Who is submitting the proposal?
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Directorate:
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Education and Skills |
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Service Area:
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Early Years & Childcare |
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Name of the proposal:
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Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2025 |
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Lead officer:
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Maxine Squire, Assistant Director, Education and Skills |
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Date assessment completed:
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22/12/2025 |
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Names of those who contributed to the assessment: |
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Name |
Job title |
Organisation |
Area of expertise |
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Barbara Mands |
Head of Early Years & Childcare |
CYC |
Early Years & Childcare |
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Dawn Wood |
Early Years & Childcare Programme Reforms Lead |
CYC |
Early Years & Childcare |
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Step 1 – Aims and intended outcomes
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1.1 |
What is the purpose of the proposal? Please explain your proposal in Plain English avoiding acronyms and jargon. |
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To update on the childcare sufficiency duty. The purpose of childcare sufficiency duty is to ensure there are sufficient early years and childcare places to allow families to work / access training or to access early years entitlements. |
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1.2 |
Are there any external considerations? (Legislation/government directive/codes of practice etc.) |
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Section 11 of the Childcare Act 2006 placed a duty on all local authorities to undertake a Childcare Sufficiency Assessment. Sufficient childcare is defined as ‘sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in the local authority’s area who require childcare in order to enable them to: · Take up or remain in work · Undertake education or training which could reasonably be expected to assist them in obtaining work’ · Access free entitlements (15/30 hours) |
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1.3 |
Who are the stakeholders and what are their interests? |
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The key stake holders are: · The Council to carry out their statutory duty to deliver sufficient childcare and early education places · Providers who deliver early years and childcare places. · The Parents and their families who need early education places and childcare to be able to go out to work / train. · The children and young people who are attending early years and childcare provision. · Employers who need to recruit and retain staff to support their businesses.
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1.4 |
What results/outcomes do we want to achieve and for whom? This section should explain what outcomes you want to achieve for service users, staff and/or the wider community. Demonstrate how the proposal links to the Council Plan (2019- 2023) and other corporate strategies and plans. |
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The request is for the combined Executive Members to agree the Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2025. If agreed the report will be published on CYC’s website and a copy sent to the Department for Education (DfE).
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Step 2 – Gathering the information and feedback
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2.1 |
What sources of data, evidence and consultation feedback do we have to help us understand the impact of the proposal on equality rights and human rights? Please consider a range of sources, including consultation exercises, surveys, feedback from staff, stakeholders, participants, research reports, the views of equality groups, as well your own experience of working in this area etc. |
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Source of data/supporting evidence |
The annual childcare sufficiency assessment is informed by the following: · Local datasets including birth data, planned housing developments etc. · Occupancy data submitted from early years providers in Summer 2025 · Parent / carer survey, available via an online SurveyMonkey (between 19th June and 12th September 2025), promoted through local networks including York parent / carer forum. · Childcare provider survey undertaken in July 2025 · Local intelligence including from the Quality Improvement Advisers who support early years providers · York Family Information Service which supports families in finding early years and childcare and offers a brokerage service · Regular dialogue with providers at information and networking events including the Leaders and Mangers forum, Shared Foundation Partnerships etc.
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Step 3 – Gaps in data and knowledge
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3.1 |
What are the main gaps in information and understanding of the impact of your proposal? Please indicate how any gaps will be dealt with. |
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Gaps in data or knowledge |
Action to deal with this |
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Changing parental demand can be difficult to predict |
Termly occupancy data is collected from providers to ensure an accurate the local authority is aware of any potential changes in demand Regular parent surveys are undertaken to identify parental demand Close links between sufficiency & FIS to ensure any parental gaps can be resolved through partnership working across CYC |
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Provider finances are confidential to each business and are not routinely shared with CYC |
Annual provider survey around sustainability Regular 1:1 offer of targeted business support Business support training delivered in partnership with York Learning |
Step 4 – Analysing the impacts or effects.
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4.1 |
Please consider what the evidence tells you about the likely impact (positive or negative) on people sharing a protected characteristic, i.e. how significant could the impacts be if we did not make any adjustments? Remember the duty is also positive – so please identify where the proposal offers opportunities to promote equality and/or foster good relations. |
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Equality Groups and Human Rights. |
Key Findings/Impacts |
Positive (+) Negative (-) Neutral (0) |
Medium (M) Low (L) |
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Age |
The provision of places ensures that eligible children can access early education. |
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Low |
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Disability
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The provision of places must be accessible, and reasonable adjustments should be made for SEND. |
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Low |
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Gender
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The provision of places must be accessible to children regardless of gender |
+ |
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Gender Reassignment |
N/A |
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Marriage and civil partnership |
N/A |
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Pregnancy and maternity |
N/A |
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Race |
The provision of places must be accessible to children regardless of race |
+ |
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Religion and belief |
The provision of places must be accessible to children regardless of religious belief and British Values are supported |
+ |
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Sexual orientation |
N/A |
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Other Socio-economic groups including : |
Could other socio-economic groups be affected e.g. carers, ex-offenders, low incomes? |
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Carer |
Foster carers can apply for 30 hours funding in addition to their fostering role if they are in other paid employment |
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Low |
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Low income groups |
Eligible two year olds are provided with early education places up to 15 hours per week. Three and four year olds from families on low income are provided with up to 15 hours per week early education (universal hours). |
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Low |
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Veterans, Armed Forces Community |
The duty to secure sufficient early years and childcare places includes for families from the armed forces |
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Low |
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Other
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Impact on human rights: |
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List any human rights impacted. |
The right to education |
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Low |
Use the following guidance to inform your responses:
Indicate:
- Where you think that the proposal could have a POSITIVE impact on any of the equality groups like promoting equality and equal opportunities or improving relations within equality groups
- Where you think that the proposal could have a NEGATIVE impact on any of the equality groups, i.e. it could disadvantage them
- Where you think that this proposal has a NEUTRAL effect on any of the equality groups listed below i.e. it has no effect currently on equality groups.
It is important to remember that a proposal may be highly relevant to one aspect of equality and not relevant to another.
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High impact (The proposal or process is very equality relevant) |
There is significant potential for or evidence of adverse impact The proposal is institution wide or public facing The proposal has consequences for or affects significant numbers of people The proposal has the potential to make a significant contribution to promoting equality and the exercise of human rights.
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Medium impact (The proposal or process is somewhat equality relevant) |
There is some evidence to suggest potential for or evidence of adverse impact The proposal is institution wide or across services, but mainly internal The proposal has consequences for or affects some people The proposal has the potential to make a contribution to promoting equality and the exercise of human rights
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Low impact (The proposal or process might be equality relevant) |
There is little evidence to suggest that the proposal could result in adverse impact The proposal operates in a limited way The proposal has consequences for or affects few people The proposal may have the potential to contribute to promoting equality and the exercise of human rights
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Step 5 - Mitigating adverse impacts and maximising positive impacts
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5.1 |
Based on your findings, explain ways you plan to mitigate any unlawful prohibited conduct or unwanted adverse impact. Where positive impacts have been identified, what is been done to optimise opportunities to advance equality or foster good relations? |
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There are no unlawful or unwanted adverse impacts identified within the EIA / Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2025. The report highlights the positive work that the early years and childcare sector is achieving. Partnerships are embedded into the early years and childcare sector.
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Step 6 – Recommendations and conclusions of the assessment
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6.1 |
Having considered the potential or actual impacts you should be in a position to make an informed judgement on what should be done. In all cases, document your reasoning that justifies your decision. There are four main options you can take: |
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- Adjust the proposal – the EIA identifies potential problems or missed opportunities. This involves taking steps to remove any barriers, to better advance quality or to foster good relations.
- Continue with the proposal (despite the potential for adverse impact) – you should clearly set out the justifications for doing this and how you believe the decision is compatible with our obligations under the duty
- Stop and remove the proposal – if there are adverse effects that are not justified and cannot be mitigated, you should consider stopping the proposal altogether. If a proposal leads to unlawful discrimination it should be removed or changed.
Important: If there are any adverse impacts you cannot mitigate, please provide a compelling reason in the justification column.
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Option selected |
Conclusions/justification |
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Continue with the proposal |
The EIA does not identify any problems or missed opportunities within the Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2025 which could cause any adverse impacts. |
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8.1 |
How will the impact of your proposal be monitored and improved upon going forward? Consider how will you identify the impact of activities on protected characteristics and other marginalised groups going forward? How will any learning and enhancements be capitalised on and embedded? |
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The action plan within the Childcare Sufficiency Assessment will be update regularly and a full copy attached in the 2026 annual Childcare Sufficiency Assessment.
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Step 7 – Summary of agreed actions resulting from the assessment
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7.1 |
What action, by whom, will be undertaken as a result of the impact assessment. |
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Impact/issue |
Action to be taken |
Person responsible |
Timescale |
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N/A |
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Step 8 - Monitor, review and improve