The Childcare (Learning and Development Requirements and Exemptions from Registration) (Amendment) Order 2014

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Early Years Foundation Stage (Learning and Development Requirements) Order 2007 (“the 2007 Order”) and the Childcare (Exemptions from Registration) Order 2008 (“the Exemptions Order”).

The 2007 Order specifies the learning and development requirements that early years providers must secure in providing early years provision and gives legal effect to the learning and development requirements in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (“the Document”).

Article 3 of this Order amends the definition of “the Document” in the 2007 Order so that it refers to a new version of the Document published on 31^st March 2014 which mainly contains amendments to the welfare requirements in Section 3 of the Document. There is one change to Section 2 on Assessment in the Document. No amendments have been made to the early learning goals or educational programmes in Section 1 of the Document and as a result, the consultation procedure under section 45 of the Childcare Act 2006 has not been conducted on this occasion.

Articles 4 to 7 of this Order are consequential on amendments made to the Childcare Act 2006 (“the 2006 Act”) by section 84 of, and Schedule 4 to, the Children and Families Act 2014. Those amendments allow for the registration of persons who propose to provide childcare on domestic premises with childminder agencies as an alternative to registration in one of the registers maintained by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills (“the Chief Inspector”).

Article 4 amends the 2007 Order to impose a requirement on early years childminder agencies to have regard to the requirements and matters in Sections 1 and 2 of the Document. Amendments made to the 2007 Order by Article 5 enable the Chief Inspector to take into account allegations that a childminder agency has failed to have regard to Sections 1 and 2 of the Document in the exercise of its functions and Article 7 allows any such allegations to be taken into account in any proceedings under Part 3 of the 2006 Act.

Article 6 inserts a new provision into the 2007 Order which would enable an early years childminder agency to take into account allegations that an early years provider registered with it has failed to meet the learning and development requirements or failed to have regard to the matters in Sections 1 and 2 of the Document.

The Exemptions Order specifies the circumstances in which the provision of childcare does not attract the requirement for registration. Article 9 of this Order is consequential on amendments made to sections 34 and 53 of the 2006 Act by Schedule 4 to the Children and Families Act 2014. Article 10(1) of this Order provides for an exemption where a child is looked after by a family friend for three hours or less per day on domestic premises and for reward. Article 10(2) inserts the definition of payment into Article 3 of the Exemptions Order.

The new version of the Document can be found on the website of the Department for Education at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2 and copies of the Document can be viewed at the Department for Education, Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3BT.

A validation impact assessment of the effect that the exemption from registration will have is available alongside the Explanatory Memorandum for this instrument at www.legislation.gov.uk. An impact assessment has not been produced in relation to the other measures in the instrument as no impact on businesses, civil society organisations or the public sector is foreseen.