Oldham Council is calling on the government’s new Secretary of State for Education to take urgent action in addressing the disproportionate levels of funding in Early Years.
This follows a motion at Full Council last night where councillors asked the newly appointed James Cleverly MP to provide fairer funding for Oldham.
Pressure is mounting on the borough’s existing Early Years provision, with some areas already struggling to meet current demand for places.
With a lack of funding from central government contributing to the closure and reduced services of some providers too, the situation is alarming – especially after the most recent increase in Funded Early Learning failed to meet the needs associated with the cost of living.
Like all local authorities, Oldham has a statutory duty to ensure there are sufficient free childcare places to enable take-up of Early Years entitlements.
However, with providers also struggling to recruit and retain their staff at a competitive rate, action is needed, and fairer funding is a must.
Oldham is already below the national average for funding of two-year-old entitlement, as well as entitlement for three and four-year-old’s, while the borough also falls behind the respective averages for Greater Manchester too.
| Type of funding | National average | Greater Manchester average | Oldham average |
| 2-year-old entitlement | £5.47 | £5.30 | £5.19 |
| 3 and 4-year-old entitlement | £4.81 | £4.48 | £4.24 |
Councillor Eddie Moores, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: “We’re committed as a council to providing our children with the best possible start in life.
“A huge part of this begins with providing them with an outstanding early childhood education which not only lays a strong foundation for their future learning but helps them to develop their cognitive and social development in readiness for school.
“This offer is under threat though, and we are calling on the Secretary of State for Education to address this matter immediately before it is too late.
“Historical underfunding from Conservative leadership, tied in with increased costs of living and the impact of Covid-19, is crippling the Early Years sector.
“We need fairer funding now if we are to avoid a detrimental impact on the development of our children and young people.
"A government consultation on adjustments to the Early Years national funding formula launched last week but this does little to address the disparity between the actual costs of delivering high quality, inclusive childcare and the hourly funding rate payable to providers.
"It doesn't give any optimism about levelling the playing field either when, under the proposals, Oldham would receive £5 per hour for three and four year-olds, compared to £5.41 in Manchester."
Settings such as local nurseries are heavily relied upon by many working parents and carers who have to balance between their day jobs and childcare.
Without a sustainable offer going forward, more and more people would have to take longer periods out of work to care for their children, which in turn would damage the economy.
Councillors also demanded additional investment to support the borough’s efforts in ensuring every child can recover the learning and social development that was lost during the pandemic.
This is so those in education can have the best possible chance of reaching their full potential.
“The Covid-19 pandemic severely hampered the education of our young people as their method of learning was heavily disrupted,” Cllr Moores added.
“We need to make up for what time was lost to ensure our youngest residents can be the best that they can be.”