (HAF) is part of our wraparound provision for children and young people of school age. There are almost 60 providers across the county area.  

The take-up of funded early education in Dorset is higher than average. If we compare to statistical neighbours, the South West and England. 97% of our eligible children are accessing this entitlement at a good or outstanding setting.   

We used a variety of methods to seek the views of parents and carers of children with SEND who may use childcare such as:   

• the Dorset online SEND newsletter  
• collaboration with the Dorset Parent Carer Council (DPCC)  
• targeted social media posts with relevant SEND organisations in Dorset   

Family survey responses were around 50% less than the previous assessment survey. 387 responses gave only a representation of family views.  From those responses, we know that the most significant gaps lay in the supply of childcare for babies and wraparound provision. This is particularly for children with special educational needs and/or a disability:  

• before school  
• after school  
• during school holidays  

We are incorporating these findings into our support for early years and childcare settings.
 

There are clear priorities to improve the outcomes for children and young people in Dorset. This links to sufficiency of childcare for children and young people aged 0 to 14, or 18 if they have SEND.    

 We want to make sure we support early years settings to deliver the ‘Best Start in Life’ and ‘Best Education for All’. This is in the Children, Young People and Families Plan 2020-23.  

We want to close the 1% gap to ensure 100% of Dorset early years and childcare provision is judged Ofsted ‘Good or above’. 

 To deliver these ambitions from 1 September 2020 we introduced ‘Dorset Children Thrive’ as Dorset Council’s new model. This is for delivering Children’s Services in Dorset. The model brings together many services and support for children and families. It provides 6 integrated locality teams across Dorset. We support these teams by a central team of specialist services:    

• Chesil  
• Dorchester  
• East Dorset  
• North Dorset  
• Purbeck  
• West Dorset