Nursery World - 30 Hours, Part 11: North Yorkshire and Leicestershire

In the final part of this series,Charlotte Goddard visits the two remaining pilot areas and finds examples of best practice in communication – as well as the usual concerns about funding, with comment from James Hempsall

The 30 hours extended entitlement rolled out nationally this month, but some local authorities have been preparing for a while. North Yorkshire became an ‘early innovator’ in April 2016, sharing £4 million with 24 other areas to look at issues such as delivery in a rural area. In April 2017, the local authority joined Leicestershire, Dorset, Tower Hamlets and eight existing early implementers to take part in the early roll-out of the scheme.

While the county has learned valuable lessons from this preparation, this September still represents something of a leap into the unknown, says Andrea Sedgewick, head of early years, education and skills at North Yorkshire County Council. ‘There have been benefits in supporting providers in their preparations, trialling local authority systems and getting information out there for families, but the real test will come in the next 12 to 18 months,’ she says. ‘Providers are concerned about the low funding, and with new cohorts of families this term we are anticipating take-up may be different.’

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included