Wraparound Childcare Programme

The Wraparound Childcare Programme's aim is that by 2026 all parents and carers of primary school aged children will be able to access term time childcare in their local area, so that parents and carers can access employment and therefore improve labour market participation. This includes regular before and after school provision that runs during term time from 8am until 6pm, Monday to Friday, either on a school site or at another local setting. This funding will support local authorities to work with primary schools and private, voluntary and independent providers including childminders and early years settings. There should be no requirement for parents and carers to pick their children up from school and drop them off at another location.

Parents of primary school aged children will be expected to pay to access this provision, as this programme aims to increase the availability of childcare, rather than subsidise childcare. Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare can be used to help pay for wraparound childcare. Please find more information about Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit Childcare here.

The Department for Education (DfE) has produced guidance for local authorities and schools and trusts, which sets out the expectations of this ambitious programme.

Links to guidance:

Local Authorities Handbook - National Wraparound Childcare Programme Handbook - a guide for local authorities (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Schools Handbook - Wraparound childcare: guidance for schools and trusts in England (publishing.service.gov.uk)

What is the offer?

Wraparound childcare may be delivered by schools or through private, voluntary or independent providers, including childminders and early years settings. Funding is available to support settings to expand existing provision or for settings to set up new provision where there is sufficient demand. Provision that is funded through the programme should, in the vast majority of cases, be self-sustaining by the end of the planned programme (i.e. 2026 onwards). This means that the provision can continue beyond this point as it will generate sufficient income through session fee payments, without the initial gap funding made available through this programme.

The initial requirement of each school is to survey the demand of families needing access to wraparound childcare. Settings can contact us to request a parent/carer survey template which can be used to assess wraparound care demand. Please contact wraparoundchildcare@norfolk.gov.uk to request a survey template.

If sufficient demand is shown to exist, we can support schools and/or other settings to access funding through completing an application form. Once an application form is submitted to the Early Years Funding Panel inbox, earlyyearsfundingpanel@norfolk.gov.uk , the panel team will assess the application and decide whether it is to be funded.

We expect any setting receiving funding to sign up to accept Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit Childcare in order to support parents and carers to meet their childcare costs. This should be clearly advertised to parents/carers. More information on signing up to accept Tax Free Childcare can be found here.

Who are the team?

As part of the programme requirements, a new team of Wraparound Development Workers (WDWs) have been recruited and are supported by existing team members working in the early years and childcare team, comprising of a Project Manager, Finance Advisor, Workforce Development Officer, Sufficiency Manager, Improvement and Inclusion Officer, Data Analyst, Improvement & Development Workers and admin support.

Our team will be supporting settings in developing provision, ensuring demand is assessed and met and high quality is achieved.

Jo-anne Lamb is the Wraparound Lead and can be contacted by email.

How do we work?

Each Wraparound Development Worker (WDW) has responsibility for working across an identified area of the county. Initial contact can either be by the WDW contacting schools in their area for an initial discussion, or by any interested setting contacting us by email: wraparoundchildcare@norfolk.gov.uk.

We will discuss your plans and support you to assess demand. An Individualised survey can be created for you to share with families to assess demand. Once the results have been analysed, we will agree next steps which may include completion of an application form. The application form will be considered by the panel team before a decision is made regarding whether funding will be awarded.

Once funding is agreed, ongoing support will be provided by the WDWs to ensure plans are implemented and to offer support. This will include termly monitoring over the funding period to ensure provision can grow to meet demand and that quality of provision and longer-term sustainability is supported.

How we can be contacted?

If you are a school or a provider and have any questions about the Wraparound Childcare programme, please email wraparoundchildcare@norfolk.gov.uk and your question will be responded to by a member of our team. Please note, this email address is for professionals only. If you are a parent with questions regarding wraparound childcare please email Norfolk Family Information Service fis@norfolk.gov.uk

If you would like to receive up to date communications about the programme, please sign up to the wraparound newsletter here.

How you can shape the support we offer?

As part of the development of the programme, a consultative group meets regularly to work alongside the local authority to shape the Wraparound Childcare offer. Please email wraparoundchildcare@norfolk.gov.uk if you are interested in joining this group.

What are the requirements of providers funded through the programme?

In line with Department for Education (DfE) requirements we require funded provision to:

• Deliver provision that is child-centred, safe, easily accessible and responds to the needs of families
• Be inclusive to all children and make reasonable adjustments for children with special educational needs and disabilities
• Be Ofsted registered
• Sign up to accept Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit Childcare
• Deliver provision between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday, unless demand shows a need for alternative hours
• Provide data/information to the local authority as requested to support monitoring