News

Skills Active boosts playwork qualifications
SkillsActive has come up with a three-tiered, bite-sized approach to playwork qualifications with the launch of the Level 2, 3 and 4 Award, Certificate and Diploma in playwork.   read more
1 September 2010, Nursery World

The government must find a way to enable parents to work
Next year the Government wants to put 100,000 single parents with children over five years back into work, along with a further 120,000 currently on benefits, which they say will save £380m. How?   read more
29 August 2010, Guardian

After-school clubs too expensive, poll suggests
Nearly two-thirds of UK parents cannot afford after-school activities for their children, a poll suggests. This rises to nearly three-quarters of those parents below the poverty line, the online poll of 854 parents for Save the Children indicated.   read more
29 August 2010, BBC News

Few single parents able to find jobs with flexible arrangements
There is a distinct lack of jobs offering flexible working arrangements despite the coalition government's drive to get more single parents into work, according to new research.   read more
24 August 2010, InPractice

Holiday childcare will become harder to find
A survey by the Daycare Trust finds 'a gaping hole' in coverage, with wide regional varations. Local authority cuts and the need to follow the EYFS will exacerbate the problem according to the report.   read more
18 August 2010, Nursery World

How will lone parents cope with having to find a job when their children reach school age?
The summer holidays cause childcare headaches for working families across the UK, but employed lone parents are probably finding these six long weeks more stressful than most as they struggle to balance childcare and employment. And the number of single parents desperately looking for extra childcare during holiday periods is set to increase.   read more
11 August 2010, Guardian

Hundreds of playground schemes mothballed
Hundreds of community playground schemes in England are being axed or scaled back because of government cuts. Education Secretary Michael Gove has frozen grants to 132 councils for building and running up to 1,300 schemes.   read more
11 August 2010, BBC News

Small charities bear the brunt of cuts despite big society pledge
The government's 'Big Society' vision will collapse if the scale of council funding cuts to small charities under way in some areas is replicated nationwide, sector figures have warned.   read more
10 August 2010, InPractice

Government clarifies ban on Every Child Matters
The Department for Education has moved to allay fears that a ban on the use of the phrase 'Every Child Matters' in the new government signals a shift in policy for children and young people.   read more
10 August 2010, Children and Young People Now

Government launches consultation on EYFS review
The early years workforce is being urged to submit evidence towards the independent review of the EYFS, with a consultation which was launched online at the start of August.   read more
2 August 2010, Nursery World

Schools struggle to find money for extended services
Schools are struggling to fund a full programme of extended services despite pressure from parents and pupils to run more activities, according to a recent government report.   read more
29 July 2010, Children and Young People Now

Government tells childcare charities not to publicise their services
A leaked letter has revealed that the Department for Education is ordering charities delivering government-funded programmes, including NCMA, Gingerbread, Kids and the Daycare Trust, to stop publicising their work immediately in an apparent bid to save on spending.   read more
29 July 2010, Children and Young People Now

Pupils show benefits of after-school clubs
Children at a primary school in Edmonton put on a summer show to highlight the results of a £40,000 government grant for after-school activities. The money, which was handed out under the government’s UCan2 scheme, has paid for a series of clubs and extra-curricular activities for pupils.   read more
28 July 2010, North London Today

Early end to subsidised childcare tax credits scheme costs parents dear
Parents on a pilot scheme to help lower-income families with their childcare costs have been told they will have to pay back £500 because the pilot is ending in September, nine months earlier than planned.   read more
28 July 2010, Nursery World

Free Childcare for Training for Work scheme to close
The government is to scrap the £75m Free Childcare for Training and Learning for Work scheme. The scheme was designed to support low-income families where one parent was working and the other wanted to improve their skills to get back to work.   read more
27 July 2010, InPractice

Early years capital grant for childcare settings could be withdrawn
Private and voluntary settings that have applied for funding for improvements from the early years capital grant could lose out on millions of pounds.   read more
21 July 2010, Nursery World

Playworkers found to lack job-specific training
More than 40 per cent of playworkers do not have a playwork qualification, a new report by SkillsActive has found. According to the report, employers in the sector are struggling to find staff with the skills they are looking for.   read more
21 July 2010, Nursery World

Funding for projects affecting children and young people to be slashed
In a letter sent to all local authorities, Michael Gove has announced cuts of at least £169.5m to capital funding for a range of projects affecting children and young people, including clawing back money previously committed for building new play areas.   read more
16 July 2010, Children and Young People Now

Parents struggle to find holiday childcare
Many parents in Britain are struggling to find childcare for their children over the summer holidays, a survey by the Daycare Trust suggests. The trust found 60 of the 150 Family Information Services (FIS) in England had parents reporting a lack of care.   read more
14 July 2010, BBC News

Government unveils wide-ranging review of the Early Years Foundation Stage
Children's minister Sarah Teather today launches a review of the EYFS, which will consider whether the framework is too bureaucratic and how to shift the focus to getting children ready for education and improving the attainment of children from deprived backgrounds.   read more
6 July 2010, Nursery World

Letting children off the leash
It is an observation that has become commonplace: children are missing out on normal stages of growing up because red tape, tabloid scare stories and the threat of litigation are deterring parents and teachers from exposing them to risk.   read more
5 July 2010, BBC News

North Ayrshire to close out of school clubs
North Ayrshire, one of only three local authorities in Scotland which directly provide out of school care, has decided to cut £300,000 from its budget by closing a number of out of school clubs and increasing fees by 50% at others.   read more
2 July 2010, Irvine Herald

Play England announces 15 job losses amid huge funding cuts
Play England has announced that 15 jobs are to be axed as the organisation seeks to cope with a £900,000 cut in its government funding for the year.   read more
1 July 2010, InPractice

Out of school club rated 'good' despite school being unsatisfactory
The organisers of an out of school club attached to a failing school have been praised by Ofsted inspectors who have rated the provision as 'good'. The findings are in stark contrast to a report on Luddenden Dene Church of England Primary School which was put into special measures after being inspected.   read more
26 June 2010, Hebden Bridge Times

Budget: Child benefit frozen and tax credits cut
Tax credits will be cut for households with a combined income of more than £40,000. Child benefit, which is received by all families with children, will be frozen for three years.   read more
22 June 2010, BBC News

Budget: Lone parents must work when youngest child starts school
The Chancellor has announced that from 2011, lone parents will have to start work when their youngest child starts school or lose their income support. Currently lone parents do not have to start looking for work until their youngest child reaches the age of 10, although this was due to be reduced to seven in October.   read more
22 June 2010, BBC News

Are breakfast clubs under threat?
Breakfast clubs are a lifeline for children who come to school hungry. But will the new government continue to support them?   read more
21 June 2010, Guardian

Scrap EYFS and devolve Sure Start, says think-tank
The EYFS should be scrapped and funding for Sure Start should be devolved to local authorities, according to a report by the Centre for Policy Studies. The report recommends abolishing many of the programmes introduced under Labour to save £1.9 billion of the £5 billion 2010/2011 budget.   read more
16 June 2010, Nursery World

Ministers halt vetting and barring scheme
The vetting and barring scheme, which would have affected nine million people working with children and vulnerable adults, is to be halted. Registration, which was due to begin at the end of July, will be put on hold and there will be a review of the entire vetting and barring scheme, with a 'scaling back' likely to follow.   read more
15 June 2010, BBC News

Health and safety review to address curbs on play
The government has launched a review into the so-called 'compensation culture' following a series of high-profile health and safety decisions such as banning conkers from school playgrounds.   read more
14 June 2010, InPractice

After-school club to appeal over Ofsted criticism
An after-school club in Headington, Oxford, is appealing after being rated as inadequate by inspectors. It was given a 'notice to improve' because it did not meet statutory requirements for at least half the staff to hold Early Years Foundation Stage qualifications.   read more
10 June 2010, Oxford Mail

Government funding for Sure Start may be slashed after Budget
A leaked email has revealed that government funding already allocated for Sure Start children's centres could be reduced after the emergency Budget this month.   read more
4 June 2010, Children and Young People Now

Teather in charge of early years as Department for Education confirms ministers' roles
The Department for Education has finally confirmed what areas of responsibilities each of its ministers is to have in the new Government.   read more
2 June 2010, Nursery World

Play provision faces funding loss
Children's play provision is among the victims of the new Government's axe, along with literacy initiatives and childcare subsidies for parents training to go back to work.   read more
2 June 2010, Nursery World

After-school health club could save tax payer £8.9bn
After-school clubs aimed at tackling obesity among seven- to 13-year-olds could save the tax payer up to £8.9bn, according to a new report.   read more
31 May 2010, Children and Young People Now

Anger at government plans to cut Play Strategy
Labour's Play Strategy is set to be cut by £5m after Treasury staff identified the area as an example of wasteful spending. Those hoping that frontline children's services would be protected from the government's programme of cuts have greeted the news with anger.   read more
24 May 2010, InPractice

Children's Workforce Development Council loses £15m, but Sure Start keeps funding
The Children's Workforce and Development Council (CWDC) is to have its budget slashed by £15m over the next year after being named as one of the first victims of Government cuts. Sure Start holds on to its existing funding, however.   read more
24 May 2010, Nursery World

Government fleshes out coalition policy on Sure Start and early years
Details of what the next five years has in store for children, families, Sure Start and early years education under the new coalition Government have been released. The coalition announced plans to cut funding to Sure Start outreach services and to increase the number of health visitors by 4,200.   read more
20 May 2010, Nursery World

Government puts work of children's sector bodies on hold
The new Department for Education has called a moratorium on the work of all government quangos and arm's length bodies in the children and young people's sector. This instruction affects bodies such as Ofsted, the Training and Development Agency for Schools and the Children's Workforce Development Council.   read more
17 May 2010, Children and Young People Now

London Play chief urges the government to recognise the value of play
The fate of play provision has been called into question by the sector as the new government's commitment to it remains ambiguous and providers are already reporting cuts in staffing and training for playworkers and early years workers.   read more
14 May 2010, Children and Young People Now

More appointments in the new Department for Education
Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather has been appointed as minister of state for children and families, while the Conservative Party's Tim Loughton has been made parliamentary under-secretary of state for children and families. Nick Gibb (Conservative) has been appointed as schools minister.   read more
14 May 2010, Children and Young People Now

Michael Gove is new education secretary
Michael Gove is to be the education secretary in the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, and the Department for Children, Schools and Families will be renamed the Department for Education.   read more
12 May 2010, BBC News

Big fall in number of childminders and nursery places
More than 11,000 childcare places have been lost in the past three months, according to the latest Ofsted figures.   read more
4 May 2010, Nursery World

Play England loses lottery funding
The future of Play England has been thrown into doubt after the Big Lottery Fund confirmed it will not renew its funding for the organisation after March next year.   read more
4 May 2010, InPractice

Number of registered childminders continues to decline
The continual decline in the number of registered childminders does not look like ending, as the latest figures from Ofsted show a drop of more than 900 since the start of the year.   read more
30 April 2010, Children and Young People Now

Main parties fail to make commitments to play
The play sector has hit out at the main political parties' failure to address the future of play provision, in the run-up to the general election next week.   read more
27 April 2010, Children and Young People Now

Lib Dems plan to 'slim down' the EYFS
The Early Years Foundation Stage would be scrapped and replaced with a slimmed-down framework under a Liberal Democrat government, according to the party's manifesto.   read more
21 April 2010, Nursery World

Surrey seeks to boost number of male childcare workers
Surrey County Council has launched a campaign to drive up the numbers of men working in childcare settings. Nationally only two per cent of the childcare workforce are men, causing concern that children lack the presence of male role models in early life.   read more
13 April 2010, Children and Young People Now

Low pay and poor perceptions of profession put graduates off playwork
Enticing graduates into a career in playwork is being hindered by poor perceptions of the profession, low pay and lack of career progression, according to research by SkillsActive published yesterday.   read more
1 April 2010, Children and Young People Now

£5.5 million boost for summer holiday childcare
The Government has committed £5.5 million to fund 19 pilot projects across England to test creative approaches to summer holiday childcare for five to 14 year olds. The pilot schemes will run for one year and aim to give the Government and local authorities a better understanding of what works best for parents during the summer holidays.   read more
26 March 2010, Department for Children, Schools and Families

Play manifesto calls for all parties to give children more space to play
More than 80 per cent of adults want the next Government to have policies that ensure children can play outside, according to a poll commissioned by Play England to launch its Manifesto for Children's Play.   read more
23 March 2010, Nursery World

No regulation for unpaid childcare arrangements between friends
Unpaid childcare arrangements between friends will be legally exempt from Ofsted registration and inspection under new legislation the Government announced today. From April this year, friends caring for one another's children without payment are no longer included within the remit of Ofsted.   read more
18 March 2010, Department for Children, Schools and Families

Out-of-school sector attacks funding cuts
The out-of-school sector has hit out at children's secretary Ed Balls after he detailed plans to cut £100m from after-school club funding, despite a Government target that all primary schools should offer extended services by September 2010.   read more
17 March 2010, Nursery World

Government announces £6m funding for after-school sports clubs
The culture secretary has announced £6m funding for 3,000 after-school sports clubs intended to be open across the UK by spring next year. The aim of the clubs, which will be funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Department of Health and Sport England, will be to involve all school-age children in sports regardless of their innate athletic ability.   read more
16 March 2010, Guardian

Ed Balls to cut £100 million from funding for after school clubs
Ed Balls, the schools secretary, has detailed how he plans to help bring down the budget deficit. Balls said he would cut £500m from his departmental budget by 2013 by slashing quango spending, halving the bursaries for trainee teachers and cutting funding for after school clubs.   read more
7 March 2010, Times Online

Expensive childcare forces low income families to rely on grandparents
A report by Grandparents Plus and the Equality and Human Rights Commission has found that single-parent families and those on low incomes are among the most reliant on grandparents due to the 'prohibitively expensive' cost of childcare. The report estimates that half of all single-parent families rely on grandparents for childcare.   read more
3 March 2010, InPractice

Ofsted privatises childcare inspections
Ofsted has confirmed that the inspection of childcare providers in England is to be outsourced to private companies but has so far refused to name any of the companies involved. However The Tribal Group has confirmed that it is to take over up to 45 per cent of childcare inspections.   read more
24 February 2010, Nursery World

EYFS rules for playworkers threatens holiday provision
Parents of young children have been warned that they are likely to face a shortage of available holiday childcare this Easter because many providers are struggling to recruit qualified staff. A SkillsActive survey of 49 holiday club providers found the EYFS qualification requirements were having a significant impact on their provision.   read more
18 February 2010, Nursery World

Parents face childcare fees rise
Childcare costs in England, Wales and Scotland are continuing to rise, a survey by the Daycare Trust suggests. However the survey also found that while the cost of after-school clubs has risen in England by 12.5% over the past year, costs in Scotland and Wales have fallen by 2% and 4.9% respectively.   read more
10 February 2010, BBC News

Childcare places available drop by thousands
The total number of childcare places in England has dropped by 11,000 in three months as the recession takes its toll on early years providers, the latest Ofsted figures show. The statistics, which show the number of childcare providers and places at the end of December, show a fall in both the numbers of childminders and childcare settings on non-domestic premises since September.   read more
3 February 2010, Nursery World

Ofsted to reduce early years staff
A drop in the number of registered childminders has forced Ofsted to make 10% of early years inspectors redundant.   read more
2 February 2010, Children and Young People Now

Extended services need more support to reach disadvantaged
Schools need more support from government and councils to ensure their extended services are reaching their most disadvantaged pupils, according to a government review.   read more
1 February 2010, Children and Young People Now

Proposal for professional register for playworkers
The play sector is considering creating a register for professionals in an attempt to boost the status and quality of playwork. SkillsActive, the playwork sector skills council, said the register would be based on a similar model used for fitness instructors and PE teachers.   read more
26 January 2010, Children and Young People Now

Childcare and teaching staffing agencies failing to obey laws
A Government investigation has found that a significant number of childcare and teaching agencies are failing to meet all of their responsibilities under UK law. The Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate visited 50 agencies and issued 38 with warnings for failing to comply with the law. Of these, 11 had failed to carry out proper identity and qualification checks on candidates.   read more
20 January 2010, Nursery World

SkillsActive calls for staffing regulations for play schemes to be relaxed
SkillsActive, the playwork sector skills council, has urged the government to relax staffing regulations for holiday play schemes or risk a repeat of 2009, when thousands of children aged under 8 were turned away, or in some cases the play schemes simply shut down.   read more
22 December 2009, Children and Young People Now

CWDC invests £600,000 in playwork training
The Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) is to inject £600,000 into training for playworkers who want to boost their career prospects. The cash will finance professionals to study the playwork NVQ Level 3 or the Level 3 award in playwork for early years and childcare workers.   read more
14 December 2009, InPractice

Chief adviser publishes report on government’s vetting and barring scheme
Sir Roger Singleton, the Government’s Chief Adviser on the Safety of Children, has made a series of recommendations on how best to change the rules governing the Vetting and Barring scheme to ensure it strikes the right balance between offering protection without being overly burdensome.   read more
14 December 2009, Department for Children Schools and Families

Vetting and barring system to be diluted
Rules requiring about 11 million people working with children to register with a new agency and have criminal records checks are to be watered down. Schools Secretary Ed Balls has accepted recommendations of a review he ordered into the vetting and barring scheme.   read more
13 December 2009, BBC News

Childcare subsidy scheme cut back as boroughs drop out
Funding for a scheme aimed at reducing the cost of childcare places in a number of London boroughs has been slashed from £12m to £4m after councils pulled out of the scheme. The programme aims to make childcare in the capital more affordable by subsidising day care and wrap around care, to help low-income families to stay in, or return to, work.   read more
4 December 2009, Children and Young People Now

Prime Minister's U-turn on childcare vouchers
Plans to scrap tax breaks for childcare have been scaled back following a revolt by Labour MPs. Top-rate taxpayers who join the scheme from 2011 will see the benefit cut by nearly half, rather than scrapped altogether as originally planned.   read more
3 December 2009, BBC News

Benefit change raises demand for out-of-school places
More out-of-school clubs are needed to fill the childcare gap created by changes to benefits for single parents.   read more
3 December 2009, Nursery World

Protest leads to government rethink on childcare vouchers plans
Children's secretary Ed Balls has said that the Government is 'going to listen' to concerns over its plans to scrap tax relief on childcare vouchers. There are now more than 80,000 signatures on a petition urging it to rethink its plans on the Downing Street website..   read more
18 November 2009, Nursery World

Nine ex-ministers urge rethink on plan to phase out childcare vouchers
More than 40 Labour MPs have attacked Gordon Brown's plans to phase out tax relief on vouchers used by many parents to pay for childcare. Nine ex-ministers have urged a rethink, saying that axing the tax break, used by 300,000 families, could hit Labour at the next election.   read more
11 November 2009, BBC News

Ofsted confirms that EYFS does not clash with play principles
Ofsted has published guidance confirming that play providers can comply with the early years curriculum without compromising their professional principles. Ofsted has published a factsheet for the play sector called Regulating Play-based Provision.   read more
10 November 2009, Children and Young People Now

More out of school clubs needed to fill childcare gap
The recent introduction of changes to benefit rules for single parents means that up to 68,000 new places for out of school care could be required.   read more
9 November 2009, Out of School Alliance

Single parents of 10- and 11-year-olds must look for work
A new welfare reform came into effect today which sees all single parents with a youngest child aged 10 or 11 switched from Income Support to Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA). Single parents are being hurried through a sign-on system, which puts them under intense pressure to find work or face losing benefits, yet doesn’t recognise the real-world constraints that make it hard for them to find and keep a job.   read more
29 October 2009, Children and Young People Now

ISA chairman to recommend changes to vetting and barring scheme
The government's chief adviser on child safety is preparing to recommend key changes to controversial rules that make it compulsory for parents taking part in regular volunteering activity involving children to sign on to a new register.   read more
25 October 2009, The Guardian

Playwork could be an option for redundant teaching assistants
Teaching assistants who are worried about job security should consider a career in playwork, according to SkillsActive. The advice follows an internal Government report which said that 40,000 teaching assistants could be removed from their posts to save on the schools budget.   read more
21 October 2009, Nursery World

Report suggests that formal schooling could start at age six
A major new report that argues children should start primary school at the age of six, a year later than at present, has been welcomed by children's and education professionals.   read more
20 October 2009, InPractice

Play England offers guidance for local strategy
Play England has issued local authorities with guidance to help them implement the government's play strategy across a range of services. The document, called Embedding the Play Strategy is open for consultation until the end of October, with responses requested from directors of children's services, children's trusts and those working in the voluntary and play sectors   read more
9 October 2009, Children and Young People Now

Early years sector rallies with petition against childcare voucher withdrawal
More than 7,000 people have signed a petition calling for the Government to re-think plans to scrap tax relief on employer-supported childcare.   read more
7 October 2009, Nursery World

Heads warned over out-of-hours club conflict
Head teachers are being advised not to become personally involved in private businesses that run out-of-hours clubs at their school.   read more
1 October 2009, InPractice

Childcare voucher companies criticise plans to scrap tax relief
Childcare voucher companies have hit back at Gordon Brown's plans to scrap tax relief on employer-supported childcare in order to pay for free childcare places for 250,000 two-year-olds.   read more
30 September 2009, Nursery World

Ofsted moves closer to outsourcing early years
Ofsted will decide whether or not to outsource early years inspections in February next year and has shortlisted five suppliers to take on the task. Experts have criticised the move, saying it could damage the credibility of inspections and destabilise the Early Years Foundation Stage.   read more
17 September 2009, Children and Young People Now

School closure most effective at start of swine flu outbreak
The World Health Organisation has said that school closures appear to be the most effective way of preventing the spread of the swine flu virus when implemented early in the outbreak.   read more
11 September 2009, AFP

Checks on children's club drivers
Parents who regularly drive children for sports or social clubs will have to be vetted or face fines of up to £5,000 under new rules.   read more
11 September 2009, BBC News

New service makes setting up out of school clubs simple
Setting up out of school clubs to meet the Government's target for extended schools provision has just been made easier by the launch of an online service by the Out of School Alliance.   read more
9 September 2009, Out of School Alliance

NAS out of school clubs celebrated at National Lottery Awards
Out of school clubs run by The National Autistic Society (NAS) in south west England have been recognised as one of the UK's best charity projects at The National Lottery Awards 2009. NAS out of school clubs support children and young people with Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism, giving them the opportunity to take part in activities and socialise.   read more
6 September 2009, National Autistic Society

Playwork needs separate inspection
Playwork settings that deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) should have their own inspection framework, according to a playwork training provider. Ofsted should devise an inspection process based more on professional playwork standards.   read more
3 September 2009, Children and Young People Now

Ofsted shows what outstanding practice looks like
Ofsted has published examples of outstanding provision from its inspections of early years providers. The guides for childminding and childcare groups, called A passion to be outstanding, include real-life examples of good practice found by Ofsted inspectors on their visits.
read more
1 September 2009, Nursery World

Children's club raided by police
A children's club in Gloucester has been searched as part of a child protection investigation. Additions Childcare, in Quedgeley, was closed after two men linked to the after-school club were arrested on suspicion of computer-related offences.   read more
31 August 2009, BBC News

Steiner school wins opt-out from early years curriculum
A Steiner school in London has become the first early years setting in England to be granted exemptions from parts of the curriculum for under-fives, the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).   read more
27 August 2009, Children and Young People Now

Playwork EYFS guide by SkillsActive comes 'too late'
A play expert has criticised new guidance on the EYFS published by play skills council SkillsActive as 'too little and a year too late'. SkillsActive published the guidance in July because some holiday clubs and after-school providers have stopped taking children under six due to the demands of the EYFS.   read more
5 August 2009, Nursery World

Early Years Professionals urged to lobby MPs on pay and conditions
The trade union which represents Early Years Professionals (EYPs) is urging childcare practitioners to complain to their MP about pay and conditions. It says that problems with recruitment and retention and the shortage of men in the early years workforce are all linked to poor wages and a lack of career structure.   read more
29 July 2009, Nursery World

Playworkers receive EYFS guidance
Play skills council SkillsActive has published guidance for playworkers on the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), to ensure under-sixes can continue to attend play-led settings.   read more
23 July 2009, Children and Young People Now

Busy Bees Vouchers rebrands in wake of Computershare buy
Busy Bees Vouchers, the largest voucher company in the UK, is changing its name to Computershare Voucher Services in line with its parent company.   read more
20 July 2009, Nursery World

Every local authority to receive financial boost for out of hours services
Children's Minister Dawn Primarolo today announced the regional breakdown of £167m to boost out of hours services offered in schools across the country. The money is part of the extended services subsidy which has been allocated £40m in 2009-10 and £167m in 2010-11.  
read more
17 July 2009, Department for Children Schools and Families

Q & A: Vetting and Barring Scheme
From October 2009, everyone who wants to work or volunteer with children or 'vulnerable people' will start having to be registered, with compulsory listing from November 2010.   read more
17 July 2009, BBC News

Cost of Criminal Records Bureau checks reduced
The cost of standard Criminal Records Bureau checks are to be cut by £5 from October, the Home Office has announced. But those working with children will still have to pay £64 to register for the vetting and barring scheme being introduced from October 12.   read more
16 July 2009, Children & Young People Now