Report No.185/2018 was received from the Strategic Director for People.

Dr Tim O’Neill, Strategic Director for People, introduced the report the purpose of which was for Cabinet to consider whether sufficient childcare was available to meet the needs of children, including disabled children, in the local authority area. All local Authorities had a statutory duty under the Childcare Act 2006 to secure sufficient childcare, so far as was reasonably practicable, for working parents, or parents who were studying or training for employment, and to complete an annual report which assessed the sufficiency of childcare in the local authority area and identified gaps in provision. This assessment must be published on the County Council website.

DECISION:

1.    Cabinet NOTED that there was currently sufficient childcare across Rutland to meet the requirements of parents and carers and that the Learning and Skills Service was undertaking a range of planned activities to manage the market and maintain capacity within the system.

Reason for the decision

Under the Department for Education’s (DFE) ‘Early Education and Childcare: Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities’, local authorities should report annually to elected council members on how they were meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare and make this report available and accessible to parents.

The report provided elected members with this information and identified that at the time of the Childcare Sufficiency Assessment being completed, there were sufficient places available. Routine assessment and reviews would continue to be undertaken by the Learning and Skills Service to ensure sufficiency was maintained and, should a potential pressure be identified, positive action would be taken with existing and potential providers to minimize the impact on parents and carers.