In the news
Keep up to date with the latest from our sector
November 2025
Minimum Wage increases from April 2026
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Yesterday Rachel Reeves delivered her budget and announced further increases in the Minimum/Living Wage from April 2026.
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Here are the numbers you need to help plan your finances.
October 2025
Early Years Voice need our help
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Early Years Voice are dedicated to advocating for the rights and needs of all early years providers across England. Their mission is to challenge the Government’s approach to early years funding, and they now have a petition calling for the Government to establish an Independent Early Years Funding Review Body.
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To discover more and to sign the petition click here
Are you using the Early Years Alliance insurance?
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From Monday 6th October this will no longer be provided by Royal Sun Alliance (RSA) who have rebranded as Intact Insurance.
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You can find out more about Intact Insurance here
September 2025
The Charity Commission has published it's 2025 Risk Assessment providing an overview of potential risks in the charity sector at the present time.
Read my review of the report and my tips for protecting your charity here.​​​
The new Minister for Early Education, Olivia Bailey, has made her visits following her appointment to the role last week and says she is excited to work with the sector.
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The full report can be read here.
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Photo credit - Nursery World
Ofsted have released the new inspection frameworks, effective from 10th November, this morning.
Inspections will now be evaluated on the following areas:
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safeguarding
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inclusion
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curriculum and teaching
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achievement
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behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines
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children's welfare and wellbeing
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leadership and governance
Safeguarding will be given a 'met' or 'not met' evaluation.
The other areas will have a five point grading scale:
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urgent improvement
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needs attention
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expected standard
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strong standard
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exceptional
Ofsted have also confirmed that from next April the six year inspection cycle will reduce to four years. For new registrations this will drop from within 30 months to within 12-18 months.
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Read the new inspection toolkit here
July 2025
The Early Education and Childcare Coalition have released the findings of their third annual Pulse Check report into public support for early years. I attended a meeting last week on the report which was very interesting and you can watch here.
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The full report can be read here.
June 2025
Ofsted confirms September publication for consultation response, ahead of new-look education inspections from November
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The Early Education and Childcare Coalition have launched a survey to capture the experiences of early years settings who are affected by recent cost pressures. The survey findings will help the Coalition campaign for better funding for the sector ahead of the upcoming Spending Review.​
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May 2025
Ofsted's latest report on the accessibility of childcare looks at how childcare could be optimised by local authority planning across England.
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The DfE have launched a consultation seeking views on whether to introduce flexibilities to the indoor space requirements in the Safeguarding and Welfare Requirements.
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Have your say Closes 11th July 2025
The Charity Commission in England and Wales have refreshed their guidance on recruiting new trustees. The refreshed guidance focuses on practical steps charities can take to connect with a broader range of candidates.
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A useful read for Foundation CIO's
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