Nurseries and early years settings who will be caring for babies for the first time under the expansion in the Government’s free childcare scheme in September, are being offered the chance to upskill quickly and cost-effectively.
HFL Education (formerly Herts for Learning) has launched a suite of e-learning programmes to help early years workers prepare for the next roll-out of places which will give children aged nine months and upwards access to 30 hours free childcare per week.
The Government has committed to providing an estimated 180,000 early years places by 2025 in its free childcare scheme. The first stage came into effect in April 2024, offering eligible working parents of two-year-olds 15 hours free childcare. From September, babies and children aged between nine months and five years will be entitled to 30 hours free childcare a week. And from September 2025, all qualifying working parents of under 5s will have access to 30 free hours per week.
This means that in just a few weeks’ time many nurseries and early years settings will for the first time be caring for babies and will need specific training in new skills.
It is a statutory requirement for early years practitioners working with babies that at least half of staff must have received training that specifically addresses infant care.
HFL Education’s Senior Early Years Consultant, Emma Wild, said: “While the expansion of places to nine months and upwards from September is brilliant news for parents and carers of babies and toddlers, there’s also pressure for nurseries and settings to quickly upskill to ensure not only that they can provide a safe and stimulating environment, but that their staff feel confident and happy in their work.
“Our expanded suite of e-learning programmes has been rolled out and tailored to meet this need in a cost-effective and time-conscious way.”
Hundreds of delegates already take part in HFL Education’s popular baby training webinar course every year –Working with babies and toddlers. The course explores the brain development of babies and toddlers and what best practice looks like in an early years setting’s baby room. The course has also been developed into a self-paced e-learning programme, will be launched in early September.
For settings that may be expanding or considering expanding their provision for babies and toddlers to meet the expected uplift in demand generated by the expansion of free hours, HFL Education is offering a 40-minute Spotlight webinar on Friday 13th September on expanding your baby room which will cover statutory requirements and logistics.
In addition, there is a baby room in action webinar developed for practitioners who are looking for inspiration when working with babies which will be held on Friday 8th November to explore how to set up and maintain an environment that supports baby and toddler development, reviewing the latest research and how to maintain strong partnerships with parents.
Emma Wild added: “In an industry already facing widespread shortages, ensuring early years providers have skilled staff ready to meet the new demand for places is essential.”
