The Childcare (Early Years Provision Free of Charge) (Extended Entitlement) Regulations 2016

Arrangements between local authorities and early years providers: requirements

38.—(1) In making arrangements for the purposes of discharging its duty under regulation 33 with an early years provider (other than the governing body of a maintained school), or with an early years childminder agency, a local authority may impose on the person with whom the arrangements are made only requirements which—

(a) enable the local authority to comply with the requirement in regulation 36(1);

(b) enable the local authority to terminate the arrangements made pursuant to the requirement in regulation 36(1), in the circumstances prescribed in regulation 37;

(c) have as their purpose the satisfaction of any of the following objectives—

(i) that the early years provision is provided free of charge;

(ii) that the early years provision is provided in a pattern to suit the needs of the parents of the children for whom the early years provision is provided;

(iii) that any financial assistance provided by a local authority under the arrangements is used properly and in accordance with the arrangements;

(iv) the meeting of the needs of disabled children (within the meaning given by section 6 of the Equality Act 2010(1)) and children with special educational needs (within the meaning given by section 20(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014(2)) for whom the early years provision is provided;

(v) the effective safeguarding and promotion of welfare of the children for whom the early years provision is provided;

(vi) the active promotion of the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs;

(vii) that views or theories which are contrary to established scientific or historical evidence and explanations are not promoted as evidence-based in the early years provision;

(viii) in circumstances where an early years provision inspection report awards a grade of less than “good” to the overall effectiveness of the early years provision, that the early years provider takes the measures identified in that report as necessary to improve the overall effectiveness of the early years provision, including, where applicable, participation in a training or other quality improvement programme; or

(d) are otherwise necessary for the effective administration of the arrangements.

(2) But a local authority may not impose requirements which—

(a) where the arrangements are made with an early years provider—

(i) subject the quality of the early years provision to a quality assessment process by the local authority; or

(ii) require the provider to attend any training or other quality improvement programme, other than any training or quality improvement programme identified in accordance with paragraph (1)(c)(viii);

(b) where the arrangements are made with an early years childminder agency, subject the quality of the services provided by the childminder agency to a quality assessment process by the local authority.

(1)

2010 c. 15.

(2)

2014 c. 6.