Issue - meetings

The Panel considered and noted the report of the Executive Director, Children and Learning, providing an overview of Early Years and Childcare Services in Southampton.

The Cabinet Member for Children and Learning and the Service Manager for Early Years were in attendance and, with the consent of the Chair, addressed the meeting.

The Panel discussed a number of points including:

• The ability of the Early Years sector in Southampton to meet the extended childcare entitlements.
• The equity of provision across the city.
• The service’s gathering and utilisation of intelligence to support the sustainability of early years provision.
• The provision and targeting of places for disadvantaged children.
• The awareness and additional resources required to address SEND requirements within early years provision.
• Workforce recruitment and retention issues and the plans in place to mitigate these challenges.
• The  resilience of the sector and ability to respond to any future variations.

The factors that have resulted in the comparative strength and success of the early years sector in Southampton