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Executive Summary
- Overall, the borough has maintained a diverse and comprehensive childcare offer, which delivers sufficient childcare places.
- The quality of provision is high, with the overwhelming majority of places delivered in settings rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.
- The number of children requiring childcare is likely to remain static in the short term.
- The proportion of children with SEND accessing the Government funded entitlements are broadly in line with regional and national averages.
- The proportion of eligible children taking up their funded early years entitlements remains high.
- The local authority has launched a new Early Years Inclusion Service.
- A minority of settings reported that they were concerned about their financial sustainability, as costs continue to rise.
- Staffing remains an issue across group providers.
- Phase 1 and phase 2 of the expansion to the working families entitlement have been successfully delivered.
