Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2023/24

1. Introduction & Legal Duty

What is the childcare sufficiency duty?

The Childcare Act 2006, Section 6 places a statutory duty on English local authorities to ensure that there are enough childcare places available for families who wish to access them. The Childcare Act 2006 gives local authorities a role in shaping the childcare market. The local authority is committed to working with providers from across the childcare sector. This is to create a strong, sustainable, and diverse childcare market that meets the needs of families and supports children’s learning through the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

2. Our Context

Our Think2 take up remains above National and West Midlands, but under some of our statistical neighbours.

• Nationally there has been a fall of 4.5% in the number of childcare providers. In the West Midlands it was 4.4% and in Staffordshire a 3.2% fall.
• Nationally there continues to be a fall in childminders. In 2022-2023 nationally there was a fall of 10% in the West Midlands 8% and in Staffordshire 4%
• Nationally 21% of providers have reduced places due to staffing issues. In Staffordshire 12% of providers have reduced places permanently and another 9% were considering this option.
• In Summer 2023 the % of children reaching the good level of development nationally was 67.2% and in Staffordshire was 68.8%
• In 2023 the % of settings who had a good or outstanding Ofsted inspection was 97% in line with inspection outcomes nationally.

3. Vision & Outcomes

To provide a consistent, high-quality service which responds to the unique needs of early years children and their families, ensuring the best start in life for all.

• All children can access consistent, high-quality childcare that meets families’ needs
• Sufficient childcare places are available following the full roll-out of the expansion of funded childcare
• Parents are fully informed and have a good understanding of their childcare eligibility options
• Partners feel confident to support families to access childcare places
• Settings feel valued, listened to, and can access the support and information they require

4. Our Priorities

Ensure that sufficient childcare places are created to ensure that children and parents can access funded childcare, following the expansion of eligibility for working parents
Actions:

• Monitor sufficiency and sustainability of high-quality early education places in areas of greatest need for working parents, taking into account the requirement for additional places.
• Increase places in line with demand and allocate capital funding to providers, particularly to create places for children aged two and under.
• Develop strategies to support the early years workforce to help recruit and retain skilled professionals, including childminders.
• Step up support to the childcare sector to respond to the roll-out of the expanded entitlements, ensuring that high quality childcare remains available.

Continue to raise parental awareness of eligibility of “Think 2” places and ensure that places are available so that take-up remains above 80%
Actions:

• Improve awareness of eligibility of funded childcare for teams working with families (such as early help, social care, family hubs and health visitors).
• Ensure that communication strategies continue to focus on Think2 as the roll-out for working parents continues.
• Ensure that providers are encouraged to continue to provide places for children eligible for “Think 2” places, following increases in eligibility for working parents.
• Targeted use of DWP information provided by DfE

Ensure that high quality support is in place for childcare providers to support all children and increasing numbers of children with developmental delay and SEND.

Actions:

• Ensure that additional places created using capital funding are inclusive and available to all children.
• Enhance knowledge, skills and competencies across the early years workforce, to ensure high quality inclusive practices.
• Review the work of early years forum to ensure the right support is being provided at the right time.
• Develop and implement a monitoring system for the SEND Inclusion Fund (SENIF) to ensure funding is being used effectively to better meet the needs of children.

5. Our Approach & Methodology

Child and family centred approach

• Relationships at the heart of our work with settings, families and communities
• Working with partners to ensure an in-depth knowledge of communities and the childcare market
• Targeted project work to address sufficiency concerns
• Brokerage support for families to find childcare places
• Engagement with wider initiatives and networking beyond the LA
• Accessible information, advice and guidance for families and partners

Managing the Sufficiency Process

We have a successful approach to gathering data with 99% of our childcare providers returning the sufficiency survey twice per year. Sufficiency planning is a continuous cycle throughout the year, and following the data collection, this cycle continues with the following activities:

• The Early Years team work on a ward level basis to analyse data.
• Support is provided to develop new provision or expand existing provision in areas of need.
• Support and advice is provided across the full range of childcare providers.

Following each Childcare Sufficiency Audit and publication of the sufficiency data by ward, a development plan is established to rate all wards in terms of their ability to meet general sufficiency requirements as well as those for Think2 and 30 hours of childcare. Areas are colour coded according to need for both 30 hours and Think2 and in future, the new entitlements.

These plans and ratings enable effective monitoring of the market and to concentrate support and development in areas most in need at the time of the sufficiency audit.

6. Our Children

• There are approximately 44,000 children aged 0-4 living in Staffordshire.
• Over the last 10 years between 2013 and 2023 the annual births have fallen from 9,103 to 7,844
• 17.5% of children under 16 live in relative poverty.
• In 2019, 600 children were referred to Early Years Forum compared to 1,020 in 2023.
• 13.7% of children aged 3-4 live in the 20% most deprived postcodes
• 23% of children aged 3-4 live in the 20% least deprived postcodes.

7. Childcare Providers & Provision

There are currently 821 early years childcare providers in Staffordshire. Staffordshire has a range of provision including day nurseries, pre-schools and childminders across all districts. Childcare providers consist of private, voluntary or independently run. A number also operate as governor run under a school's existing Ofsted registration as local authority maintained or an academy. 99% of group providers and 85% of childminders offer funded places.

8. Operating Models

Approximately 60% of all providers operate for more than 38 weeks a year (term time).

87% of privately run childcare providers operate all year compared to just 4% of school-based provision. This of course can have implications for working families who often need all year provision. Most preschools are only open term time which may suit non-working families or those who use informal childcare such as grandparents to help fill the gap.

• 80% of providers operate for 30 or more hours per week.
• 76% open before 8am
• 27% close at 6pm or later
• 60% of nurseries and pre-schools are operating term-time only
• 87% of privately run providers are open all year

9. Wraparound Provision

In addition to early years childcare places there is also wraparound childcare available for children of primary school age to meet the needs of working parents who need more than just the school day.

As part of the Wraparound Childcare Programme, we have improved our understanding of the wraparound childcare market in Staffordshire and have plans in place to distribute capital and programme funding to increase childcare places or hours.

We have contacted schools directly and engaged with Headteacher forums to develop a more accurate understanding of provision available and now have plans in place to target individual schools to increase their provision, which will continue over the next 12 months.

This is supporting our ongoing understanding of wraparound childcare provision. Our planning in 2023/24 will allow us to launch an application process in summer 2024 to ensure that funding is available to schools and providers as soon as possible.

10. Openings & Closures

Between April 2023 and March 2024, 48 new providers have opened, increasing from 40 in the previous year. In the same period 72 providers have closed, down from 94 the previous year.

Overall, there has not been a fall in the total number of places as some providers are increasing places in preparation for the introduction of the extended entitlements.

• Setting closures were made up of 41 childminders, continuing the decline that has been seen over the last few years.
• The Early Years Team have worked to promote childminding as a career over the last 12 months with several campaign activities taking place, and 25 childminders have opened in the last 12 months compared to 13 in the previous year.
• 5% of children now attend a childminding setting.

Although there continues to be more provision closing than opening, the gap has narrowed in the last 12 months which may suggest the support the team provides is effective and provider sustainability and confidence in the market is beginning to increase again.

11. Places & Vacancies – 0–2 Years

Overall, the number of places for under 2’s has been relatively stable over the past few years. With the introduction of the new entitlements, it is likely that there will need to be an increase in places.

In the latest survey, 43% of providers said they had concerns about being able to provide the full entitlements to their existing under 2’s.

Summer 2023 vs Autumn 2023 (Staffordshire totals):

• Summer: 2,916 places, 599 vacancies (21%)
• Autumn: 2,993 places, 681 vacancies (23%)

12. Places & Vacancies – 2-Year-Olds

The number of places available for two-year-olds has remained static over the last few years, although the vacancy rate has fallen.

Demand for two-year-old places is made up of working families requiring childcare to enable them to work and Think2 places, providing 15 hours of funded education for those families on a low income.

Summer 2023 vs Autumn 2023 (Staffordshire totals):

• Summer: 4,713 places, 785 vacancies (17%)
• Autumn: 4,836 places, 1,093 vacancies (23%)

Think2: Approximately 27% of families in Staffordshire are eligible for Think2 places.

Working Families: From April 2024 working families will be able to access 15 hours of funded childcare which will increase to 30 hours from September 2025.

13. Places & Vacancies – 3–4-Year-Olds

All three and four-year-olds are entitled to 15 hours of funded early education for 38 weeks a year (can be stretched over a longer period) from the term following their third birthday.

Additionally, the majority of children are entitled to an additional 15 hours a week for 38 weeks a year if both parents are working.

Summer 2023 vs Autumn 2023 (Staffordshire totals):

• Summer 2023: 12,838 places, 1,760 vacancies (14%)
• Autumn 2023: 11,971 places, 3,275 vacancies (27%)

14. Recruitment & Workforce Challenges

The childcare sector has been experiencing severe difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff since the pandemic.

Feedback from settings via the sufficiency audit has identified that many experienced staff have left the sector due to low pay, long hours and many providers are struggling to replace them.

• Pay is the biggest driving factor, most staff members earn the National Living Wage or close to it and have found that they can work in alternative employment for more money and less responsibility.
• The percentage of vacancies has risen sharply since summer 2023 from 24% to 34%.
• 15% of providers stated that they had reduced the number of places they offer temporarily or permanently due to staffing problems.

Staffordshire was chosen as one of 20 local authorities to trial a financial incentives scheme (£1,000 for new entrants or returners), but uptake has been limited.

15. Performance & Ofsted Ratings

Overall, 97% of providers who have been inspected and offer funded childcare were rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted between April 2023 and March 2024.

Between April 2023 and March 2024 there were 176 Ofsted inspections of early years providers registered to take funded children.

• 87% of these inspections resulted in a Good or Outstanding judgement (up from 77% in the previous 12 months).
• Of those reinspected within the 12 months, all improved their grade.

Section 16 – Places and Vacancies (2 years)

The number of places available for two‑year‑olds has remained static over the last few years, although the vacancy rate has fallen. Demand for two‑year‑old places is made up of working families requiring childcare to enable them to work and Think2 places, providing 15 hours of funded education for those families on a low income (many who are also working).

Summer 2023 | Autumn 2023

District	Summer 2023 – 2 Year Places	Summer Vacancies	Vacancy Rate	Autumn 2023 – 2 Year Places	Autumn Vacancies	Vacancy Rate
Cannock Chase	558	79	14%	642	194	30%
East Staffordshire	633	129	20%	702	159	23%
Lichfield	673	86	13%	600	98	16%
Newcastle-under-Lyme	671	116	17%	630	156	25%
South Staffordshire	568	94	17%	590	122	21%
Stafford	694	113	16%	720	151	21%
Staffordshire Moorlands	513	114	22%	486	138	28%
Tamworth	403	55	14%	466	75	16%
Staffordshire Total	4,713	785	17%	4,836	1,093	23%

Think2

Approximately 27% of families in Staffordshire are eligible for Think2 places, which equate to 15 hours of funded early education over 38 weeks a year (can be stretched up to 52). Families who are entitled are on low incomes and may not be able to afford to pay for additional hours or ‘extras’. They may be unable to travel distances and require provision within walking distance. Our priority is that these families are able to secure a childcare place to enable children to get the best possible start.

Working Families

From April 2024 working families will be able to access 15 hours of funded childcare which will increase to 30 hours from September 2025. This is expected to create additional demand for two‑year‑old places and may result in a squeeze on three‑ and four‑year‑olds places. Following the introduction of 30 hours for working parents, the local authority needs to monitor any impacts on the availability of Think2 places for eligible parents. In the latest survey, 39% of providers said they had concerns about being able to provide the full entitlements existing 2‑year‑olds.

Section 17 – Places and Vacancies (3–4 years)

The number of children attending childcare provision within this age group fluctuates throughout the year. Most children will start school after they turn four years at the next school intake. This means that in September most children aged four will start at school leaving childcare providers with only three‑year‑olds. Gradually over the spring and summer terms the numbers attending will increase as more children turn four and further numbers join who are turn three.

District	Previous Places	Previous Vacancies	Previous Vacancy Rate	Current Places	Current Vacancies	Current Vacancy Rate
Cannock Chase	1,499	199	13%	1,515	393	26%
East Staffordshire	1,893	244	13%	1,938	506	26%
Lichfield	1,746	188	11%	1,548	347	22%
Newcastle-under-Lyme	1,858	330	18%	1,645	471	29%
South Staffordshire	1,552	185	12%	1,442	379	26%
Stafford	1,867	242	13%	1,669	516	31%
Staffordshire Moorlands	1,441	260	18%	1,303	483	37%
Tamworth	982	112	11%	911	179	20%
Staffordshire Total	12,838	1,760	14%	11,971	3,275	27%

All three and four‑year‑olds are entitled to 15 hours of funded early education for 38 weeks a year (can be stretched over a longer period) from the term following their third birthday. Additionally, the majority of children are entitled to an additional 15 hours a week for 38 weeks a year if both parents (or single parent and some other exceptional circumstances) are working. The table shows the places and vacancies for three‑ and four‑year‑olds across both summer and autumn 2023. There has been ongoing support and development work in areas where vacancy rates are low to support providers and consider ways to increase capacity.

Section 18 – Recruitment and Retention of Staff

The childcare sector has been experiencing severe difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff since the pandemic. Feedback from settings via the sufficiency audit has identified that many experienced staff have left the sector due to low pay, long hours and many providers are struggling to replace them. Pay is the biggest driving factor, most staff earn the National Living Wage or close to it and have found that they can work in alternative employment for more money and less responsibility.

Percentage of providers with staff vacancies in spring 2024

District	No	Yes
Cannock Chase	80%	20%
East Staffordshire	72%	28%
Lichfield	69%	31%
Newcastle-under-Lyme	85%	15%
South Staffordshire	81%	19%
Stafford	66%	34%
Staffordshire Moorlands	81%	19%
Tamworth	74%	26%
Staffordshire Total	76%	24%

The percentage of vacancies has risen sharply since summer 2023 from 24% to 34%. 15% of providers stated that they had reduced the number of places they offer temporarily or permanently due to staffing problems. Recruitment is the most significant barrier when implementing the extension of funded entitlements.

To support recruitment Staffordshire was chosen as one of 20 local authorities to trial a financial incentives scheme. This offer was £1,000 to be given to any new entrants into an early years career or returners who come back after 6 months away. However, the success of this has been extremely limited so far with a limited number of providers engaging due to the policy not recognising incentives for existing long serving staff.

Section 19 – Ofsted Grades by Districts 2023–24

Overall, 97% of providers who have been inspected and offer funded childcare were rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted during this period between April 2023 and March 2024. Between April 2023 and March 2024 there were 176 Ofsted inspections of early years providers registered to take funded children. 87% of these inspections resulted in a Good or Outstanding judgement up from 77% in the previous 12 months. Of those that were inadequate but reinspected within the 12 months from April 2023 to March 2024 all improved their grade.

Of the 142 settings that already had an Ofsted grade when re‑inspected:

• 32% resulted in a better than previous judgement
• 56% remained the same
• 12% had a lower graded judgement
• Of those who had their first inspection 85% received at least a good inspection grade.

Section 20 – Percentage of Good or Outstanding Grades by Area of Deprivation

The table shows the breakdown by district of childcare providers by deprivation. It includes all providers who have been inspected and offer funded places. Overall, 98% of providers in the most deprived 20% areas are rated good or outstanding compared to 97% for all of Staffordshire as an average during this period.

Section 21 – Take Up of Funded Entitlements

Think2 funding provides up to 15 hours a week of childcare over 38 weeks (or can be stretched over 52 weeks) to families from low‑income families or other eligible groups such as children in care or those in receipt of Disability Living Allowance. Local authorities should ensure that providers are mindful of the impact of additional charges on parents, especially the most disadvantaged. Providers, who choose to offer the free entitlements, are responsible for setting their own policy on providing parents with options for alternatives to additional charges. This provides opportunities for families to take up employment, education or even just time to support their health and well‑being.

Take up of Think2 has risen and remained consistent since the full roll-out of the project in autumn 2014, although this has fluctuated with higher take up in autumn and lower in spring. The number of eligible families has fallen from 3,200 in 2014 to 2,000 in 2024. The main reason for this is that the low‑income threshold has not changed since the introduction of the policy. Therefore, fewer parents who are working on a low‑income will be eligible as their earnings now exceed the threshold (due to minimum wage increases). Our internal target for take up in Staffordshire by eligible families is at least 80%. This has been fairly consistent in the last five years with the except for spring 2023 where it was 78%.

Following this, the team have implemented a number of projects and engagement sessions to ensure the percentage remains above our internal target of 80%.

Other Funded Entitlements

All children aged 3‑4 years are entitled to up to 15 hours of early education funding per week. In Staffordshire 100% of children take up this offer either in Staffordshire itself or in surrounding authorities. In addition, most children from working families are entitled to an additional 15 hours per week, so 30 in total. In summer 2023, 9,000 children (65%) of all 3‑ and 4‑year‑olds accessed 30 hours of funding. From April 2024, most 2‑year‑olds from working families can access up to 15 hours of early education funding which will be increased to 30 hours in September 2025. Then from September 2024 these 15 hours (and then 30 hours) will be extended to most working families of babies over 9 months old.

Additional funding is paid to childcare providers for children within certain groups. Disability Access Funding is a once yearly amount paid for settings with a child who claims Disability Living Allowance. Early Years Pupil Premium is paid to providers for children who meet the eligibility criteria for Free School Meals so on a low income.

Section 22 – Meeting the Needs of Children with SEND

Local Authorities have a statutory duty to promote equality of opportunity for children with SEND. Nationally it is recognised that parents may find it challenging to access childcare, this may be due to parental confidence in the provider’s ability to attend to their child’s individual needs.

• In Staffordshire, more than nine in ten children with special educational needs attend a mainstream childcare provider with the remaining children attending a specialist provider.
• Between April 2023 and March 2024 92% of setting inspection reports identified meeting the needs of children with SEND as a strength.
• Settings identify that effectively meeting the needs of children with SEND can be challenging; this is due to the requirement for additional staff who have specific expertise and additional resources that may be required. A quarter of providers stated they could not afford additional staff to support with SEND needs.

Across Staffordshire 90% of providers said that they were at least partly accessible for children with a physical disability, with 3% saying they were not accessible at all. There is evidence from providers that children with SEND do not always access their full entitlement of funded hours and there is variance between types of provision. Overall, 80% of those attending on a school site accessed their full entitlement compared to 89% not on a school site. It should be noted that not all parents will wish to access their full entitlement.

There has been a significant increase in the number of children being presented to Early Years Forum rising from 600 in 2019 to 1020 in 2023.

Section 23 – Funding and Support

• SCC are currently developing a more streamlined and rapid process for the allocation of additional funding known as the SEND Inclusion Fund (SENIF). This will provide more rapid access to funding, enabling support for the child to be offered at the earliest opportunity.
• The Disability Access Fund (DAF) is given to early years providers to support children with SEND. Its purpose is to remove ‘barriers’ which prevent children from accessing their funded early education entitlement. DAF is actively promoted by the team and wider partners.
• The Early Years Forum is being reviewed to develop a revised system that focusses on those children with complex needs. An accelerated pathway for children with medical needs is also being established with health colleagues.

Support and Training

• SCC are currently funded through Comic Relief to offer a workforce development programme to build practitioner confidence and expertise in developing and promoting inclusive practice. 100% of practitioners identify increased confidence after completing the training modules.
• From September 2024, settings can access the Early Years Practitioner Hub, an online platform for practitioners to access an additional suite of training provided by the Early Years Team.

Section 24 – Cannock Chase

There were 1054 births in 2023, which is a reduction since 2019.

The percentage of children aged 0–4 (compared to the overall population) has continued to reduce and is lower than the Staffordshire average.

There are 5,461 children aged 0–4 in the district.
The take‑up of Think2 places increased to 95% in Autumn 2023 compared to a Staffordshire average of 87%.

Section 25 – Cannock Chase Data

Season	2018	2019	2021	2022	2023	2024
Spring	81	78	87	82	86	95
Summer	79	88	90	91	89	-
Autumn	81	86	84	86	86	-

Type of provider
 

Area	Childminder	Day Nursery	Nursery School/Class	Pre‑School Playgroup
Cannock Chase	39%	52%	8%	1%
Staffordshire	39%	52%	9%	0%

Percentage of children aged 0–4
 

Year	Cannock Chase	Staffordshire
1982	6.9%	5.4%
1987	6.4%	5.7%
1992	7.0%	5.3%
1997	6.4%	5.8%
2002	7.4%	5.4%
2007	6.5%	5.5%
2012	6.7%	5.1%
2017	5.9%	5.5%
2022	6.1%	4.9%

Open and closures 2023–24
 

Area	Open	Closed
Cannock Chase	5	6
Staffordshire	48	72

Providers with current staff vacancies
 

Area	No	Yes
Cannock Chase	78%	22%
Staffordshire	76%	24%

Percentage of providers that offer Think2
 

Area	%
Cannock Chase	30%
Staffordshire	34%

Places and vacancies 2023
 

Term	Age Group	Places	Vacancies
Summer	0–23 months	249	32
2 years	558	79
3–4 years	1,499	199
Autumn	0–23 months	286	56
2 years	642	194
3–4 years	1,515	393

Section 26 – Cannock Chase Indicators

Indicator	Time Period	Cannock Chase	Staffordshire	West Midlands	England
School readiness (EYFS)	2022	64.30%	67.50%	63.70%	65.20%
FSM Primary %	2023	24.00%	18.00%	n/a	n/a
Receiving PP %	2023	20.00%	16.00%	n/a	n/a
% of children aged 3–4 in receipt of EYPP	2023	21.00%	16.41%	n/a	n/a
SEN Support Primary %	2023	13.00%	12.00%	n/a	n/a

EYFS Profile Results – % of children achieving at least the expected level
 

Indicator	All	FSM	Non FSM	Autumn Born	Spring Born	Summer Born
All prime areas	74	57	79	83	76	66
All specific areas	66	45	72	78	68	55
Communication and language	80	64	84	87	82	72
Personal, social and emotional development	83	67	87	88	85	77
Physical development	85	75	88	91	87	78
Literacy	68	48	74	80	70	57
Mathematics	78	62	82	85	81	70
Understanding the world	82	68	86	86	87	76
Expressive arts and design	86	74	90	90	89	81
Good level of development	65	44	71	77	67	54