We have high expectations for all providers; minimum standards are not accepted for children and families.

The Early Years and Childcare Advisory Service are committed to ensuring that children and families in Torbay have maximum choice and access to a range of high quality children’s centre services, early years providers, childminders and out-of-school childcare provision.
The team wish to “Make every minute of every opportunity the best for every child.”
We continually evaluate and improve our own performance and in order to embed high expectations, the team offer and target a variety of services:
Early years and childcare advisory services

The core functions of the service:

  • Ensure compliance with all statutory functions related to OFSTED standards through targeted visits and training.
  • Challenge underperforming settings/schools and childminders in an improvement process.
  • Moderate, collate and quality assure data to record academic achievement throughout the Early Years and Foundation Stage.
  • Provide the local authority statutory training to enable the growth and successful registration of all early years planners including childminders.
  • Assist in the identification and planning of interventions of all children at risk of developmental delays or interruptions.
  • Ensure that all eligible 2, 3 and 4 year old children are able to receive their entitlement to 15 (or 30) hours of funded childcare per week (approx 2,300 children) by monitoring and addressing the sufficiency of childcare places in the area (see childcare sufficiency report).
  • To administer and influence practice to make effective use of the early years pupil premium grant for 3 and 4 year olds.
  • Enable children with significant additional needs to access their free entitlement by supporting the settings in doing this.
  • Ensure that any parent wanting to work, train or be in education can access childcare to support this.

Read the full Torbay Childcare Sufficiency duty Report 2022 and executive summary

For further information on funding on childcare, funding and the Early Years Foundation Stage, please see Early Years - Torbay Council