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Page 1 of 104 Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2017 Report Written By: Dawn Anderson Date of Completion: March 2017
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Page 1: Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2017 - Denbighshire · 2017-05-18 · The last full Childcare Sufficiency Assessment was completed in March 2014 and each year since, Denbighshire

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Childcare Sufficiency Assessment

2017

Report Written By: Dawn Anderson Date of Completion: March 2017

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Principle Statement The Childcare Act 2006 gives local authorities a key role in the shaping of the childcare provision within their area. Working and supporting providers from the private, voluntary, independent, community and maintained sectors, the local authority will look to create a strong, sustainable and diverse market that meets the needs of the parents and their families. It focuses in particular on sufficient, sustainable and flexible childcare that is responsive to parents’ needs within their local community. Section 6 of the 2006 Act gives local authorities a duty of securing, so far as is reasonably practicable, the provision of childcare (whether or not by them) is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area in order to enable them to:

Take up, or remain in work, or

Undertake education or training which could reasonably be expected to assist them to obtain work’

In determining whether provision of childcare is sufficient, a local authority must have regard to the needs of the parents in their area for:

i) The provision of childcare in respect of which the childcare element of the working tax credit is payable ii) The provision of childcare which is suitable for disabled children. iii) The provision of childcare involving the use of the Welsh Language. Section 7 of the 2006 Act gives the authorities a related duty to secure free early years provision for pre-school children of a prescribed age. Section 11 of the 2006 Act places a duty on local authorities to undertake a Childcare Sufficiency Assessment (CSA). The Education Act 2011 gives parents of disadvantaged 2 year olds a new right to free early year’s education and care. The Children and Families Act 2014 states that local authorities should report annually to elected Council Members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and make this report available and accessible to parents. The Welsh Government published the Childcare Statutory Guidance which was revised in August 2016 which is to assist local authorities to discharge their statutory duties under sections 22, 26 and 27 of the Childcare Act 2006 and section 118A of the School Standards and Frameworks Act 1998, to:

Ensure sufficient childcare is available

Undertake and review childcare sufficiency assessments

To provide information, advice and assistance to parents, prospective parents and those with parental responsibility or care of a child, relating to childcare.

The guidance supports the matters prescribed in the Childcare Act 2006 (Local Authority Assessment)(Wales) Regulations 2016 which came into force on 1 April 2016.

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Denbighshire County Council are currently reviewing their well-being objectives as part of their corporate plan and it has been identified through county conversation consultations that Denbighshire should be a place where young people want to live and work and have the skills to do so. The sufficiency of childcare forms part of addressing the wider scale within this objective. When assessing the sufficiency of childcare within the authority, consideration is given to:

The state of the local childcare market, including the level of demand in a particular locality and the amount of supply that currently exists

The state of the labour market and the potential for increasing the number of people working in childcare

The resources available to and the capabilities of the childcare providers

The need to develop an effective, phased programme to meet the sufficiency duty, and

The local authority’s resources, capabilities and overall budget priorities. The authority will also take into account as part of their duty:

Choice and Flexibility: parents are to have a greater choice about balancing work and family life.

Availability: for all families with children who need it, an affordable, flexible, high quality childcare place that meets their circumstances.

Quality: access to high quality provision with highly skilled childcare and early years workforce, among the best in the world.

Affordability: families to be able to afford flexible, high quality childcare that is appropriate for their needs.

The assessment is a measurement of the nature and extent of the need for, and the supply of, childcare with each local area within the authority. It aims to help the authority identify gaps in provision and implement plans on how to support the sector to address these issues through consultation with its partners.

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Contents

1. Introduction/ Context 2. Partnership Working and Consultation 3. The Childcare Sufficiency Assessment and Local Well Being Needs

Assessment 4. Population 5. Overview – Childcare Types, Services and Places 6. Supply of Childcare

6.1. Childminder 6.2. Full Day Nursery 6.3. Sessional Day Care 6.4. Crèches 6.5. Out of School Care 6.6. Open Access Play Provision 6.7. Nanny

7. Understanding the Needs of Parents/ Carers 8. Flying Start Provision

8.1. Free Nursery Education 9. Free Breakfast Club Provision 10. Working Tax Credit/ Universal Credit and Employer Supported Childcare/ Tax

Free Childcare 11. Sustainability 12. Cross Border 13. Workforce Development and Training 14. Action Plan

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1 - Introduction Denbighshire is a largely rural County which covers the coastal resorts of Rhyl and Prestatyn in the North. Rhyl is noted as the 2nd most deprived ward in Wales. The resort is currently undergoing a series of restoration, renovation and regeneration projects which is due to observe a state of the art Aquatics Centre, a large retail park development and new hotel developments. Since the last Childcare Sufficiency Assessment in 2014, the resort of Prestatyn has seen the newly renovated flagship leisure complex ‘Nova’ which provides a varied leisure and fitness offer for the community and also a high quality play provision which provides soft play opportunity and stimulation for children. The Market towns of, Ruthin, Corwen and the popular tourist town of Llangollen in the South. The central part of the county is made up of the historic towns of Rhuddlan, Denbigh and St Asaph. Within the assessment, the county is referred to as North being the Rhyl and Prestatyn areas, Central being the Elwy and Denbigh areas and South being the Ruthin and Dee Valley areas. Key towns within these areas are outlined in the table below.

The last full Childcare Sufficiency Assessment was completed in March 2014 and each year since, Denbighshire has completed a CSA refresh to address and identify any further gaps in the childcare provision and update the action plan to ensure the sector remains reflective and moves forward. During this full re-assessment of the childcare within Denbighshire, Welsh Government have changed the process for the collection of data which provides the evidence and analysis of the supply and demand of childcare in each authority and this was done in conjunction with CSSIW (Care and Social Services Inspectorate for Wales). The decision to move with this format of collection was to minimise paperwork for childcare providers and to collect data which both the Inspectorate and local authorities can utilise to gather information to address the local needs of childcare provision. The research methodology and data analysed within the assessment is broadly based around the childcare providers within the authority completing their SASS (Self-Assessment of Service Statement) which was a requirement of their

North – Area 1 Central – Area 2 South – Area 3

Rhyl St Asaph Corwen

Prestatyn Denbigh Ruthin

Dyserth Trefnant Cynwyd

Meliden Tremeirchion Gellifor

Rhuddlan Henllan Llanfair DC

Bodelwyddan Bodfari Llanferres

Cefn Meiriadog Llangollen

Llanrhaeadr

Prion

Pwllglas

Rhewl

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registration with CSSIW. The information was collated through a data collection approach and each setting had to complete the SASS during 2 designated weeks. 1 week during term time and 1 week during school holidays. The information they provided was accurate to their service provision at those designated times. The weeks the information was collated were:

11th to 15th July 2016 for term time childcare providers or

1st to 5th August 2016 for holiday childcare providers only

The childcare providers had to submit their completed SASS by 17th August 2016. The information was then collated by CSSIW and disseminated to local authorities for the purpose of the CSA completion. This information was received on 8th November 2016 and was a substantial database of data. The information had to be broken down into the annexes in order for analysis to be made on the supply and demand of childcare within the county. This process was quite challenging and took 12 weeks to complete due to the volume of information received as part of the SASS. Nationally, 76% of childcare providers completed the SASS and within Denbighshire we saw 74.9% of childcare providers completing their settings SASS. This was another challenge as the information we had did not provide a clear and concise picture of the childcare provision within Denbighshire. Due to data protection, CSSIW were unable to provide local authorities with information pertaining to settings who did not complete their SASS so we were unable to identify and further support these settings to complete it which also meant we could not gain their information to include as part of the assessment. Out of 138 registered childcare providers in Denbighshire, 105 providers completed the SASS for their service. The information is reflective against the 105 providers who submitted their information. To ensure that standards within the childcare sector are high and reflective to the needs of parents and their families, it is imperative that the authority works together with providers to support families who access provision across the early years and out of school sector. Parents were consulted on to consider their views and opinions relating to childcare within their local area. A parent questionnaire was designed by Welsh Government to capture key information relating to the supply and demand of childcare in each authority and to help each local authority ensure that good quality, affordable childcare is provided. The parent questionnaire was very lengthy for to complete. Gaining parental engagement was challenging due to the size of the questionnaire and the time needed to complete it. The questionnaire was distributed through a number of means including press release, social media platforms, via schools, outreach programme across the county, parent and toddler groups, umbrella organisations, local businesses and childcare providers. The authority also made copies of the survey available electronically in both Welsh and English to enable parents to complete in a more user friendly format. The authority observed a return of 317 questionnaires and this has informed the assessment of their views. The assessment has informed the authority of the current position with regards to the supply and demand of the childcare sector and any highlighted areas of improvement have formed the basis of the action plan that the authority will assume to move the childcare sector forward

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2 - Partnership Working and Consultation The following stakeholders have been involved in the CSA process in Denbighshire.

Departments and staff within Denbighshire County Council

Early Education

Flying Start

Healthy Pre-schools

Education and Children’s Services

Integrated Children’s Centre

Housing Department

Planning Department

Partnership and Communities Team

Business Improvement and Modernisation Team

Family Information Service

AYP Officers

Disability Sport Officer

ALN Advisory Teachers

Childcare Development Officer Boards/Groups

Tackling Poverty Board

Children, Young People and Families Partnership

Childcare Forum

Childcare Networks

Safeguarding Children Board

Welsh Medium Education Forum External organisations

Department for Work and Pensions

Coleg Llandrillo

Town and Community Councils

Umbrella/ Partner Organisations

CSSIW

Conwy CBC

Wrexham CBC

Flintshire County Council

Gwynedd County Council

Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board

St Asaph business park

Wales Pre-school Providers Association,

Mudiad Meithrin

Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids’ Clubs

National Day Nurseries Association and

PACEY- (Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years)

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3 - The Childcare Sufficiency Assessment and Local Wellbeing Needs Assessment

The CSA was completed alongside the assessment of local well-being undertaken by the Public Services Board (PSB). The assessment is new and will continue to develop as the PSB consults on their well-being objectives following workshops which are due to be held in June 2017. The final plan will be published in May 2018. Once the CSA has been finalised we will assess what, if any part of the assessment of local well-being requires updating. The responsibility of conducting the Childcare Sufficiency Assessment for the authority falls within the Family Information Service which forms part of the newly realigned Community Wellbeing Department of the Facilities, Assets and Housing service. The department has a variety of synergies and collaborative working which underpins the Denbighshire Wellbeing Plan, the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act, the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, Building a Brighter Future: Early Years and Childcare Plan, Early Years Outcomes Framework, Supporting People Programme and the Poverty Agenda. The collaborative partnership working has been fundamental to the compilation of the assessment and its findings and content is based purely on the proven research methodology and aims which provides accurate information to providers, partners, parents and families in order to ensure the childcare provision in Denbighshire is of good quality, affordable and accessible. Underpinning the Welsh Governments focus when considering the poverty agenda, increasing and sustaining employment opportunities and well-being within families, this is deemed an area of high importance. There has been a wide range of partners who have been consulted and have supported the information provision of the assessment including:

Early Education

Flying Start

Healthy Pre-schools

Children’s Services

Education Department

Integrated Children’s Centre

Childcare Development Officer

Housing

Planning

AYP Officers

Disability Sport Officer

ALN Advisory Teacher

Partnership and Communities Team

Business Improvement and Modernisation Team

Tackling Poverty Board

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A key focus of Denbighshire is to ensure that standards within childcare are of a high standard. Partnership working with providers is key to support children and their families who access provision across the early years and out of school sector. This is supported through a Childcare Forum group who are supported by the Children, Young People and Families Partnership group which has provided established links to promote proactive engagement and consultation to support the sector within the authority. This ultimately has positive impacts for the children and families within the authority as childcare remains high on the authority’s agenda and provides valuable feedback and support for the information required as part of this Childcare Sufficiency Assessment.

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4 - Population The information on this section has been drawn down from a variety of sources including data and the information captured by Public Service Boards in developing their Local Well Being Needs Assessment. All data sources are referenced throughout the section. Projected Population figures for the Denbighshire

Year 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

Population projection

95,336 95,530 95,729 95,931 96,131

Source: https://statswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/Population-and-Migration/Population/Projections/Local-Authority/2014-based/populationprojections-by-localauthority-year

The population projection for Denbighshire shows an increase of 795 over 5 years which is less than 1%. This would be based on the average number of births and deaths each year. Live birth rates for Denbighshire by year and age of mother

Year Under 20

20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40+ Total

2014 78 247 300 309 141 36 1111

2013 69 257 269 259 132 31 1017

2012 71 256 273 286 120 35 1047

Source: https://statswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/Health-and-Social-Care/Births-Deaths-and-Conceptions/Births/livebirths-by-area-ageofmother

The birth rates in Denbighshire have fluctuated over the past few years but not increased greatly. The last census in 2011 reported live births in Denbighshire of 1047. The estimated population figures for 2015 by age in Denbighshire were as follows:

Age Number

0-4 5471

5-15 11659

Source: https://statswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/Population-and-

Migration/Population/Estimates/Local-Authority/populationestimates-by-localauthority-age

Based on the SASS data, there are currently 3214 registered places available for full day care. There are currently 1639 vacancies, demonstrating that there are sufficient places for those who require it.

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Number of families with dependent children

The figure below shows the number of families in Denbighshire with dependent children, as at census day, 27 March 2011. This is the most recent data for this. This figures confirms the accuracy of the above figure for the projected number of children aged 0-4 in 2015, taking into account families with more than 3 dependent children and the slight increase most years in the live birth rate in Denbighshire.

All categories: Dependent children in family 27547

No dependent children in family 16515

One dependent child in family aged 0 to 4 1574

One dependent child in family aged 5 to 11 1108

One dependent child in family aged 12 to 18 2368

Two dependent children in family; youngest aged 0 to 4 1545

Two dependent children in family; youngest aged 5 to 11 1586

Two dependent children in family; youngest aged 12 to 18 997

Three or more dependent children in family; youngest aged 0 to 4 1009

Three or more dependent children in family; youngest aged 5 to 11 698

Three or more dependent children in family; youngest aged 12 to 18 147

Total dependent children 19726

Source: http://www.ukcensusdata.com/denbighshire-w06000004/families-with-dependent-children-qs118ew

Children with Disabilities Accurate figures on children with disabilities have been difficult to find. In 2013 Cordis Bright conducted a disability mapping exercise on behalf of Denbighshire’s Children’s Services to identify the needs of Children with Disabilities and their families. Most children with disabilities who were identified as part of this process had learning disabilities and close to half were identified as having an autistic spectrum disorder.

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Figure 3.1 - Types of disabilities (Cordis Bright Disability Mapping Exercise)

Training Family Information Service provides a training programme each year for childcare providers. Recent training has been provided on working with children who are Autistic. Training has also been available on Disability Awareness and Play Together. Special Schools Denbighshire has 2 special schools, Ysgol Tir Morfa in Rhyl and Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn in Denbigh.

Ysgol Tir Morfa is a community special school which caters for pupils with a wide range of additional learning needs, aged between 3 and 19 years. The schools vision is made clear in its motto ‘Learning to live, living to learn’. The school aims to provide meaningful and relevant learning experiences within the context of a broad and balanced curriculum that enables all learners to extend their abilities, develop their skills and achieve their potential. Ysgol Tir Morfa is an English medium community; however as a school in Wales we promote and celebrate the Welsh language and culture

Ysgol Plas Brondyffryn is the North Wales regional centre of excellence for teaching children on the autistic spectrum. The school is a local authority maintained co-educational special school for pupils with ASC and associated learning difficulties from the age of 3 to 19. There are currently 125 pupils within the school. The Denbighshire Disability Inclusion Toolkit has been promoted to settings through visits and the Childcare Network evenings. On completion of the self-assessment, settings are then eligible to apply for a grant of up to £1000 to help them to become more inclusive, by making small adaptations or buying some equipment. 12 settings have accessed the grant, with approximately £11,000 allocated.

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Number of Children with Special Educational Needs or a Disability Special educational needs (SEN) have a legal meaning. The Education Act 1996 legally defines children with SEN as children who have a considerably greater difficulty in learning than others the same age. SEN includes consideration for communication, physical and sensory, emotional difficulties that require support, this includes children who are not necessarily disabled. It also includes children who cannot use the educational facilities which other children of a similar age use because of their disability. Children under school age, who would fall into either category without extra help, are also included. All may need extra or different help in education from that given to other children without SEN In some areas of Wales, SEN is referred to as additional learning needs (ALN). In Denbighshire in 2016 it was reported that 3936 children were identified as having additional learning needs. Ethnic Groups The following information provides the ethnic group for Denbighshire residents as at census day 27th March 2011

All categories: Ethnic group 93734

White: English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British 89581

White: Irish 533

White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller 34

White: Other White 1106

Mixed/multiple ethnic group: White and Black Caribbean 251

Mixed/multiple ethnic group: White and Black African 80

Mixed/multiple ethnic group: White and Asian 269

Mixed/multiple ethnic group: Other Mixed 151

Asian/Asian British: Indian 240

Asian/Asian British: Pakistani 157

Asian/Asian British: Bangladeshi 111

Asian/Asian British: Chinese 346

Asian/Asian British: Other Asian 576

Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: African 104

Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: Caribbean 35

Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: Other Black 22

Other ethnic group: Arab 39

Other ethnic group: Any other ethnic group 99

Source: http://www.ukcensusdata.com/denbighshire-w06000004/ethnic-group-qs201ew

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Annual Household Income (2015)

Denbighshire Wales

Median Income £23,900 £24,250

Lower quartile income £13,450 £13,600

% of households with income below 60% of GB median

27.6% 27.1%

Source CACI PayCheck data Most parents who completed the questionnaire stated that they required more affordable childcare. The cost of childcare does have a big impact on families. 6 local authorities have been chosen to work with the Welsh Government to pilot the new Childcare offer. Projects offering 30 hours of free early education and childcare per week to 3 and 4 year olds will be piloted from September 2017 in specified locations within Gwynedd, Anglesey, Flintshire, Swansea, Blaenau Gwent and Rhondda Cynon Taf. Gwynedd and Anglesey will be working together on a joint project. While this may be good news for families, it will have an impact on the sustainability of settings. Children Living in Poverty (proxy measures) August 2014

Denbighshire Wales

Children living in households earning less than 60% of the average for GB

Children in low income families

4580 22.7% 22.5%

Children in families receiving tax credits

Children in in-work families

8170 41.5% 40.0%

Children in out of work families

4410 22.4% 22.1%

Total 12,580 63.9% 62.1%

Source:http://conwyanddenbighshirelsb.org.uk/en/home/english-wellbeing-assessment/english-poverty-and-deprivation/

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Benefit claimants - disability living allowance

ONS Crown Copyright Reserved [from Nomis on 10 November 2016]

item name age - under 16

2003 CAS ward

November 2010

November 2011

November 2012

November 2013

November 2014

November 2015

Anglesey 335 305 340 360 375 370

Gwynedd 540 550 575 580 595 655

Conwy CB 685 685 685 720 745 815

Denbighshire 700 735 730 815 865 890

Flintshire 895 875 905 930 955 1,060

Wrexham 920 960 975 1,045 1,130 1,220

North Wales 4,075 4,110 4,210 4,450 4,665 5,010

In November 2015 there were 890 children under the age of 16 receiving disability living allowance in Denbighshire Welsh Language Skills

This table provides information about the Welsh language skills of usual residents aged 3 and over, for Wales as at census day, 27 March 2011.

All usual residents aged 3 and over 90527

Can understand spoken Welsh 28296

Can speak Welsh 22236

Can read Welsh 20830

Can write Welsh 17803

Can speak, read or write Welsh 24425

Source: http://www.ukcensusdata.com/denbighshire-w06000004/welsh-language-skills-qs206wa

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5 - Overview – Childcare Types, Services and Places

As only 74% of the providers completed the SASS, for the Local Authority to give a clear overview of the number of registered providers we have used the CSSIW data that we are provided with on a weekly basis to complete section 5. Number of Childcare Providers & Type of Services

Childcare Type

Registered Unregistered/ Approved)

Childcare Services Offered Registered

Child-minder

46

Full day care throughout the year

45

Half day care throughout the year

Before school 45

After school 45

Wrap Around

Holiday Provision 44

Other

Day Care

Full Day Care

42

Full day nursery throughout the year

42

Half day nursery throughout the year

Before school 31

Morning Playgroup/ Cylch Meithrin

21

Afternoon Playgroup/ Cylch Meithrin

After school 32

Wrap Around

Lunch

Holiday Provision 31

Crèche

Other

Sessional Day Care

27

Morning Playgroup/ Cylch Meithrin

27

Afternoon Playgroup/ Cylch Meithrin

Wrap Around

Lunch

Other

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Crèches Operates Full Day

Operates Mornings

Operates Afternoons

Holiday Provision

Other

Out of School Care

20

Before School 5

After School 19

Holiday Provision 6

Playscheme sessions

Other 3

Open Access Play Provision

Before School

After School

Holiday Provision

Playscheme sessions

Other

Nanny Full day care throughout the year

Half day care throughout the year

Before school

After school

Wrap around a part time Early Education placement, e.g. playgroup or school nursery

Holiday provision in the school holidays

Other

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Childcare Places – Supply and Demand per Childcare Type

Registered Provision – Term Time

Childcare Type

Places as per registration

Term Time

Maximum Capacity of childcare places available daily

Number of Children using service

Number of Vacancies

Number of children on Waiting List

Number of childcare places required

Childminder 269 342 264 98 38 0

Day Care

Full Day Nursery

1398 736 2491 849 5

Sessional Day Care

499 805 485 295 1

Crèches - - - - - -

Out of School Care

513 513 656 953 2

Open Access Play

Nanny

Registered Provision – School Holidays

Childcare Type

Places as per registration

Term Time

Maximum Capacity of childcare places available daily

Number of Children using service

Number of Vacancies

Number of children on Waiting List

Number of childcare places required

Childminder 50 206 26 2

Day Care

Full Day Nursery

42 1065 124 2

Sessional Day Care

27 499 (as

identified through SASS)

0

Crèches

Out of School Care

20 171 208

Open Access Play

Nanny

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6.1 - Supply of Childcare – Childminders

Within Denbighshire we have 46 registered childminders providing childcare provision across the county. Of these childminders, 38 completed the Self-Assessment of Service Statement (SASS) which was submitted to the Care and Social Service Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW), this is the equivalent of 82.6% of registered childminders in the authority. The information provided to CSSIW within Annex 1 of the SASS for these providers has formed the analysis and consideration of the information within this section of the audit.

Range of Services Provided

Within the 3 areas there is a varied range of childminding provision and this is reflective towards the needs of key towns and smaller localities within close vicinity of these areas in which the childminders offer provision. This reflects the language need within that particular area, schooling provision for example before school care, wrap around care, after school provision. These are illustrated in table below These are also illustrated for each area which has a diverse range of need variance across the authority and shows a clear indication of the provision available within these areas which is responsive to the needs within those areas. Furthermore, additional tables for each area show the range of provision available for that particular area taking into consideration school provision requirements.

37%

47%

3%

10%3%

Childminders - Range of Language Provision in Denbighshire

Both

English

Other

Some Bilingual Elements

Welsh

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The North area of the county is predominantly English first language. There appears to be 13 childminders in the North area who have responded to their SASS. The use of Welsh language is promoted through various umbrella organisations and agencies, the authorities Childcare Development Officer, Family Information Service and Flying Start. Is also reflected within CSSIW inspections of provision.

23%

54%

23%

North Childminders - Range of Language Provision

Both

English

Some Bilingual Elements

3 3 32

31 2

7 7 7

5 5

3

6

31

3 32

3

0

2

4

6

8

Count of FullDay Care

Count ofHalf DayCare PM

Count ofHalf DayCare AM

Count ofBeforeSchool

Count ofAfter School

Count ofWrap

Around

Count ofHoliday

Provision

North Childminders - Provision Offered

Both English Some Bilingual Elements

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The Central area of the county is predominantly English first language however as the area sits in between both the North and the South of the county then the use of Welsh language is higher than that of the north. There appears to be 15 childminders in the Central area who have responded to their SASS. This is reflected within the provision as illustrated by the childminders which sees a similar level of English language provision with the increase of both English and Welsh language provision by 10% to reflect the demand.

33%

53%

7%7%

Central Childminders - Range of Language Provision

Both

English

Some Bilingual Elements

Welsh

5

3 34 4

5 5

8

6 65

6

3

6

1 1 1 11 1 1 10123456789

Count of FullDay Care

Count ofHalf DayCare PM

Count ofHalf DayCare AM

Count ofBeforeSchool

Count ofAfter School

Count ofWrap

Around

Count ofHoliday

Provision

Central Childminders - Provision Offered

Both English Some Bilingual Elements Welsh

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The South area of the county is a mixture of both English and Welsh first language. There appears to be 10 childminders in the South area who have responded to their SASS. This is reflected within the provision as illustrated by the childminders which sees an increase of nearly 50% of the delivery of provision in both the mediums of English and Welsh language in comparison to the rest of the county which is reflective to the demand in that area.

6

4

5

3

4

2

33 3 3 3 3

2 21 1 1 1 1 1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Count ofFull Day

Care

Count ofHalf DayCare PM

Count ofHalf DayCare AM

Count ofBeforeSchool

Count ofAfter School

Count ofWrap

Around

Count ofHoliday

Provision

South Childminders - Provision Offered

Both English Other

60%30%

10%

South Childminders - Range of Language Provision

Both

English

Other

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Childminders across Denbighshire offer a range of service provision from Full Day Care places, half day care places, before school, after school and wrap around care with a total of 342 childcare places on offer across the county. Although childminders have stipulated a variety of places available, many have also reported that a full day care place may also be split into 2 half day places as childcare is be-spoke to parent’s needs and requirements. Out of the various 342 places on offer across the county through childminding provision, the sector has seen an uptake of 283 of the places on offer filled which is 83% of the total capacity. This has identified further sufficiency across the county of 59 places across the variety of childcare places on offer within the childminding provision.

586 3 12 25 1

85

14 8 15 35 68 0 1 2 3 10

20406080

100

Full DayCare

PlacesFilled

Half DayAM Places

Filled

Half DayPM Places

Filled

BeforeSchoolPlacesFilled

AfterSchoolPlacesFilled

WrapAroundPlacesFilled

Childminders - Number & Type of Childcare Places Filled

Full Time Part Time Ad-Hoc

2622

61

91

15 20

20

40

60

80

100

All Childminders - Capacity & Type of Childcare Places Available

Sum of Half Day AM Places -(Max Capacity)

Sum of Half Day PM Places -(Max Capacity)

Sum of Before School Places -(Max Capacity)

Sum of After School Places -(Max Capacity)

Sum of Wrap Around Places -(Max Capacity)

Sum of Other Places -(Max Capacity)

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Out of the 283 childcare places which have been taken up across childminding provision in the county, 8 of these are Welsh language places which equates to 3% of the sector provision. This is in line with the 3% of range of Welsh language provision offered by childminders across the authority. Out of the 283 childcare places which have been taken up across childminding provision in the county, 53 of these are for children who the childminders have stated they are aware of a specific medical condition or additional learning needs, which equates to 19% of children within childminding sector. This may have been identified through the means of official statement or diagnosis or that the child may be receiving support from relevant agencies.

4

0 0 0 2 00 0 0 0 2 00 0 0 0 0 0012345

Full DayCare Places

Filled

Half DayAM Places

Filled

Half DayPM Places

Filled

BeforeSchoolPlacesFilled

AfterSchoolPlacesFilled

WrapAroundPlacesFilled

Childminders - Welsh Language Childcare Places Filled

Full Time Part Time Ad-Hoc

14

38

10

20

40

Total

All Childminders - Children with Additional Learning Needs

Total Number of children (of all ages) with Additional Learning Needs

Count of Speech and language and communication difficulties

Count of Children with Specified Medical Condition

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From the information received as part of the assessment, it was identified that there are 134 vacancies within the childminding sector in the county. This relates to various types of childcare which is on offer by the childminders and could be impacted by be-spoke childcare arrangements such as a full day place being split to 2 half day places or a filled full day care place during term time only could provide a full day care vacancy during holiday provision. The information was an accurate account of the status of provision as at 11th July 2016 when providers completed their SASS. In the North of the county at the time of the data collection, 65 vacancies were reported from the 13 childminders within the sector which equates to 49% of the childminding vacancies within the county. This would indicate that childminding provision within the North of the county is sufficient with availability in all types of provision on offer.

25

5

11

25

5

1113 13

26

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Nu

mb

er o

f P

lace

s A

vaila

ble

All Childminders Vacancies

Full Day Care Vacancies

Half Day AM Vacancies

Half Day PM Vacancies

Before School Vacancies

After School Vacancies

Wrap Around Vacancies

Holiday Provision AM Vacancies

Holiday Provision PM Vacancies

Other Vacancies

7

3 4

11

7

3 2 2

26

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Nu

mb

er o

f P

lace

s A

vaila

ble

North Childminder Vacancies

Full Day Care Vacancies

Half Day AM Vacancies

Half Day PM Vacancies

Before School Vacancies

After School Vacancies

Wrap Around Vacancies

Holiday Provision AM Vacancies

Holiday Provision PM Vacancies

Other Vacancies

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In the Central of the county at the time of the data collection, 46 vacancies were reported from the 15 childminders within the sector which equates to 34% of the childminding vacancies within the county. This would indicate that childminding provision within the Central of the county is of higher demand than that of the North. Demand within the Central area of the county would be impacted on the location of Ysbyty Glan Clwyd and also close proximity to the A55 expressway. There would appear to be sufficient levels of types of childcare provision available across the sector with general availability across nearly all types of childcare provision. In the South of the county at the time of the data collection, 39 vacancies were reported from 10 childminders within the sector which equates to 29% of the childminding vacancies within the county. This would indicate that childminding provision within the South of the county is of lower demand due to sufficient levels of types of childcare provision available across the sector with general availability across nearly all types of childcare provision. This is reflective of the South part of the county as a whole due to more rural localities.

10

03

6

15

0

6 6

00

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Nu

mb

er o

f P

lace

s av

aila

ble

Central Childminder Vacancies

Full Day Care Vacancies

Half Day AM Vacancies

Half Day PM Vacancies

Before School Vacancies

After School Vacancies

Wrap Around Vacancies

Holiday Provision AM Vacancies

Holiday Provision PM Vacancies

Other Vacancies

8

2

4

5

10

0

5 5

00

2

4

6

8

10

12

Nu

mb

er o

f P

lace

s A

vaila

ble

South Childminder Vacancies

Full Day Care Vacancies

Half Day AM Vacancies

Half Day PM Vacancies

Before School Vacancies

After School Vacancies

Wrap Around Vacancies

Holiday Provision AM Vacancies

Holiday Provision PM Vacancies

Other Vacancies

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All childminders across the county have reported that they operate a waiting list which is predominantly during term time. This reduces quite significantly during school holidays to just 2 childminders operating a waiting list, both of which are located within the Central area of the county. This is reflective to the demand of the childcare within that area which observes lower childcare vacancies on offer. Whilst it has been reported that there were 38 children on waiting list with some 59 vacancies available, this would indicate that availability may not be reflective to parental needs for example, a parent may need 4 full day places however a childminder may only have 4 half days currently available which would mean they would be placed on a waiting list until their requirements become available. The range of opening hours across the county varies from each provision between 7.00am until 7.00pm from Monday to Friday. The general hours of opening are between 8.00am until 6.00pm and this is assumed across the county in most cases. No providers currently offer out of hour’s provision at weekends and 7 providers provide care before 8.00am whilst only 1 provision provides care after 6.00pm in the evening. Consultation has taken place with some providers in key areas with consideration to out of hour’s provision and it has been reported that demand for the provision has not proved sustainable or popular with parents. The range of child ages where provision is offered is generally assumed in most cases as from 0 to 12 years old. With care for both boys and girls offered. A total of 264 children within the authority are currently registered within the childminding sector who utilise the range of types of provision on offer. There are currently 85 registered within the North area of the county, 108 registered within the central area of the county and 71 registered in the south area of the county. These are proportionate with the vacancies and number of providers in each area and reflective of the demands. The range of costs for provision varies from provider. The cost of a full day childcare starts from £26.50 based in the Central area of the county to £45.00 based in the South area of the county. The general average is between £30 and £35 per day. The cost of a half day childcare starts from £14.00 based in the North area of the county to £25.00 based in the Central area of the county. The general average cost is between £17 and £20 per half day. Many settings do offer a sibling discount and this is generally assumed in most cases as 10% discount on fees. Before school care ranges from £3.00 to £6.00 across the county with an average observed of £5.00. This may be affected by the offer of free school breakfast provisions within schools. Afterschool provision ranges from £10.00 to £13.50 across the county.

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Areas of Strength and Improvement The range of childminding provision across the authority is reflective to the demands of each locality and also for the language requirements in these areas. There are sufficient childcare places on offer within the childminding sector with scope for further uptake of places with the currently registered childminders. Out of hours provision covering evenings and weekends is an area which could benefit from further improvement and the demand for the development of the provision needs further assessment to establish the needs which are reflective to each area. Consideration around the sustainability for the childminders needs to be recognised as a contributing factor of the barriers to the supply of out of hour’s provision. If demand in key localities of development such as Rhyl increase, support may need to be provided with the setting up of new childminding provision with an attractive recruitment campaign for prospective individuals looking to venture into the childminding sector. This would include pre-registration support and funding of the CYPOP5 childminding registration course.

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6 2 - Supply of Childcare – Full Day Nursery

Within Denbighshire we have 42 registered Full Day Nurseries providing childcare provision across the county. Of these Full Day Nurseries, 32 completed the Self-Assessment of Service Statement (SASS) which was submitted to the Care and Social Service Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW), this is the equivalent of 76.1% of registered Full Day Care Nurseries in the authority. The information provided to CSSIW within Annex 2 of the SASS for these providers has formed the analysis and consideration of the information within this section of the audit.

Range of Services Provided Within the 3 areas there is a varied range of full day nursery provision and this is reflective towards the needs of key towns and smaller localities within close vicinity of these areas in which the full day nurseries are located. This reflects the language need within that particular area, schooling provision for example before school care, wrap around care, after school provision. These are illustrated in tables below These are also illustrated for each area which has a diverse range of need variance across the authority and shows a clear indication of the provision available within these areas which is responsive to the needs within those areas. Furthermore, additional tables for each area show the range of provision available for that particular area taking into consideration school provision requirements.

60%22%

6%

6%6%

Full Day Care Settings all of Denbighshire

Both

English

Other

Some Bilingual Elements

Welsh

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The North area of the county is predominantly English first language however the delivery of provision in the full day nurseries is reported through the medium on English and Welsh. This is higher within full day nurseries due to delivery of the foundation phase curriculum which has Welsh language as an area of learning within the framework. There appears to be 20 full day nurseries in the North area who have responded to their SASS. The use of Welsh language is promoted through various umbrella organisations and agencies, the authorities Childcare Development Officer, Family Information Service, Early Education and Flying Start. It is also reflected within CSSIW inspections of provision.

1211

10

8 8

10

8

4 44 4 43

4 4 43 3

1 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 11 1 10

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Count ofFull Day

Care

Count ofHalf DayCare PM

Count ofHalf DayCare AM

Count ofBeforeSchool

Count ofAfter School

Count ofWrap

Around

Count ofHoliday

Provision

Count ofPlaygroup

AM

Count ofPlaygroup

PM

North Full Day Care - Provison Offered

Both English Other Some Bilingual Elements Welsh

60%25%

5%5% 5%

North Full Day Care Settings - Range of Language Provision

Both

English

Other

Some Bilingual Elements

Welsh

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The Central area of the county is predominantly English first language however as the area sits in between both the North and the South of the county then the use of Welsh language is higher than that of the north. There appears to be 4 full day nurseries in the Central area who have responded to their SASS. There are fewer full day nurseries within the Central area and the response of the providers to the SASS is dependent on their understanding of some elements of bilingual and both language delivery. There is an even split of bilingual and both against English. Childcare provision in the central area of the county is heavily delivered through the childminding sector and the range of language provision within this sector is more reflective towards the demand of provision.

25%

50%

25%

Central Full Day Care Settings -Range of Language Provision

Both

English

Some Bilingual Elements

1 1 1 1 1 1 11 1

2 2 2

1 1 1 1

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Count ofFull Day

Care

Count ofHalf DayCare PM

Count ofHalf DayCare AM

Count ofBeforeSchool

Count ofAfter School

Count ofWrap

Around

Count ofHoliday

Provision

Count ofPlaygroup

AM

Count ofPlaygroup

PM

Central Full Day Care - Provision Offered

Both English Some Bilingual Elements

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The South area of the county is a mixture of both English and Welsh first language. There appears to be 8 full day nurseries in the South area who have responded to their SASS. This is reflected within the provision as illustrated by the full day nurseries which sees an increase of nearly 75% of the delivery of provision in both the mediums of English and Welsh language in comparison to the central area of the county and 15% increase of that in the North area of the county which is reflective to the demand in that area.

75%

12%

13%

South Full Day Care Settings -Range of Language Provision

Both

Other

Welsh

5

4 4

2

3 3

2 211 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1 1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Count of FullDay Care

Count ofHalf DayCare PM

Count ofHalf DayCare AM

Count ofBeforeSchool

Count ofAfter School

Count ofWrap

Around

Count ofHoliday

Provision

Count ofPlaygroup

AM

Count ofPlaygroup

PM

South Full Day Care - Provision Offered

Both English Some Bilingual Elements

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Full day nurseries across Denbighshire offer a range of service provision from Full Day Care places, half day care places, before school, after school, playgroup and wrap around care with a total of 2,872 childcare places on offer across the county at any one time. Although full day nurseries have stipulated a variety of places available, many have also reported that a full day care place may also be split into 2 half day places as childcare is be-spoke to parent’s needs and requirements. Out of the various 2,872 places on offer at any one time across the county through full day nursery provision, the sector has seen an uptake of 2,898 of the places on offer filled which would appear 101% of capacity. However, this is because majority of places within the full day care sector are made up of part time places meaning children may attend sessions maybe 2 or 3 times per week which means more children are enrolled to fill up the places on offer in nurseries. This identifies that the sector is reflective to the demands of parents and offer be-spoke childcare arrangements which may support work commitments of parents.

736

454 450

368

463

289

4 75 330

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Grand Total

All Full Day Care - Capacity & Type of Childcare Available

Sum of Full Day Care Places -(Max Capacity)

Sum of Half Day AM Places -(Max Capacity)

Sum of Half Day PM Places -(Max Capacity)

Sum of Before School Places -(Max Capacity)

Sum of After School Places -(Max Capacity)

Sum of Wrap Around Places -(Max Capacity)

Sum of Other Places -(Max Capacity)

Sum of Playgroup AM Places -(Max Capacity)

Sum of Playgroup PM Places -(Max Capacity)

193 104 36 86 126 74 2 75 33

620

115 73

337

467

111 8 170 10523 4 13 23 80 9 0 8 30

100200300400500600700

Full DayCare Places

Filled

Half Day AMPlaces Filled

Half Day PMPlaces Filled

BeforeSchool

Places Filled

After SchoolPlaces Filled

WrapAround

Places Filled

Sum ofOther

Places Filled

PlaygroupAM Places

Filled

PlaygroupPM Places

Filled

Full Day Care - Number & Type of Places Filled

Full Time Part Time Ad-Hoc

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Out of the 2,898 childcare places which have been taken up across full day nursery provision in the county, 34 of these are Welsh language places which equates to 1% of the sector provision. This is below the 5% of range of Welsh language provision offered by childminders across the authority. This identifies that the demand for Welsh language provision is lower than the level of Welsh language places currently on offer within full day nurseries. Out of the 2,898 childcare places which have been taken up across full day nursery provision in the county, 228 of these are for children who the full day nurseries have stated they are aware of having additional learning needs, which equates to 8% of children within the full day nursery sector. Within the categories, needs which may have been identified include additional learning needs, speech, language and communication difficulties, specific learning needs, hearing difficulties, visual difficulties, emotional and behavioural difficulties, physical impairment, medical conditions, children with formal statements, funded 3 and 4 years old’s with

10

0 07

0 07

1 06

3 00

5

10

15

Full Time Part Time Ad-Hoc

Full Day Care - Welsh Language Places Filled

Full Day Care Places Filled Half Day AM Places Filled

Half Day PM Places Filled Before School Places Filled

After School Places Filled Wrap Around Places Filled

Sum of Other Places Filled Playgroup AM Places Filled

Playgroup PM Places Filled

146

6 5 12 11 9

39

0

50

100

150

200

Total

Full Day Care - Children with Additional Learning Needs

Children with Additional Learning Needs Children with Sensory Impairment

Children with Physical Impairment Children with Emotional & Behavioural Difficulties

Children with Medical Conditions Children with/awaiting Statement

Children with Early Years Action/Action Plus

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additional learning needs, children with early years action or action plus support and children with statements of special educational needs. From the information received as part of the assessment, it was identified that there are 1580 vacancies within the full day nursery sector in the county. This relates to various types of childcare which is on offer by the childminders and could be impacted by be-spoke childcare arrangements such as a full day place being split to 2 half day places or a filled full day care place during term time only could provide a full day care vacancy during holiday provision. From the numbers which have been reported, it would appear that there is sufficient supply of childcare places across the authority. The information was an accurate account of the status of provision as at 11th July 2016 when providers completed their SASS. In the North of the county at the time of the data collection, 685 vacancies were reported from the 20 full day nurseries within the sector which equates to 43% of the full day care vacancies within the county. This would indicate that the full day nursery

538

124

186 180

274

27 63 61 186

40

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

All Full Day Care Vacancies

Full Day Care Vacancies

Half Day AM Vacancies

Half Day PM Vacancies

Before School Vacancies

After School Vacancies

Wrap Around Vacancies

Holiday Provision AM Vacancies

Holiday Provision PM Vacancies

Other Vacancies

Playgroup AM Vacancies

Playgroup PM Vacancies

169

92

136

35

56

14

63 61

1

49

9

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Nu

mb

er o

f P

lace

s A

vaila

ble

North Full Day Care Vacancies

Full Day Care Vacancies

Half Day AM Vacancies

Half Day PM Vacancies

Before School Vacancies

After School Vacancies

Wrap Around Vacancies

Holiday Provision AM Vacancies

Holiday Provision PM Vacancies

Other Vacancies

Playgroup AM Vacancies

Playgroup PM Vacancies

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provision within the North of the county is sufficient with availability in all types of provision on offer. In the Central of the county at the time of the data collection, 90 vacancies were reported from the 4 full day nurseries within the sector which equates to 6% of the full day nursery vacancies within the county. This would indicate that full day nursery provision within the Central of the county is of higher demand than that of the North. There are fewer full day nursery settings within the Central area of the county which predominantly sees the childminding sector as leading the way for the demand of childcare. Supply and demand of childcare within the Central area of the county is reflective to the workforce within the areas and would be impacted on the location of Ysbyty Glan Clwyd and also close proximity to the A55 expressway.

0 0

13

0

25

13

0 0 0

17

22

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Nu

mb

er o

f P

lace

s A

vaila

ble

Central Full Day Care Vacancies

Full Day Care Vacancies

Half Day AM Vacancies

Half Day PM Vacancies

Before School Vacancies

After School Vacancies

Wrap Around Vacancies

Holiday Provision AM Vacancies

Holiday Provision PM Vacancies

Other Vacancies

Playgroup AM Vacancies

Playgroup PM Vacancies

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In the South of the county at the time of the data collection, 805 vacancies were reported from 8 full day nurseries within the sector which equates to 51% of the full day nursery vacancies within the county. This would indicate that full day nursery provision within the South of the county is of lower demand due to sufficient levels of types of childcare provision available across the sector with general availability across nearly all types of childcare provision. It has highlighted the holiday provision is of high demand due to no places available and only 3 of the settings have reported that they offer holiday provision. Of the 32 full day nurseries who completed the SASS across the county, only 5 have reported that they operate a waiting list which is predominantly during term time. This reduces significantly during school holidays with no full day nurseries operating a waiting list. Whilst it has been reported that there were 38 children on waiting list with some 1580 vacancies available, this would indicate that availability may not be reflective to parental needs for example, a parent may need 5 full day places however their chosen nursery may only have 3 half days currently available which would mean they would be placed on a waiting list until their requirements become available. Childcare across the full day nursery provision would appear to be sufficient to the demand as reported by full day care providers within their SASS completion. The range of opening hours across the county varies from each provision between 7.00am until 6.00pm from Monday to Friday. The general hours of opening are between 7.30am until 6.00pm and this is assumed across the county in most cases. No providers currently offer out of hour’s provision at weekends and 10 providers provide care before 8.00am whilst no provision provides care after 6.00pm in the evening. Consultation has taken place with some providers in key areas with consideration to out of hour’s provision and it has been reported that demand for the

369

32 37

145

193

0 0 0 0 20 90

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

Nu

mb

er o

f P

lace

s A

vaila

ble

South Full Day Care Vacancies

Full Day Care Vacancies

Half Day AM Vacancies

Half Day PM Vacancies

Before School Vacancies

After School Vacancies

Wrap Around Vacancies

Holiday Provision AM Vacancies

Holiday Provision PM Vacancies

Other Vacancies

Playgroup AM Vacancies

Playgroup PM Vacancies

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provision has not proved sustainable or popular with parents. Of the 32 full day nurseries completing the SASS, only 25 completed the section to provide their opening times. This information is based on the data which was submitted as part of the SASS. The range of child ages where provision is offered is generally assumed in most cases as from 0 to 12 years old. With care for both boys and girls offered. A total of 2,491 children within the authority are currently registered within the full day nursery sector who utilise the range of types of provision on offer. There are currently 1,820 registered within the North area of the county, 252 registered within the central area of the county and 419 registered in the south area of the county. These are proportionate with the vacancies and number of providers in each area and reflective of the demands. The range of costs for provision varies from provider. The cost of a full day childcare starts from £17.00 being the lowest which is based in the South area of the county to the highest being £42.50 which is also based in the South area of the county. The general average is between £29 and £36 per day. The cost of a half day childcare starts from £8.00 being the lowest based in the South area of the county to £32.50 being the highest which is also based in the South area of the county. The general average cost is between £19 and £24 per half day. Many settings do offer a sibling discount and this is generally assumed in most cases as 10% discount on fees. Before school care ranges from £1.00 to £8.00 across the county with an average observed of £4.00. This may be affected by the offer of free school breakfast provisions within schools. Afterschool provision ranges from £3.00 to £16.00 across the county. Of the 32 full day nurseries who completed the SASS, only 25 settings submitted information regarding their range of fees. Areas of Strength and Improvement The range of full day nursery provision across the authority is reflective to the demands of each locality and also for the language requirements in these areas. The central area of the county sees fewer availability of childcare places due to the level of full day nursery provision on offer in this area. This is compensated within the childminding sector where the demand for this provision within the central area is higher. There are sufficient childcare places on offer within the full day nursery sector with scope for further uptake of places with the currently registered full day nurseries. Whilst the report sees a high number of childcare vacancies, this could be affected by how the settings have reported their vacancies and how they would split sessions to offer be-spoke childcare services to parents. This highlights that the sector is also reflective and responsive to the needs of parents. Out of hours provision covering evenings and weekends is an area which could benefit from further improvement and the demand for the development of the provision needs further assessment to establish the needs which are reflective to each area. Consideration around the sustainability for the full day nurseries needs to be recognised as a contributing factor of the barriers to the supply of out of hour’s provision. If demand in key localities of development such as Rhyl increase, support may need to be provided to full day nurseries which may need funding and support to recruit more staff and ensure costs are covered if the demand for provision drops.

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6.3 - Supply of Childcare – Sessional Day Care

Within Denbighshire we have 27 registered Sessional Day Care settings providing childcare provision across the county. Of these Providers, 21 completed the Self-Assessment of Service Statement (SASS) which was submitted to the Care and Social Service Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW), this is the equivalent of 77.7% of registered sessional day care providers in the authority. The information provided to CSSIW within Annex 3 of the SASS for these providers has formed the analysis and consideration of the information within this section of the audit. The Information received through the SASS has been somewhat conflicting and therefore has been difficult to draw an accurate conclusion of the sessional day care provision within the authority.

Range of Services Provided Within the 3 areas there is a varied range of sessional day care provision and this is reflective towards the needs of key towns and smaller localities within close vicinity of these areas in which the childminders offer provision. This reflects the language need within that particular area, schooling provision for example before school care, wrap around care, after school provision. These are illustrated in table below These are also illustrated for each area which has a diverse range of need variance across the authority and shows a clear indication of the provision available within these areas which is responsive to the needs within those areas. Furthermore, additional tables for each area show the range of provision available for that particular area taking into consideration school provision requirements.

29%

14%5%

52%

Sessional Day Care Settings Range of Language Provision in Denbighshire

Both

English

Some Bilingual Elements

Welsh

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The North area of the county is predominantly English first language. There appears to be 4 sessional day care providers in the North area who have responded to their SASS. The use of Welsh language is promoted through various umbrella organisations and agencies, predominantly Mudiad Meithrin for sessional Cylch playgroups, the authorities Childcare Development Officer, Family Information Service, Early Years Education Teacher and Flying Start. Is also reflected within CSSIW inspections of provision.

50%

25%

0%

25%

North Sessional Day Care Settings -Range of Language Provision

Both

English

Some Bilingual Elements

Welsh

2

10

1

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Both English Some BilingualElements

Welsh

North Sessional Day Care Settings - Provision Offered

Count of Wrap Around Count of Lunch offered Count of Mornings Only

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The Central area of the county is predominantly English first language however as the area sits in between both the North and the South of the county then the use of Welsh language is higher than that of the north. There appears to be 8 sessional day care providers in the Central area who have responded to their SASS. This is reflected within the provision as illustrated by the sessional day care which sees the same level of English language provision with the increase of Welsh language provision by 9% to reflect the demand. It is apparent from the data that some providers have not completed the section on the SASS correctly which relates to the ranges of provision offered so it is difficult to analyse a clear picture of the range of provision within the central area of the county.

12%

25%

0%63%

Central Sessional Day Care Settings -Range of Language Provision

Both

English

Some Bilingual Elements

Welsh

1 1

0

2

1 1

0

2

1 1

0

2

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Both English Some BilingualElements

Welsh

Central Sessional Day Care Settings - Provision Offered

Count of Wrap Around Count of Lunch offered Count of Mornings Only

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The South area of the county is a mixture of both English and Welsh first language. There appears to be 9 sessional day care providers in the South area who have responded to their SASS. This is reflected within the provision as illustrated by the sessional day care settings which sees 55% delivery of within the south area of the county in the medium of the Welsh language in comparison to the rest of the county which is reflective to the demand in that area.

22%

11%

11%

56%

South Sessional Day Care Settings -Range of Language Provision

Both

English

Some Bilingual Elements

Welsh

21 1

5

21

5

21

2

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Both English Some BilingualElements

Welsh

South Sessional Day Care Settings - Provision Offered

Count of Wrap Around Count of Lunch offered Count of Mornings Only

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Sessional day care settings across Denbighshire offer a range of service provision from wrap around care, morning or afternoon places and lunch cover with a total of 499 childcare places on offer across the county at any one time. Although sessional day care providers have reported that of this number, 485 children are using the service, this would not indicate a vacancy level of 14 places as this could mean that children may be attending settings on a part time or ad-hoc basis. This information was not reported on within the SASS for sessional day care providers. Information relating to the number of children Welsh language provision is somewhat higher within the sessional day care sector with 236 of the 485 children accessing the service through the medium of Welsh playgroups/ Cylch Meithrin. This is 49% of the sector. From the information received as part of the assessment, it was identified that there are 295 vacancies within the sessional day care sector in the county. This relates to various types of childcare which is on offer by the settings and could be impacted by be-spoke childcare arrangements such as a wraparound place being split to 2 half day places. The information was an accurate account of the status of provision as at 11th July 2016 when providers completed their SASS. Within the north area of the county, it would appear that there are fewer places available for sessional day care and this is reflective against the amount of sessional day care settings within that area. Each area of the county’s vacancies reflect the amount of settings within that

14481 20

254

14081 28

236

0

100

200

300

Both English Some BilingualElements

Welsh

All Sessional Day Care - Capacity & Number of Children Using Settings

Sum of Sessional Day Care Places (Max Capacity)

Sum of Children Using Sessional Day Care

0 0 23 0

61

3412 20

355 21

84

0

20

40

60

80

100

Sum of Wrap AroundVacancies

Sum of LunchVacancies

Sum of MorningsVacancies

Sum of AfternoonsVacancies

Summary of Vacancies

North Central South

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area and would indicate that there are sufficient sessional day care places available throughout the authority. Out of the 485 childcare places which have been taken up across sessional day provision in the county, 23 of these are for children who the providers have stated they are aware of a specific medical condition or additional learning needs, which equates to 5% of children within sessional day care sector. This may have been identified through the means of official statement or diagnosis or that the child may be receiving support from relevant agencies. Out of the 27 sessional day care providers who completed the SASS, only 1 stated that they operate a waiting list however at the time of completion there were no children on their list. This indicates that there is sufficient childcare places on offer within the sessional day care sector. The range of opening hours across the county remains similar across the sessional day care provision due to the nature of the sector. Times are typically between 8.45am until 3.15pm from Monday to Friday, term time only. The range of child ages where provision is offered is reported between 1 to 4 years old. With care for both boys and girls offered. A total of 485 children within the authority are currently registered within the sessional day care sector who utilise the range of provision on offer. There are currently 126 registered within the North area of the county, 176 registered within the central area of the county and 183 registered in the south area of the county. These are proportionate with the vacancies and number of providers in each area and reflective of the demands. The range of costs for provision varies from provider. The cost of a wraparound session starts from £6.00 based in the North area of the county to £15.00 based in the South area of the county. The general average is between £10 per day for wrap around care. The cost of a morning or afternoon session is generally the same across the county with the range between £9 and £10.50. There is only 1 setting reporting to offer a sibling discount which is located within the south area of the county. The discount being £6.00 per week. This is not a concern due to the low cost of sessional care provision across the authority as a whole.

16

6 10

10

20

TOTAL

Sessional Day Care - Children with Additional Learning Needs

Total Number of children (of all ages) with Additional Learning Needs

Count of Speech and language and communication difficulties

Count of Children with Specified Medical Condition

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Areas of Strength and Improvement The range of sessional day care provision across the authority is reflective to the demands of each locality and also for the language requirements in these areas. The supply and demand of sessional day care is greater in the south area of the county and there is further scope for parents to uptake sessional day care places with settings reporting to have vacancies. Sessional day care in the north is of low supply however this is primarily due to the higher number of full day care settings offering sessional and wraparound care as part of their bespoke childcare offer. Consideration around the sustainability for the sessional day care providers needs to be recognised in relation to the key indicators as identified in the 8.1 Free Nursery Provision section due to level of funding settings receive per child for delivering Early Years Education.

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6.4 - Supply of Childcare – Crèches

There is currently no registered Crèche provision within the authority. Areas of Strength and Improvement From the consultation, there are no reported crèche facilities within the authority, however, some registered full day care providers do offer flexible childcare provision which is reflective to the needs of parents and families. Within the local authorities Integrated Children’s centre in Rhyl, there are facilities on site which support children, young people and their families which include family support programmes and trainings. If such a programme is delivered on site through a partnership organisation such as positive parenting courses, then the childcare facility within the centre will where possible support the parents with childcare whilst they attend the course each week. This childcare maybe funded by external organisations such as Action for Children, Hafan Cymru, North Denbighshire Domestic Abuse Service, Children’s Services, Flying Start, PaCE or Team Around the Family. The childcare team at the children’s centre have upon request supported services across the authority through a mobile crèche facility however the demand for this has been ad-hoc. Emergency crèche support has been delivered at times of crisis within the authority such as St Asaph and Ruthin floods whereby emergency weekend crèche facility was provided in the leisure centres within each locality to support the families of the affected floods. This was funded as part of the local authority’s emergency contingency plans. Whilst the demand for crèche provision is low in the county, a number of organisations will provide their own crèche facility through their family support teams if such training courses are delivered on their premises such as Action for Children.

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6.5 - Supply of Childcare – Out of School Care

Within Denbighshire we have 20 registered out of school settings across the county. Of these providers, 14 completed the Self-Assessment of Service Statement (SASS) which was submitted to the Care and Social Service Inspectorate for Wales (CSSIW), this is the equivalent of 70% of registered out of school settings in the authority. Due to the low number of SASS completions within the out of school sector, it is difficult to draw accurate conclusion of the out of school provision within the authority. The information provided to CSSIW within Annex 5 of the SASS for these providers has formed the analysis and consideration of the information within this section of the audit.

Range of Services Provided Within the 3 areas there is a varied range of Out of School provision catering for after school and holiday provision. This is reflective towards the needs of key towns and smaller localities within close vicinity of these areas. This also reflects the language need within that particular area and the schooling provision for example before school care, after school and holiday provision. These are illustrated in table below These are also illustrated for each area which has a diverse range of need variance across the authority and shows a clear indication of the provision available within these areas which is responsive to the needs within those areas. Furthermore, additional tables for each area show the range of provision available for that particular area taking into consideration school provision requirements.

22%

64%

14%

Out of School Settings all of Denbighshire

Both

English

Welsh

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The North area of the county is predominantly English first language. There appears to be 6 out of school settings in the North area who have responded to their SASS. The use of Welsh language is promoted through various umbrella organisations and agencies, the authorities Childcare Development Officer and Family Information Service. Is also reflected within CSSIW inspections of provision. Due to conflicting information on the completion of some of the sections of the SASS, it is fair to assume that some settings have completed some sections incorrectly or duplicated parts of their service.

83%

17%

North Out of School Settings -Range of Language Provision

English

Welsh

1 1 1

0

1 11 1 1

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

Count of BeforeSchool

Count of After School Count of WrapAround

Count of HolidayChild Care

North Out of School Settings - Provision Offered

English Some Bilingual Elements Welsh

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The Central area of the county is predominantly English first language however as the area sits in between both the North and the South of the county then the use of Welsh language is higher than that of the north. There appears to be 6 out of school settings in the Central area who have responded to their SASS. This is reflected within the provision as illustrated by the providers which sees an even level of both English and Welsh and English only language provision.

29%

57%

14%

Central Out of School Settings -Range of Language Provision

Both

English

Welsh

3

1

2

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

Count of BeforeSchool

Count of After School Count of WrapAround

Count of HolidayChild Care

Central Out of School Settings - Provision offered

Both English Welsh

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The South area of the county is a mixture of both English and Welsh first language. There appears to be 1 out of school setting in the South area who has responded to their SASS. This is reflected within the provision as illustrated by the provider which demonstrates delivery of provision in both the mediums of English and Welsh language. As there was only 1 setting completing the SASS in the South of the county it would be unfair to ascertain any conclusion relating to the supply and demand of out of school provision within this area based on the information provided.

100%

South Out of School Settings - Range of Language Provision - 1 Setting Provides for Both English & Welsh

1

0

1

0

1

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

Count of BeforeSchool

Count of After School Count of WrapAround

Count of HolidayChild Care

South Out of School Settings - Provision offered -Both Languages

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Out of school settings across Denbighshire offer a range of service provision from before school care, after school and holiday club provision with a total of 513 childcare places on offer across the county at any one time. Although out of school providers have reported that of this number, 656 children are using the service, this would not indicate any vacancies as this could mean that children may be attending settings on a part time or ad-hoc basis as out of school provision is in general more flexible towards the needs of parents and their families. Although Welsh language provision within the out of school sector would appear to be lower than other areas of the childcare sector in Denbighshire, it would be fair to assume that because of the low numbers of providers completing the SASS in the south area of the county, this would affect the analysis of this information as the south of the county has proven throughout the assessment to be higher needs of Welsh provision due to the language demands of the areas.

272

220

21

385

225

460

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

North Central South

All Out of School Settings - Capacity & Number of Children Using Provision

Sum of Out of School Places (Max Capacity)

Sum of Children Using Out of School Provision

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From the information received as part of the assessment, it was identified that there are 197 vacancies within the before school provision of the out of school sector in the county. This number relates entirely to the North of the county. As each school within the authority participates in the breakfast club initiative, this would not indicate that there are supply issues within the central or south areas due to schools providing this service also as illustrated in section 9 Free Breakfast Club Provision. From the information provided, it would appear that there are 548 vacancies within after school provision across the authority. This is demonstrating that after school provision is sufficient across the authority from the providers who completed the SASS. It is also reported that there are 208 vacancies for holiday provision across the out of school sector. This would also demonstrate that there is sufficient out of school provision across the authority for families within Denbighshire. The information was an accurate account of the status of provision as at 11th July 2016 when providers completed their SASS.

197

403

680 115 860 30 540

100

200

300

400

500

Sum of Before SchoolVacancies

Sum of After School Vacancies Sum of Holiday Child CareVacancies

Summary of Vacancies

North Central South

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Out of the 656 childcare places which have been taken up across out of school provision in the county, 42 of these are for children who the out of school providers have stated they are aware of a specific medical condition or additional learning needs, which equates to 6% of children within the out of school sector. This may have been identified through the means of official statement or diagnosis or that the child may be receiving support from relevant agencies. Out of the 14 out of school providers who completed the SASS, only 2 stated that they operate a waiting list however at the time of completion there were no children on their list. This indicates that there is sufficient childcare places on offer within the sessional day care sector. The range of opening hours across the county remains similar across the out of school provision due to the nature of the sector. Times are typically between 3.00pm until 6.00pm from Monday to Friday, term time only. Holiday provision is again typically similar across the county with opening times from 8.00am until 6.00pm. Holiday provision does cater for more bespoke needs such as morning or afternoon sessions and is more flexible to the needs of working parents and can bespoke to their needs by the use of hourly rates starting from £3.00 per hour. This is more reflective to parents who may work shifts. The range of child ages where provision is offered is reported between 3 to 12 years old. With care for both boys and girls offered. A total of 656 children within the authority are currently registered within the out of school sector who utilise the range of provision on offer. There are currently 385 registered within the North area of the county, 225 registered within the central area of the county and 46 registered in the south area of the county. These are proportionate with the vacancies and number of providers in each area and reflective of the demands. However, due to the number of providers who have not completed their SASS, this would be expected to be somewhat higher in each area with only giving a 70% reflection of the out of school provision.

32

73

0

10

20

30

40

TOTAL

Out of School Settings - Number of Children with Additional Learning Needs

Total Number of children (of all ages) with Additional Learning Needs

Count of Speech and language and communication difficulties

Count of Children with Specified Medical Condition

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The range of costs for provision varies from provider. The cost of an afterschool sessions starts from £5.00 based in the North area of the county to £15.00 based in the South area of the county. The general average is between £10 per day for wrap around care. The cost of a morning or afternoon session is generally the same across the county with the range between £8 and £10. There are 8 settings reporting to offer a sibling discount across the county. The discount varies from £1 per day with 10% off sibling fees being the most common theme when providing discount on fees. This is not a concern due to the low cost of out of school provision across the authority as a whole. The out of school sector receives support through the means of the out of school grant administered by Family Information service. The grant enables the service to provide an extensive, subsidised training programme to providers to support them within sustainability and also to remain compliant within the minimum standards of regulatory service through CSSIW registration. Equipment grants have also been offered to settings to purchase play equipment to enhance play opportunities for children accessing out of school and holiday provision. The grant also support families and children in need as explained within section 11 – Sustainability. Areas of Strength and Improvement The range of out of school provision across the authority is reflective to the demands of each locality and also for the language requirements in these areas. There are sufficient childcare places on offer within the out of school sector with scope for further uptake of places with the currently registered out of school providers. Out of hours provision covering evenings and weekends is an area which could benefit from further improvement and the demand for the development of the provision needs further assessment to establish the needs which are reflective to each area. Consideration around the sustainability for out of school providers needs to be recognised as a contributing factor of the barriers to the supply of out of hour’s provision. Due to the low numbers of providers completing the SASS, further support work needs to be undertaken to ensure settings are remaining compliant as part of their registration and that understanding of the completion of such paperwork is clear and concise. Due to the low numbers of completion, it should be mindfully taken into consideration that this information is merely a snapshot of the out of school provision within the authority, however it is clear from the information provided that out of school provision is sufficient within the authority due to the reported number of vacancies as illustrated within the assessment.

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6.6 - Supply of Childcare – Open Access Play Provision

There are currently no registered Open Access Play providers in Denbighshire however, the local authority supports and initiates a number of opportunities which provide access to play experiences and environments for children, young people and their families. These are part of a collaboration of working partnerships with the authority and key partners and are fundamental to the play experiences in which the children within the authority have the opportunity to take part in. National Play Day National Playday is celebrated annually across the UK on the first Wednesday in August and it is to promote the importance of play to children and their families. In Denbighshire it was celebrated in Rhyl at the Oaktree Integrated Children’s Centre. There was lots of free activities for children and their families to enjoy including giant waterside, den building, messy play, ninja training camp, disability sports, soccerama, angry birds, the cube, computer deconstruction, smoothie bike, painting, card board box city, bird box making, arts and crafts, circus skills, junk percussion, face painting and much more. At least 1500 people attended the event and the feedback from the children, young people and their families was very positive. The open access event was a success through collaborative partnership working which saw teams from Denbighshire’s Facilities, Assets and Housing’s Community Well-being department providing the activities including Oaktree Childcare team, Sports Development team, Youth Services, Arts Service, Family Information Service and had support from a number of other organisations including Flying Start, Countryside Services, Healthy Preschools, Families First, North Wales Police, RNLI, HM Coastguard, St Johns Ambulance, King of the Castles, Public Health Wales and Menter Iaith. Community Housing Events The service recently facilitated a community event for residents at Bruton Park in Rhyl. Over 60 families attended a free open access event that included information for families, play and sport activities for children and young people and an opportunity for the community to feedback to the service on future aspirations for their local area. Soft Play Sessions Pop-in soft play sessions for 0 to 6 year olds are offered through Denbighshire Leisure within various leisure centres across the authority. Gross motor skills are encouraged in the play environment during the sessions and children are encouraged to play freely on the equipment through a play to learn approach. Although these open access sessions are not free, they are subsidised by the authority to ensure the minimum costs are incurred by the families attending the session. Prices start from £2.50. Between January and December 2016, the centres observed 1,647 children using the facilities.

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Dragon Sport & 5x60 Programme Denbighshire offers a wide range of recreational activities for children within The Sports agenda. Within the primary schools in Denbighshire there is the Dragon Sport programme which encourages 7-11 year olds to take part in extracurricular sporting activities. There is also sportzone, junior fitness, community sports programme, Street Games and “US girls”. The Dragon Sport programme has delivered 6,376 sessions in schools which was the 2nd highest authority in Wales. 5x60 programme is delivered through secondary schools throughout Denbighshire and is rising to the challenge by helping to create an environment necessary for children to take part in extracurricular sport and physical activity on a regular basis. The programme offers a wide variety of sporting activities ranging from football, netball, dodge ball, street dance, table tennis and trampolining. The 5x60 programme has delivered 3,546 sessions which has seen a total of 116,910 attendances across 7 secondary schools in the authority. Youth Services Young people aged 11 and upwards are offered open access to universal and targeted youth provision across the 6 localities in Denbighshire. Over 4000 children and young people engage with the youth service provision across the authority. The Youth service have also worked in partnership with the Urdd who have supported Welsh language youth work provision which saw almost 9000 children and young people attending sessions. Countryside Services Denbighshire Countryside Services strive to enhance and promote the special landscape, wildlife and heritage of the county and encourage the residents of Denbighshire to utilise the natural surroundings through play. The service offers an extensive all year round programme of events and activities right across the county and demonstrates to participants how to make the most of the natural resources. Events are free open access for all the family and include activities such as orienteering, beach and country walks, family fun days, treasure hunts, craft and activities, nature trails, festivals, dusk and night activities, after school mini adventure programmes, gardening, dune and beach walks, kite making, a varied range of school holiday activities and historic fun events. Countryside Services also support the local authorities National Play Day event. Street Games & US Girls The ‘Street Games’ and ‘Us Girls’ schemes underpin The Sports agenda and are delivered by the community sport team. The offer is free open access sport sessions in Community First areas for residents from the most deprived areas. The model of delivery is to train up local volunteers, mentor them and then provide equipment so that activity becomes sustainable. The schemes saw 7,929 attendances within the Community First areas.

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Rhyl Adventure Play Association (RAPA) RAPA are based within the Rhydwen housing estate in the South West ward of Rhyl close to the Rhydwen Playing Fields. RAPA provide play opportunities for children and young people aged 5 to 15 years. As part of their programme they offer environmental play, arts and crafts, drama, nature walks, den building, a range of traditional games, skipping, hide and seek, trips and events and sports including tennis, football and basketball. They also have an ICT suite available to children and young people which is open twice a week. Sustainable Play Project Sustainable Play Project facilitated in Llangollen is a Wales wide programme improving the health and well-being of children and young people. Sustainable Play is delivered in partnership with SNAP Cymru which provides support for inclusion to families, children and young people. SNAP Cymru also provide training to the sector to provide more opportunities for inclusive play. SNAP Cymru attended the Family Information Service annual Childcare Conference in 2016 to provide information and support to professionals within the sector to promote more inclusive play provision and opportunities within the authority. Integrated Children’s Centre The Oaktree Centre based in the South West area of Rhyl provides integrated support and childcare to children, young people and families from 0-25 years. Service delivery includes Childcare provision, Early Years Provision, Health and Parenting Support, Skills Set and Training, Youth Services and Play Provision. Partnership working is fundamental to the impact of the coordination of the service delivery. Open Access soft play sessions are provided in the centre which are facilitated by a variety of key partners including Youth Services, Flying Start, Action for Children, The Oaktree Centre Childcare Team, Family Information Service, Education and neighbouring Christchurch School. Other open access services for children, young people and their families include facilitated sessions by Scouts, Young Carers, US Girls, Clwb Cic and Communities First. The children’s centre also coordinated and facilitated National Play Day for the authority and provided a safe, open access Halloween event for children within the community. Partnership working has also taken place with Denbighshire Art’s Service as part of The Cultural and Arts agenda, to provide a varied programme of activity during school holidays which was open up as a community event to support community inclusion in the area. The Oaktree Centre Childcare Team has also supported a variety of events across the authority by providing play activities and opportunities. Such events include Armed Forces Day, Beach Fest, Tour of Britain and Community Housing events within residential areas of the county. The Forest Fun Club afterschool and holiday provision within the centre also provide inclusive after school and holiday provision supporting Families First and the Out of School Grant supported childcare element, addressing the individual needs of children, young people and families identified in need of inclusive support and practice.

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Nova Play Centre The newly opened Nova Centre was a key transformation for the play facilities in Denbighshire. The state of the art leisure facility including the authorities first of its kind, high quality 3 storey children’s play area. One of the largest in North East Wales, facilities include climbing walls, slides, rope pyramid and sensory equipment for inclusive play, Whilst play provision for young children under the age of 1 is free, for children over this age, a low cost fee is payable. During school holidays a varied programme of events and activities has been introduced to provide additional experiences for users of the facility. Between January and December 2016, the service observed 38,783 children using the facility. Flying Start Flying Start offer a varied programme of open access play provision within the identified areas of need within the Flying Start programme. This includes facilitating parent and toddler soft play sessions and also providing open access play events during school holidays with a varied theme of activities. This is extended across the county within the Flying Start areas. Areas of Strength and Improvement As identified in the Play Sufficiency Assessment 2016, Provision is not assessed but a tool kit has been produced on quality play provision and this is offered to providers within the authority through the Childcare Forum. Although there is no registered play provision, is has been identified that there are varied levels of collaborative work both within the local authority and also supported by the local authority to provide enriched play opportunities for children and young people. Following the success of National Play Day events over previous years, it would be reasonable for the authority to consider extending such like events across the authority within communities and extending collaborative work within the Facilities, Assets and Housing department to incorporate the Community Housing Development Team.

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6.7 - Supply of Childcare – Nanny Provision

There is currently no registered Nanny provision within the authority of Denbighshire. Areas of Strength and Improvement From the consultation process it has been highlighted as part of addressing the needs of out of hours provision within the authority, future consideration needs to be made which is reflective to the developing communities and increasing employment opportunities alongside this. For example, new retail developments which are currently in progress in Rhyl are forecast to bring up to 500 new job opportunities to the area which in hand will increase the demand for childcare. This could impact on out of hour’s provision due to weekend and non-waking hour’s shifts. Out of the 22 childcare providers within the Rhyl locality, none currently provided out of hour’s provision after 6pm or at the weekends as there is currently no demand within the area for this to prove sustainable for the childcare providers to offer, however, 2 settings have said that they would consider opening at weekends if the demand was to increase due to the new developments. Further consultation work needs to take place to ensure the demand is monitored accordingly and any highlighted change is addressed. If demand for out of hour’s provision increases for non-waking hour’s shifts then further work and consultation needs to take place to establish the exact level of need and if these needs can be addressed through a programme of support to potentially introduce Nanny provision within the authority.

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7 – Understanding the Needs of Parents / Carers

Within this section we have reflected against the current use, the demand for

childcare and the barriers to childcare provision. This information has been taken

form the consultation period with parents and through the implementation of parent

questionnaires which saw 319 parents respond to the questionnaire in both English

and Welsh (291 English and 28 Welsh). The questionnaire was available on survey

monkey on the Denbighshire County Council website from August 2016 until

February 2017. Outreach work was done with parents at Flying Start Sessions,

including Parent and Toddler sessions and parents who were attending Flying Start

settings, Bookstart sessions in the library and swimming lessons. Parent and Toddler

groups within school settings were visited as were parent evenings. Officers linked in

with the County Talking Points sessions in the libraries. Information was also sent to

Town and Community Councils, Coleg Llandrillo, Betsi Cadwaladr Health

Board, Denbighshire County Council staff and the St Asaph business park. All

members of the Childcare Forum and Umbrella organisations (WalesPPA - Wales

Pre-school Providers Association, Mudiad Meithrin, NDNA - National Day Nurseries

Association and PACEY- Professional Association or Childcare and Early Years)

were asked to circulate to their contacts. When doing outreach both hard copies and

the survey monkey version via a tablet were made available to participants. When

paper versions were completed with parents, the feedback from parents was the

questionnaire was too long and repetitive.

The area with the highest rate of completion was Area 3 which was the South of the

County.

21%

23%51%

3% 1%1%

Areas of Parent Participation

Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Out of area Conwy Out of Area Flintshire Out of Area Wrexham

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Respondents by Annual Household Income

The above data notes the varied income in the county for working families. We had 163 responses

to the English questionnaire and 15 form the Welsh. 19% participants declined to declare their

income. 80.9% of the English responses and 45.5% of the Welsh responses were wanting more

affordable childcare, which confirms that childcare is seen to be a big expense to families in

Denbighshire.

Respondents by Ethnic Group

This reflects the delivery of childcare provision in Denbighshire as the majority of respondents are White - Welsh/English/Scottish/Northern Irish.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Respondents by Ethnic Group

6%

14%

12%

9%

12%11%

5%

12%

19%

What is your average annual income?

£0-£10,000 per annum

£10,001-£20,000 per annum

£20,001-£30,000 per annum

£30,001-£40,000 per annum

£40,001-£50,000 per annum

£50,001-£60,000 per annum

£60,001-££70,000 per annum

£70,000+ per annum

Prefer not to say

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Language of Respondents (primary language spoken at home)

58% of those that responded speak English as a first language at home with 28%

being bilingual. 9% were Welsh households. Of the Welsh speaking households 24

parents preferred English childcare provision, 27 Welsh and English and 16 Welsh

Medium provision (see table below). Reflecting this against full day care settings

60% of settings deliver through the medium of Welsh and English, confirming that

the sector is meeting the demands of the parents in relation to language.

9%

58%

28%

5%

What is the primary language spoken at home?

Welsh only English only Bi-lingual Any other languages (please specify)

16

27

24

00

5

10

15

20

25

30

Welsh Medium Welsh and English Medium English Medium Any other language (pleasestate)

Language Preference of Childcare

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Respondents’ Children by Age Group

Registered childcare settings are up to the years of 12 years, this shows that the

majority of respondents hasd childen who were under 12.

Respondents with children who have special educational needs or disability

136 individuals reponded to this question both from the English and Welsh

questionnaires, 182 declined to respond.

Of all the special educational needs or disabilites noted within the chart above,

Speech and language and emotional and behavioural difficulties were the highest.

Of the 72 parents who answered the question relating to children who have special educational needs or who may require specialist care due to a disability, 90.8% answered no they did not require places within childcare settings with 9.2% answering yes.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Under 12months

12 - 18months

19- 23months

2 years 3 years 4 years 5-7 years 8-11years

12-14years

15-17years

N/A

How many children do you have of the following age range?

28

18 17 20 1924

20 18 18

91

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Speechand

language

Specificlearning

(dyslexia)

Hearingdifficulties

Learningdifficulties

Visualdifficulties

Emotionaland

behaviouraldifficulties

Physical Medicationcondition(specify)

Other(specify)

N/A

Do any of your children have a disability or any additional needs?

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25 parents stated that they require childcare before 8am. 15 stated that childcare was needed after 6pm and 13 required weekend care. 59 of those who responded need the childcare as they are working with 7 studying, seeking work or accessing training. Breakfast and after school clubs are mainly used by the parents who participated in our survey and this care is accessed within the County with an exception of 6 using childcare across the border.

For the number and type of childcare places which are used for full time, part time and ad hoc basis, 47 of those that responded are using either Childminders, Full Day care or sessional day care during term time. A further 6 use the same provision during the School Holidays which is reflective against their family’s needs.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Under 12months

12 -18months

19 -23months

2 years 3 years 4 years 5-7 years 8-11 years 12-14 years 15 -17 years

Respondants using Childcare and Ages of Children

Full Time Part Time Ad-hoc

25

15

6

13

6

58

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Before 8am After 6pm Over-night care Weekend care Don't know N/A

At what times is there no childcare available when you need it?

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Number of Places used by Language Category

Parents are accessing a cross section of childcare available to them during term time, especially breakfast clubs, after school care and Nurseries. 58% of parents whose primary language spoken at home is English are also accessing childcare that can offer Welsh and bilingual care. Less Welsh only provision is evident within the table above for Holiday care.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Childminder

Nursery

Flying Start place

Crèche

Playscheme

Open access

Nanny

Holiday Club

Other

Type of childcare and language used during Holidays

Welsh Welsh & English English & some bilingual elements English

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Childminder

Nursery

Cylch Meithrin / Playgroup - morning

Cylch Meithrin / Playgroup - afternoon

Part time Early Education in school

Flying Start place

Crèche

After School Club

Breakfast Club

Free Breakfast Club

Playscheme

Open access

Nanny

Type of Childcare and Language used during Term Time

Welsh Welsh & English English & some bilingual elements English

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Age Range of Children Using and Not Using Childcare

It is evident from the limited data we have that parents require childcare for the Primary School age children 5-11 yrs of age. Although the registration of childcare changed in April 2016 to include children up to the age of 12 this has not impacted on children aged 8-11 using childcare. Parents continue to combine registered childcare with support from friends and family or choose to stay at home.

Reasons for Using and Not Using Childcare

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Which of the reasons best describes why you don't use childcare at this time

10

20

30

40

50

60

Under 12months

12- 18months

19 -23months

2 years 3 years 4 years 5-7 years 8-11years

12-14years

15 - 17years

N/A

How many children of the following age ranges you do not use childcare for

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Accessibility, Availability and Affordability of Childcare Provision

Over 50% of parents who responded noted that no improvements were needed to the childcare they were accessing, however due to the low response rate, it would be unwise for the authority to act on this information alone.

80%

0%4%

4%

2%1%

0%0%

3%6%

What is your main reason for using childcare for your child / children?

I go/ will be going to work

I do / will be doing unpaid voluntarywork

I am/ will be studying

I am /will be seeking work

I am/ will be seeking training oreducation opportunities

Social or learning benefits for my child/children

Assisted places

To take advantage of Early YearsEducation Entitlement

To take advantage of Flying StartEntitlement

Other (please specify)

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Available before 08:00

Morning 09:00 - 12:00

Afternoon 12:00 - 15:30

Available after 18:00

Overnight care

How could the accessability / availability and affordability of childcare provision be improved

Term Time School Holidays

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Parental Views on the Childcare on Offer

From the questionnaires that were completed, below are some of the additional

comments that were made:

Munchkins at Llanbedr is reasonably priced, excellent standards, open

term time and holidays, operates for long enough hours to enable a full

day’s work to be done, accessible, friendly staff, flexible and has

spaces available.

The provision of wrap around care in all schools would help many

working families considerably.

Take a Look at the Ground works Holiday Club in Wrexham for 8 - 14

years old one of these in Denbighshire would be amazing

There is a very small after school club for Ysgol y Gwernant and Ysgol

Bryn Collen. There are not enough places for all the children who want

to use it due to very small facilities - as the two schools share school

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Thinking about childcare that you use for your child/ children , do you agree or disagree with the following?

Agree Disagree Don't know Not applicable

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buildings, the previous room was taken away from the After school club

provider and there are now not enough places for all the children who

want to use it due to very small facilities. Luckily, other parents have

been helping me out until I get home from work otherwise I would have

been forced to give up my job. Sometimes my daughter has had to

walk down to Llangollen alone to meet my son who is now in

secondary school as I have had no other option. She is too young to do

this and it is dangerous. There are other parents in a similar position. It

is still very awkward and I do not feel I should have to ask other people

to help out. I would rather pay registered childcares’ for this. It is not

right that there is no facility for all parents who need to use it in

Llangollen.

I work shifts late nights and weekends. There is only one nursery that

provides Saturday care and this is sporadic. I would like more choice of

weekend care and overnight care.

Work starts @ 6.30am/ 6.45pm

Childcare costs are prohibitive

Very happy with provision of services at Ysgol Llanbedr - the teaching,

facilities and sense of community are outstanding

We use Munchkins at Ysgol Llanbedr as it is affordable, flexible and

the children enjoy the setting

It's discriminatory that we can't get Welsh medium wrap around in

Henllan so we have to transport our kids at own time & expense to

Denbigh if we want to work after 3pm. I had to change my working

hours because of this & have had to turn down work.

There is lack of choice. My Child will be going to a Welsh school and I

speak Welsh first language, yet my toddler speaks English with his

child minder from 9 til 3 Monday to Friday. My older 2 also had English

childminders. It’s a great shame.

I have to use two separate childcare provisions during the holidays as

nursery's are too young for my eldest and sports zone is starts at age 6

which my youngest would love to be at as the childminder has young

babies which she doesn't want to play with

School holiday provision is sporadic and expensive and not suitable to

my eldest child's needs

There is little or no provision for childcare out of term time and the

school terms do not take this into account. Denbighshire schools finish

on 16th December this year - all the parents are still at work for another

week!!

I can only afford to place my child in nursery for 2 days a week and to

enable me to continue to work, a family member has him for the

remainder of the week.

As explained childcare is incredibly expensive and there is very little

assistance for those that earn relatively good incomes. I can see why

some choose not to go back to work following a spell of maternity leave

as I wouldn't want to be £8 better off per month only to have someone

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else spend all week with my children - there is no incentive. We are

lucky to have my parents who can help and reduce the cost of

childcare.

My son goes to Cylch at his school but they are only able to offer him 2

half days a week which is not enough. More support for these groups

needs to be provided by the school and the council as they are

invaluable.

I live and all my son's childcare provision is in Flintshire, so not sure

how helpful any of this is to you.

Areas of Strength and Improvement

The limited responses does require caution to any conclusions anyone can draw

from the data.

The conclusion from the consultation with parents is that their requirements are

Quality, affordable childcare available near their homes offering flexible/ad hoc after

school and holiday care. As expected, the parents of preschool age children are

needing part time and full day care. With the parents of older children needing the ad

hoc care during holiday periods. Registered childcare in our county offers good

flexibility with a good number of providers including childminder and full day care

opening before 8am and remaining open until 6pm. An Ad hoc service is a concern

as staffing and child ratios is a requirement of their registration and sustainability of a

service would become unstable if this would become a trend during the holiday

period.

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8 - Flying Start Provision

Flying Start is a Welsh Government funded programme for the most disadvantaged communities in Wales and is available in 3 targeted areas within Denbighshire supporting all families to give 0-3 year olds a Flying Start in life. The scheme aims to provide intensive support services for children aged 0-3 years old and their families. The focus of the programme is on promoting language, cognitive, social and emotional skills, physical development and the early identification of high needs. Within Denbighshire, this is addressed through the delivery of health support and guidance, ante-natal support, parenting groups and support, early language and education support and free part-time childcare.

Number of Childcare Settings funded to provide Flying Start Places

Full Day Care/ Nursery Sessional Day Care Childminder

Language Rhyl Denbigh Prestatyn Rhyl Denbigh Prestatyn Rhyl Denbigh Prestatyn

Welsh 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0

Welsh & English

0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

English & some bilingual elements

5 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 0

English 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Flying Start opened their programme out to tender to childminders in Denbigh and the expansion areas in Rhyl but there was no interest received by Flying Start from providers within the childminding sector. Flying Start reported in 2015 they had 1 childminder who was set up to deliver the programme in Nantglyn in Denbigh but the childminder closed before allocation became available.

Number of Flying Start Children allocated within Childcare Settings

Language Rhyl Denbigh Prestatyn

Welsh 11 8 3

Welsh & English

0 0 0

English & some bilingual elements

137 11 8

English 0 0 0

Other 0 0 0

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Weekly Attendance Profile of Flying Start Places

Number of funded places

Language Rhyl Denbigh Prestatyn

Welsh

Monday 11 8 3

Tuesday 8 3

Wednesday 11 7 3

Thursday 10 6 3

Friday 11 5 3

Welsh & English

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

English & some bilingual elements

Monday 135 11 8

Tuesday 133 11 7

Wednesday 135 11 7

Thursday 135 11 7

Friday 134 11 7

English

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Other

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Flying Start in Denbighshire do not record attendance or allocation of childcare places in settings as AM or PM attendance, information has been submitted on the generic Flying Start allocation within Denbighshire due to the number of children who may change sessions within settings and providers may provide a flexible approach to family needs. The Cylch provider for Flying Start within the Rhyl area does not open on Tuesdays which is why Flying Start have reported no attendance figures on this day.

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Take Up of Flying Start places - September 2016

Area Number of respondents living in a Flying Start Area - Eligibility September16

Number of respondents accessing free childcare

Number of children claiming free childcare

Number of respondents not accessing free childcare

Rhyl 63 61 61 2

Denbigh 11 11 11 0

Prestatyn 4 3 3 1

The above table shows the number of new children identified as eligible for the Flying Start programme in Denbighshire as from September 2016. From the 78 children eligible for Flying Start funded childcare, 75 children accessed the programme. The 3 who were eligible and did not uptake their place were because 1 child was already attending a nursery who does not deliver as part of the Flying Start programme and the parent did not want to change their child’s nursery, 1 parent felt their child was too young to attend nursery and the remaining parent was due to move out of the Flying Start area. Parents were also consulted on Flying Start provision in Denbighshire through the parent questionnaire. This identified that 10 parents reported they didn’t know about the Flying Start entitlement. This does not suggest that these parents live within a Flying Start area and are not accessing the programme, it could be they live outside of one of the Flying Start areas and may not be aware of the programme due to this. 6 parents reported varying reasons why they do not access the Flying Start programme, these being:

Child is not yet old enough

Do not live in Flying Start area

Stay at home parent who does not want to send their child to day care

Parents do not need childcare

Parents have not got around to registering yet

Parents do not think they would qualify for Flying Start

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Areas of Strength and Improvement Families within the Flying Start areas of Denbighshire engage well with the service and uptake of the free childcare element is high standing at 96%. Due to this, settings who are funded to provide the Flying Start element of childcare can at times find it difficult to keep up with the demands of allocation. Allocation into childcare settings is parental choice and there have been occasions where a parent has chosen a setting and the childcare provider has been unable to accommodate due to the sessions being full. This does not mean other settings do not have availability and parents will always be offered alternative settings within the initiative if this happens. If a parent does not wish for their child to go to another setting, they may wait until the next allocation after the next term for a place to become available for the children. Further consideration may need to be given to tender for more settings to open to deliver Flying Start service which will allow parents a wider variety of choice when choosing the correct setting for their children. As there are no childminders delivering as part of the programme, this would also be an area for consideration moving forward and would give parents more choice and scope when choosing the right setting for their child and family needs. By having smaller settings and childminders on the initiative may provide to be more suitable for children who may not adapt well to busier surroundings and ensures the initiative is reflective to the individual needs of the children and their families.

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8.1 – Free Nursery Education

Local authorities in Wales have a duty to provide sufficient nursery places within their county. Funding is available for 3 year old children in Denbighshire to receive Funded Early Education, the term after their 3rd birthday. To be eligible, the children must be aged 3 prior to the term they are due to start and be resident in Denbighshire. Children who are eligible will receive 10 hours of Early Years Education per week which is broken down to 2 hourly sessions from Monday to Friday within a funded setting. A funded setting is approved for the provision of Funded Early Education for 2 year olds and may be one of the following designated settings:

Playgroup

Private Day Nursery

Nursery Class or Early Years Unit in a local School

Parents can apply for a funded place at only one setting and funding is paid directly to the childcare provider each term. Settings who receive funding:

Must have appropriately qualified staff

Deliver learning experiences within the Foundation Phase framework

Will be inspected by ESTYN

Must provide the stated session

Will be supported by a qualified Foundation Phase teacher on a regular basis

Number of Childcare Settings funded to provide Early Years Part-time

Education

Full Day Nursery Sessional Care

Language North Central South North Central South

Welsh 1 0 1 2 5 3

Welsh & English

0 1 1 0 0 0

English & some bilingual elements

0 0 0 0 0 0

English 14 2 0 4 2 5

Other 0 0 0 0 0 0

A total of 41 childcare settings provide funded Early Years Part-time Education within Denbighshire. There is a variety of settings which offer the provision within the authority from Full Day Nurseries to smaller, designated playgroups who specifically provide sessional day care during term time only. This equates to 30% of the childcare sector within Denbighshire offering Part-time Early Years Education.

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Number of Schools Providing Early Years Part-time Education

Location of Schools

Language North Central South

Welsh 0 0 4

Welsh & English

0 0 0

English & some bilingual elements

0 3 5

English 0 0 0

Other 0 0 0

A total of 12 schools within Denbighshire are funded to provide Early Years Education for 3 years old’s and these are located within the Central and South areas of the county. There are fewer full day care settings within the Central and South areas of the county which reduces the availability to further expand the funded Early Years Education for 3 year olds within childcare settings which shows the authority is reflective to offering the provision in this instance within a school environment.

Number of Children attending in Childcare Settings

Number of 3 year olds Number of 4 year olds

Language North Central South North Central South

Welsh 41 44 27 0 0 0

Welsh & English

0 11 9 0 0 0

English & some bilingual elements

0 0 0 0 0 0

English 314 38 28 0 0 0

Other 0 0 0 0 0 0

There are a total of 512 3 year old children across the county who have accessed funded Early Education within childcare settings with 69% of 3 years being funded within the North of the county. This is reflective to the level of provision offered across the county with the North having the largest amount of childcare providers, again, reflective to the demand of childcare within each area. This data relates to the Spring and Summer terms of 2016. The authority currently does not fund 4 year olds with Part-time Early Years Education as this is delivered through nursery education in schools across the authority.

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Number of Children attending in Schools

Provision by Schools

Number of 3 year olds

Language North Central South

Welsh 0 0 17

Welsh & English

0 0 0

English & some bilingual elements

0 5 27

English

0 0 0

Other

0 0 0

There are a total of 49 3 year old children in the Central and South areas of the county who have accessed funded Early Education within school settings. This data relates to the Spring and Summer terms in 2016. The Early Education Department within Denbighshire does not currently monitor the attendance of the children who receive funding so it is difficult as part of the assessment to ascertain a clear picture of the attendance across the county. It is difficult to report on the amount of eligible 3 year olds within the authority who are not accessing funded Early Entitlement due to a number of reasons, children may not be accessing childcare provision and may be in the care of parents who do not work or maybe cared for by family or friends. This is currently not mitored by the education department within the authority. We have a snapshot of a small section of parents within the county who completed the parent questionnaire relating to accessing Early Years Education. Due to the small amount of 317 parents completing the questionnaire, it would not be wise for the authority to draw conclusion alone from this information as the 38% who said no may not have had children who were of the age to access the funded Early Education.

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Areas of Strength and Improvement From the information provided by the Early Education department, the authority is responsive to the demands of childcare and where there have been areas which have had a lower provision offer such as the Central and South of the county, the authority has looked to provide funded Early Education for 3 years within school provisions. It has been reported to the Childcare Forum and Children and Young Peoples Partnership by a number of childcare providers through the means of visits from Foundation Phase teachers, Umbrella Organisations and also Childcare Network meetings that the payments which childcare settings receive from the authority per child per term, may have an impact on income and expenditure for settings. With this in mind and also the proposed 30-hour offer of free childcare, further careful consideration will need to be given around the sustainability to the childcare sector as there is some uncertainty of the amount of payments surrounding the new proposed offer. .

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9 - Free Breakfast Club Provision

There are 47 primary schools in Denbighshire, all of which provide school breakfast club provision. A total of 2301 places are on offer and schools have reported an average uptake of 63% of places across the school provision. No schools have reported that provision is oversubscribed which would indicate that there are sufficient places available to children and their families.

Area School Places Available

Bodelwyddan Ysgol Y Faenol 151

Bodfari Ysgol Bodfari 30

Corwen Ysgol Carrog 20

Corwen Ysgol Caer Drewyn 48

Corwen Ysgol Bro Dyfrdwy 30

Denbigh St Brigids 60

Denbigh Ysgol Twm o’r Nant 40

Denbigh Ysgol Pant Pastynog 20

Denbigh Ysgol Frongoch 207

Denbigh Ysgol Pendref 60

Denbigh Ysgol Trefnant 70

Denbigh Ysgol Y Parc 40

Dyserth Ysgol Hiraddug 48

Henllan Ysgol Henllan 30

Llanfair DC Ysgol Llanfair 30

Llangollen Ysgol Bryn Collen 40

Llangollen Ysgol Gwernant 40

Meliden Ysgol Melyd 48

Prestatyn Ysgol Y Llys 35

Prestatyn Bodnant Community School 84

Prestatyn Ysgol Clawdd Offa 50

Prestatyn Ysgol Penmorfa 50

Rhuddlan Ysgol Y Castell 50

Rhyl Ysgol Dewi Sant 60

Rhyl Ysgol Mair 48

Rhyl Ysgol Bryn Hedydd 50

Rhyl Christchurch 50

Rhyl Ysgol Emmanuel 50

Rhyl Ysgol Llywelyn 50

Rhyl Ysgol Tir Morfa (Special School) 38

Ruthin Ysgol Rhewl 31

Ruthin Ysgol Pentrecelyn 20

Ruthin Ysgol Bro Elwern 42

Ruthin Ysgol Betws GG 32

Ruthin Ysgol Carreg Emlyn 24

Ruthin Ysgol Bro Famau 35

Ruthin Ysgol Pen Barras 100

Ruthin Ysgol Rhos Street 40

Ruthin Ysgol Bro Cinmeirch 30

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Ruthin Ysgol Gellifor 20

Ruthin Ysgol Bryn Clwyd 20

Ruthin Ysgol Dyffryn Ial 20

Ruthin Ysgol Llanbedr 15

Ruthin Ysgol Borthyn 25

St Asaph St Asaph Infants 80

St Asaph Ysgol Cefn Meiriadog 40

St Asaph Ysgol Esgob Morgan 80

Tremeirchion Ysgol Tremeirchion 20

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10 - Working Tax Credits/Universal Credit/ Employer Supported Childcare/Tax Free Childcare

The childcare element of the Working families tax credit is accessible by families who are using childcare that is registered with either the CSSIW or as an approved Nanny and where the household income is below a certain threshold. For full details go to: https://www.gov.uk/child-tax-credit/what-youll-get 319 parents completed the parent questionnaire. Of those 319 parents, 14% stated that they claimed working tax/universal credit and 65% said that they didn’t.

The majority of people who were claiming were using either Nursery or After School Clubs

14%

65%

21%

Do you claim the childcare element of working tax/universal credit?

Yes

No

Not Applicable

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The main reason for people not claiming is that they know they are not eligible. The next reason is people are not sure if they are eligible Other financial help that is available to help pay for the costs of childcare include the local authority run Assisted Places Scheme, through Families First, which supports children with emerging needs to access childcare provision where the parent is unable to pay. This is a referral scheme and only where it is deemed important that a child accesses childcare to support them will the financial assistance be available. Areas of Strength and Improvement Additional work to be done on supporting families to access any relevant funding that they may be eligible for.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

If you do not intend to claim the childcare element of the working tax credit / universal

credit, which of these statements apply to you?

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11 - Sustainability There are number of contributing factors across the sector which support the sustainability of the childcare provision across Denbighshire both for parents and for providers themselves. Many of the contributors have both strengths and additional areas for improvement or risk. 3 Year Early Education Funding 10 hours of funded Early Years Education is provided to children the term following their third birthday. This is often referenced to as Free Nursery Education. In most cases within Denbighshire, this is provided through eligible funded childcare providers who follow the criteria as set out in section 8.1 Free Nursery Education. For parents, this equates to the equivalent of 1 day free childcare per week. The funding that settings receive is £350 per child per term. Over a 12 week term, this equates about £29 per week. The range of the cost of a full day care place is between £25 and £45 per day across the county. Due to the level of costs in some providers, this could have an effect on their income and expenditure if their operating costs are higher. Sustainability Grant The Family Information Service previously offered a small sustainability grant to Out of School settings providing care for children aged 5 and over. This was part of the Welsh Government’s Out of School grant scheme however, there was only 5 settings who applied for the grant. As the amount was £500 and also due to the low uptake, this demonstrated that the out of school provision in the authority was in general in a good sustainable position. The small amount of the grant would not have provided significant, longer term sustainability and it was decided within Denbighshire that the grant funding would be allocated to providing equipment grants for settings moving forward which would help with reducing running costs by providing resources for the children. There are no other sustainability grants which are funded by the authority for the childcare sector. CWLWM funding CWLWM is made up of five organisations with Mudiad Meithrin as the lead organisation. Umbrella organisations are Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids’ Clubs, Mudiad Meithrin, National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), PACEY Cymru and Wales Pre-school Providers Association (Wales PPA). By bringing together the 5 leading organisations supporting the childcare sector in Wales, to deliver a bilingual, integrated service that will ensure the best possible outcomes for children and their families. The aim of is to support the Welsh Government to ensure that families across Wales can access affordable, quality childcare and provide innovative solutions to providers to help create flexible childcare and play opportunities to meet the needs of parents and their families within each local authority. Childcare providers can subscribe to annual membership of umbrella organisations for support to their setting. Any settings who provide Early Years Education and

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Flying Start provision, it is required as part of their Service Level Agreement to have a membership with an umbrella organisation. Subscription varies from £40 per year up to £270. Currently development support is provided to the settings in Denbighshire who subscribe to PACEY, NDNA and Mudiad Meithrin. There is no proactive face to face development support in place for providers within their settings from Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids’ Clubs or Wales PPA unless they are a Flying Start provider. Wales PPA members are invited to regular forums. Support to providers who pay annual subscription to Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids’ Clubs and Wales PPA is available if requested by the manager. None of the organisations provide any financial support towards sustainability of settings other than Mudiad Meithrin who provide a small financial grant to settings who may be experiencing financial difficulties. Families First/Assisted Places Families First provide support to families through a coordinated approach, identifying needs and implementing plans to further enhance the well-being of the family. This varied programme also includes supporting families in need through funding childcare costs. This could be for a number of reasons relating to their individual needs to support the family at a time of need. If a family is identified through the programme who would benefit from additional childcare support then grant funding can be approved for a period of up to 26 weeks providing children with 2 sessions per week to a maximum of £35 per week at a registered childcare provider. Emergency funding is also available to families receiving support through the Families First programme for a period of up to 4 weeks. Childcare during this time will be identified to the subsequent level to the need of the family at that time of emergency intervention. Supported Childcare Funding is available for children aged 5 and over through the Out of School grant for children to attend after school and holiday club provision. Funding is available for children who are identified to have additional learning needs through the ALN Advisory Teacher for the authority or for families who are in receipts of one of the following benefits:

Employment & Support Allowance

Income Support

Job Seekers Allowance

Disability Living Allowance

Personal Independence Payments (available from 16 -64yrs) The grant will pay a maximum amount of £30 per week towards childcare for a period of up to 26 weeks. A total of 17 settings have provided support to children through the supported childcare grant.

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Out of School Grant The out of school grant is funded by Welsh Government to assist local authorities to contribute to the delivery of Welsh Government priorities as outlined in the Early Year and Childcare Plan and the Tackling Poverty Action Plan. The grant is distributed to Family Information Services across Wales to support and improve the provision of play, out of school and holiday care services within each authority as identified through the Childcare Sufficiency Assessment and Play Sufficiency Assessment. Within Denbighshire this is disseminated through a number of streams including:

Extensive Training Programme

Supported Childcare Grant

Equipment Grant

Annual Childcare Conference

Inclusive Play

Play Events

The training programme which has been designed to reflect the needs and demands of childcare providers within Denbighshire has seen 406 childcare professionals taking part in varied training courses including Safeguarding, Food Hygiene, Paediatric First Aid, Health and Safety, Play training, Behaviour and ASD training, Makaton training and physical activity training. The Equipment grant enabled settings to apply for equipment up to the value of £500 and a total of 26 providers benefitted from the scheme which allowed the settings to enhance play provision and experiences for children within their setting. The annual childcare conference saw over 140 childcare professionals attend. Guest speakers at the conference were reflective and topical to the current needs of the childcare sector in the authority. Over 30 professional partners and organisations attended and provided informative displays and provided information to providers to help support their provision. Guest speakers covered a range of topics including Dewis Cymru, Social Service and Well-being act, Disability Inclusion Toolkit, Behaviour Management, Autism Awareness, Immunisations and the new CSSIW inspection framework. Inclusive play in settings has supported 20 children who were identified as requiring continued 121 support during periods of school holidays. This supported children during long breaks from school routine and reduces the impact of stress when transitioning back into a structure and routine school environment. National Play Day is supported in Denbighshire annually and has seen over 1500 people attend the event in Rhyl. The events are free open access community events for children, young people and families in the county who had the opportunity to experience play activities and opportunities and to demonstrate the importance of play to children and young people’s lives.

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Tax Free Childcare & Employer Supported Schemes Parents were consulted on the impact of tax free childcare and employer supported schemes through the parent questionnaire. 319 parents completed the questionnaire and the results are demonstrated in the charts below.

This cannot be used as a clear picture of the need and uptake within the authority due to the low numbers of parents who completed the questionnaire. It will also be affected by parents who are not working or do not have children who would be of an age to access paid childcare. The below table furthers more to the reasoning behind why parents do not currently or intend to claim tax free childcare or use employer supported schemes.

21%

79%

Do you claim tax free childcare or receive assistance through

an Employer supported scheme?

Yes

No

12%

61%

27%

Do you intend to claim tax free childcare or receive assistance

through an Employer supported scheme?

Yes

No

Unsure

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

If you do not intend to claim tax free childcare or assistance through the Employer supported scheme, which of these

statements apply to you?

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The government has announced that from April 2017 there will be changes in the ways it will support parents with registered or approved childcare costs moving forward. Tax free childcare will start from the 28th April 2017 for parents of children under the age of 2 years old and will be extended to all parents by the end of 2017. Parents will become eligible for the tax-free scheme if they are working and not receiving support through tax credits or universal credits. The scheme will not be available for parents where either a single parent or either member of the couple earns over £100,000 per year. The government will contribute 20% of the childcare costs, with the maximum help of £2000 per year per child. It will work by parents paying money into an account with a childcare voucher provider, which the government will then top up. For example, if a parent pays in £80 to the account, the government will put in £20. Childcare Vouchers are a simple, straightforward way to pay for quality childcare and is a scheme which is offered by employers to help towards the cost of childcare. Employees do not pay tax or National Insurance on childcare vouchers up to the value of £55 a week – so working parents can save about £1,000 a year which is double, if both parents sign up for a Childcare Voucher scheme. The amount is deducted from the employee’s salary before tax and national insurance and paid directly to registered childcare providers via a childcare voucher supplier.

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Areas of Strength and Improvement The government’s proposal of 30-hours of free childcare, should have cautious consideration given concerning the sustainability to the childcare sector and it should not be seen as a way of re-cooperating losses resulting as part of underfunding of the current 10 hours funded Early Years Education. Families First funded places should not be relied upon by childcare providers as a source of income due to the programme being a Welsh Government funded project which is not guaranteed criteria from year to year. The supported childcare element of the out of school grant has proved fundamental to the benefits of children by providing play and social skills and experiences for those families who may not have the resources to be able to provide these for their children. The impact for the continuity for children within the ALN element during school holidays has been proven as a key benefit with children experiencing less transitional upset when returning to school environment as continuity in their care plan is crucial. This has been delivered by providing continuity in routines and 121 support where needed, supporting the child’s individual needs during periods of school breaks. As with the Families First funding, this should not be relied upon by childcare providers as a source of due to the out of school grant being a Welsh Government funded project which is not guaranteed criteria from year to year. Some providers currently pay subscription to umbrella organisations as part of their statutory agreement to provide Early Years Education and Flying Start, however, Wales PPA do not voluntarily provide routine on-site support to settings in Denbighshire who are not providing Flying Start as they are not currently funded to do so, this is only provided through forum meetings. Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids’ Clubs also do not voluntarily provide routine on-site support to out of school settings in Denbighshire. Payment to these organisations can contribute towards increased running costs with regards to paying for membership with them but the reason why and the benefits to the childcare settings is questionable. Some settings have reported being under financial strain and the added pressures to tight running costs when paying for a membership which has very little benefit or use and does not provide financial sustainability support is a burden which is not deemed necessary by childcare settings.

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12 - Cross Border Denbighshire borders with four other counties - Conwy, Gwynedd, Wrexham and Flintshire. The graph below shows how many settings from the 4 different authorities’ border Denbighshire.

Conwy Day nurseries in the North of the County have approximately 120 Denbighshire families accessing Day Nursery and out of school provision. In Gwynedd 2 families from Denbighshire are accessing childminders in Bala. Llangollen families working in Wrexham access childcare on the Industrial Estate in Wrexham. Recently, a childminder once living in Abergele relocated to Denbighshire and the families using her childcare provision have kept their children in her care. Childcare is the choice of the parents, and what influences those choices will be amongst other things the ease of dropping off and picking up the child before and after work. Some parents would prefer to have a setting close to home, whereas other would chose a place closer to work. Using provision across the border is less of an issue while children are of pre-school age. Once a child starts accessing Early Education care, cross border childcare may become more of an issue. Education will only fund Early Education for three year olds within the County of their home. The same would apply for Flying Start families and Families who are eligible to access Assisted Places, Supported Childcare and Emergency Childcare funding. If a childcare provider offers after school care and offer child pick up from a bordering county this would be an agreement with the parents.

30

53

16

9

Childcare settings boarding Denbighshire

Conwy Flintshire Wrexham Gwynedd

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13 - Workforce Development and Training Early years and childcare workers provide specialist care for children. They are

involved in planning and supervising activities and checking the development of

children in their care.

This section includes information on the existing workforce qualifications and the

training needs across the different childcare types in Denbighshire.

The information on this section has been collated from the 74.9% of providers in

Denbighshire who submitted information via the SASS.

Of those that submitted information, this is the breakdown of our qualified staff within

all of our childcare sector including Childminders, Full Day care, Sessional Day care

and out of school provision

Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7

79 263 15 36 16 1

The majority of staff are qualified to Level 3. The graphs below set out the

qualifications by type of provider.

For Flying Start providers, it is a requirement of the SLA that the Leader must have a Level 5 recognised qualification in Childcare. Denbighshire currently has 14 Flying Start providers.

3

24

2

9

1 1

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6 Level 7

Childminders - Highest Level of Qualifications

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55

169

6

22

9

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6

Full Day Care - All of County

11

41

13

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5

Sessional Day Care - All of County

1

11

29

6

2 2

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Level 6

Out of School Care - All of County

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Additional Training Completed in the Last 12 Months

464 childcare workers completed additional training during the last twelve months. 270 were childcare practitioners, 90 were in Leader / Manager / Supervisor roles, 10 in Director / Owner roles with 78 not specifying their roles within the workforce. 3 were either being trained or worked as a volunteer. A list of the varied training obtained can be seen below with a good number of it being offered within the County through the Family Information Service, Education Services including Flying Start, Umbrella Organisations, and other partners. Throughout the year settings can access Paediatric First Aid, Food Hygiene and Safeguarding courses with the Family Information Service. The latter two are also available as on line training. Every year the Family Information Service (FIS) in Denbighshire consult with the existing workforce to ensure that all their mandatory training needs are catered for. Other training provided by Denbighshire FIS has included Makaton training, basic Welsh, practical healthy cooking and manual handling In 2016/17 406 people attended training put on by Denbighshire FIS, this included the mandatory training and additional training. Training is offered during the evening as this is when the majority of the providers have requested. If the FIS are unable to cater to their training needs they signpost and direct the childcare providers to the most accessible and suitable trainer. By 2019 Day-care and Out of School Childcare Settings will require a Play work Level 3 qualification. Denbighshire FIS will support staff to find the most suitable and accessible training.

Position Held Additional training completed in the last 12 months

Count of Additional training completed in the last 12 months

Administrative Busy Feet, Fire Awareness Training, Manual Handling Awareness Training, An introduction to skogsmulle, Forest schools - An Italian and German prospective, mathematics outdoors, how to use stories outdoors with pre-schoolers, whittling

1

Apprentice Behaviour - us or them 1 Design to smile. Cache entry level certificate in preparation for childcare

1

Manual handling 4

Catering Staff Cooking and Food Preparation L2/Tiny Tums

1

NDNA Welsh Course 1

Childcare Practitioner

Wellcom 4

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Advanced Apprenticeship in Children's Care Learning and Development

1

Basic Welsh language course. Hygiene and allergen training. Let's get playful course.

1

Behavioural support 1 Busy Feet, PECS, Setting up the Areas of The Foundation Phase, Circle Time, Attachment, behaviour and learning, Fire Awareness Training, Manual Handling Awareness Training

1

Supporting children’s health 1 Childcare Degree 1 Circle time 1 Culture Zone, Just Add Water, Manual Handling Awareness Training,

1

Defibrillator training and water play 1 Designed to smile 1 Designed to smile, Emergency First Aid at Work, Foundation Phase Welsh

1

Designed to smile, Makaton, playing with the elements, Welsh level 1, Language and communication Training,

1

Designed to smile, Makaton, Welsh level 1, Manual Handling, N.V.Q LEVEL 2, Playing out with the Elements, Snack Training

1

Designed to smile, foundation phase 1 Designed to Smile, Fire Marshal, Sign language, Manual Handling

1

Designed to Smile, Health and Safety in the Workplace L2

1

Designed to Smile, Leadership Course, Manual Handling

1

Designed To Smile, Manual Handling 2 Designed To Smile, Manual Handling Application of Number L2 Information & Technology Essential Skills L2, Essential Skills Communication L2

1

Designed to Smile, Manual Handling, Fire Extinguisher Training

1

Designed to Smile, Sports Leaders L2, Award in Community Sports Leadership, Manual Handling

1

Developing Quality Transition Foundation Phase Profile Training, Denbighshire Family Information & Childcare Conference Leading The Way to a Brighter Future, Pacey Cymru Physical Literacy Play to Learn Level 2, Essential Skills Wales in Application of Nu

1

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Developing Quality Transition, Outdoor Learning, Share an Idea, Foundation Phase Profile Training, New Foundation Framework, Denbighshire Family Information & Childcare Conference “Leading The Way to a Brighter Future, Designed To Smile, Manual handling

1

Early Entitlement 1 Early Entitlement 1 Early Years 1 Early years foundation additional learning needs

1

Early Years/Elklan/Flying Start 1 Early Years/Flying Start 1 Essential Skills Wales Application of Number L2, Designed To Smile, Manual Handling

1

Family Information Services Conference, Designed to Smile, Manual Handling

1

Family Information Services Conference, Designed to Smile, Manual Handling, Essential Skills Wales Application of Number L2 Essential Skills Wales in Communication L2

1

Fire Awareness Training, Manual Handling Awareness Training

1

Fire Awareness Training, Manual Handling Awareness Training, Busy feet

1

Fire Awareness Training, Manual Handling Awareness Training, Optical Illusion of Behaviour, Attachment, behaviour and learning, Design to smile, Circle Time, Busy Feet, multi-sport session

1

Fire Awareness Training, Manual Handling Awareness Training, Optical Illusion of Behaviour Observation, planning and assessment Circle Time Busy Feet, Design to Smile BTEC National Diploma in Early Years

1

First Aid 08/03/2014 1 FIRST AID AT WORK, 1 Flying Start 1 Food Allergies 1 Food Allergy 1 Food Allergy 1 Foundation Phase Training 1 Health and safety 1

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Health and safety, manual handling, Tiny Tums

1

HomeStart volunteer training 1 Hygiene Basic Nutrition & Complying with 'Appetite for Life' Cooking with children in Pre School Settings

1

IT LEVEL2 1 Jabadao 1 Jabadao 2 Key Worker 1 L2 Elklan, Welsh 1 L2 leadership, Tiny Tums, autism course, challenging behaviour

1

L2 Playwork, Manual Handling, Designed To Smile

1

L4 Early years Management of Quality standards in children’s services

1

Learning with Autism 4 Makaton 1 Makaton Training 1 Manuel Handling course 1 Manual Handling Un, dau,tri-hwyl a sbri Welsh Language Course

1

Manuel handling, Welsh course catch up headsprout

1

NDNA Welsh Course 7 Early Years care and education, ADHD behaviour support, attachment disorder, circle time training

1

Playwork Level 2 3 Professionals protect , Cymraeg or crud, positive behaviour management, level 2 play work

1

Profile foundation phase 1 Promoting positive behaviour 2 Renewal training 1 Rheoli Perfformiad 1 Risk Assessment Training 1 TAQA 301 302 Developing Quality Transition, Outdoor Learning, Share an Idea, Designed To Smile

1

Two Weeks Voluntary work Experience in Local Primary School June/July 2016

1

Various from local authority 2 Welsh, Tiny Tums 1

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Childcare Practitioner Total

270

Leader / Manager / Supervisor

22/06/16 Wellcom 2

Active Training, Healthy eating, circle time, attachment disorder, ASD, Princes trust art and drama, butterfly course, swimming level 1

1

Attachment disorder, ASD, Appetite for life, Healthy eating for after school clubs

1

Behaviour 1 Behaviour April 2015 1 Behavioural and support 1 Child Protection NVQ 3 1 cynllun Gwen, halthy pre-school,cyfnod sylfaen cynllunio, out door learning

1

D32/33 Infection Control, Developing Quality Transition, Outdoor Learning, Share an Idea, Foundation Phase Profile Training, New Foundation Framework, Manual Handling, Designed to Smile, Early Entitlement, Using Basic Welsh in the Community

1

D32/33 Management L4, First Line Management L3, Customer Service L3, Manual Handling, Foundation Phase Profile Training, Working in Partnership, Early Support Training, Asperger Syndrome and Autism, Welsh for the Family, Community Food and Nutrition Skills

1

D32/D33 Understanding Behaviours BRISC Playing Fair in Theory, Leadership course, Manual Handling

1

Datganiad o Ddiben, New Foundation Phase, Manual Handling and Food Allergies

1

Designed to smile, Emergency First Aid at work, Health and Safety Level 2, Playing Out with the Elements, Healthy Snack Training, N.V.Q. L3 Early Years and Education, Playwork Principles into Practice level 2

1

Designed to smile, outdoor learning, Emergency First Aid at work, Makaton, Jabadao,

1

Designed to smile, supporting positive behaviour, short term planning, Level 2

1

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Award in Health and Safety, Playing Out With the Elements, Dyfal Donc 1 Early Entitlement 1 Early Entitlement 2 Early years care and education Level 2 1 Early years foundation additional learning needs

1

Early years foundation additional learning needs training

1

Early Years/Flying Start 2 Emergency Life support all ages St Johns 1 Equality Awareness, Play Together Course, Manual Handling, Key Skill Problem solving, L3 BRISC Training

1

Essential skills, foundation phase, designed to smile

1

First Aid 11/01/2015 Makaton 20/03/2014 1 Forest Schools Trained 1 Foundation Degree Early Years 1 Foundation Phase Training 1 Health & Safety 1 Health and Safety in the Early Years 1 Health and safety, manual handling, beach schools, L2 play work, welsh

1

health and safety, manual handling, forest schools level 3, beach schools level 3, Elklan L3,

1

Health and safety, manual handling, level 3 child protection, level 3 Playwork, alcohol intervention, Tiny Tums, Fire Safety Awareness, Foundation phase profile training, child protection for designated person

1

Health and safety, Tiny Tums 1 Information technology 1 Intro to classroom assistant, intro to BSL, positive behaviour

1

IT LEVEL 2 1 Learning with Autism 1 Level 3 in Children's care, learning and development Level 2 in Children's care, learning and development Behaviour us or them Hygiene training mind the germs Paediatric first aid Induction to play Level 2 Health and safety in the work place Safe guarding

1

Makaton 1

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NVQ 3 Child Protection 1 NVQ Early years Care and Education Level 3

1

Optical Illusion of Behaviour, Positive Approaches to Positive Behaviour, Fire Awareness Training, Manual Handling Awareness Training, BRISC Training from a speech and language therapist, Cross infection procedures and dental health education, Gardening

1

Play work Level 2 1 Promoting positive behaviour, Optical Illusion of Behaviour, Attachment, behaviour and learning, busy Feet, The Outdoor Area, Short and long term planning, Creative Movement, Circle Time, Equal opportunities, Fire Awareness, Manual Handling

1

Reducing Accidents in Early Years Childcare Settings Positive Approaches to Creating Positive Behaviour. Equality Awareness Manual Handling Health & Safety in the Workplace Hygiene Training Playwork L2 Customer Service L4 Designed to Smile

1

Renewal training 1 Statement of Purpose 1 Supervisors Level 3 1

Leader / Manager / Supervisor Total 90

Not Specified BTEC level 3 1 Business/admin level 2 1 Cache level 2 Children and young people work force

1

Cache level 2 diploma in childcare and education

1

Cache level 3 certificate in supporting teaching and learning. BTEC level 3 National award in health and social care

1

Cache Level 3 for teaching assistants 1 Cache Level 3 in supporting teaching and learning in schools

1

Denbighshire Healthy pre school 1 Early years care and education Level 2 1 Hygiene Training 1 LNF 4 Manal Handling, Positive behaviour management

1

Not Specified 43 Supporting positive behaviour 1

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various from local authority 2

Not Specified Total

78

RI / RP / Director / Owner

CMIL4 Management 7 Leadership 1

Fire and Safety 1 Food 1 Hazard analysis. Level 3 in children's learning and development.

1

Hey skills level 2 communication and numeracy

1

None 4 Not Specified 1

RI / RP / Director / Owner Total

10

Volunteers / Unpaid

Emergency First Aid at Work Expires 23.02.19 Equality and Diversity

1

Emergency First Aid at Work Expires May 2018 Designed to Smile L2 Health and Safety in the workplace

1

Parent Craft and General hygiene Youth and Community Work Equality & Diversity

1

Volunteers / Unpaid Total

3

Grand Total

464

As the list shows, childcare staff in Denbighshire have a wide variety of skills.

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Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2017 – Action Plan

Category Improvement Needed Action By Who By When

Flying Start Provision

Consider options to improve Flying Start Provision across the identified areas within Denbighshire

Consider options to further extend tender to childminders within identified Flying Start areas to deliver provision

Flying Start

April 2018

Flying Start Provision

Number of settings currently enlisted to provide Flying Start provision restricts parental choice of the service

Consider options to further extend tender within Full Day Care and Sessional Care sector within identified areas to extend service delivery

Flying Start

April 2018

Out of Hours Provision

Currently no providers offering out of hours provision at weekends and after 6pm

Monitor local developments and liaise with new employers to assess the amount of employment opportunities and specific needs of parents / employers

Tackling Poverty Group

December 2018

Nanny Provision

Currently there is no registered Nanny provision within Denbighshire

Further assess the need to provide out of hours provision and the areas of need and whether a Nanny approval campaign to support setting up of nanny provision would be beneficial within these areas

Family Information Service, PACEY Cymru

April 2018

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Tax Free Childcare

A clearer understanding of the new tax free childcare scheme for providers and families is needed.

Ascertain the full initiative background and launch a communication programme with all childcare settings and families in Denbighshire

Family Information Service

December 2017

Sustainability

Clarify the requirement for settings to subscribe to umbrella organisations and consider options to address additional financial pressures by settings who provide Flying Start and Early Education as part of their Service Level Agreements to subscribe to an umbrella organisation

Identify with Welsh Government clear funding sources to umbrella organisations to support the provision of settings who subscribe to their service.

Tackling Poverty Group

December 2017

Sustainability

Gain further information for settings so they are informed about the proposed 30 hour free childcare offer

Ascertain through Welsh Government clear details of the proposed scheme and how this will be delivered within the childcare sector

Education Department, Family Information Service

April 2018

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Sustainability

If out of hours provision is implemented to meet need, identify sustainability options

Monitor out of hours development action with the Tackling Poverty Group and work with the sector to promote sustainable provision.

Family Information Service, Childcare Forum

December 2018

Sustainability

Define sustainability options for smaller playgroups or early years settings that encounter periodic sustainability pressures.

Explore if there are funding options available to support settings who may experience financial difficulty

Children and Young People Families Partnership, Childcare Forum

April 2018

Parental Engagement

Improvement in the responses to the CSA parental questionnaire as an ongoing parent engagement process

Develop a communication plan for parents and families in order to gain parents engagement in planning childcare provision requirements in Denbighshire

Education Department, Communication & Marketing Department, Family Information Service

April 2018

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Provider Engagement

Improving providers engagement in planning childcare provision across the county to improve the 75% completion rate of SASS by providers

Further development work to be provided to settings to ensure understanding and confidence when completing documentation

Family Information Service, CSSIW

December 2017

SASS Documentation

Make recommendations to CSSIW in order to simplify the SASS data collection form and process

Work to simplify the documentation for settings moving forward to reduce confusion and increase response rates

CSSIW

December 2017

Open Access Play

Examine options to support open access play provision

Following success of National Playday, extend such like events across the county within different communities

Community Well-being Team, Community Housing Team, Integrated Childrens Centre

September 2017

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Funding for Families to access childcare

Information for families to be clearer relating to their entitlement to funding and/or relevant benefits to access childcare settings

Clear guidance on funding streams available for families relating to tax credits, universal credits, employer supported childcare and tax free childcare to be sought to support families further and provided through outreach programmes

Family Information Service

December 2017

Local Well-being Needs

Ensure that the CSA action plan contributes to the Public Service Board’s assessment

Inform the Public Service Board’s assessment of local well-being needs of the emerging outcomes of the assessment

Strategic Planning Team

September 2017


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