TO BE PUBLISHED December 2026
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This conference will consider priorities for improving school readiness and early child development in England, considering approaches to help more children start school ready to learn, priorities for childcare expansion and accessibility, and measures to support children with SEND and additional needs.
It will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to consider how recent reform to family support, early years services and social care are being implemented at a local level in the context of the Government’s Giving every child the best start in life policy paper, alongside Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies services, as well as the Families First Partnership programme.
Co-ordination, support & access
Attendees will examine the development of integrated family support from pregnancy through early childhood. Areas for discussion include approaches to co-ordination across health, education, social care and community services to enable the consistent implementation of reform, and priorities for coherent local delivery, including evidence-informed parenting, home-learning interventions, and improving school readiness.
Planned sessions will examine the role of funded childcare and nursery provision on school sites, considering affordability, provider sustainability, local sufficiency and workforce capacity, as well as approaches to scaling provision to improve access for disadvantaged families.
Inclusivity & children with SEND
Delegates will also consider priorities for supporting children with additional needs, including key themes emerging from the Government’s SEND reform consultation, such as strengthening early identification and access to specialist advice, and improving transitions into reception across local systems.
Further discussion will consider approaches to embedding inclusive practice consistently across early years settings, options for facilitating joint working between providers, schools and specialist services, and how reform to workforce development, inclusion support and family-facing provision can translate into better school readiness.
Accountability & oversight arrangements
The agenda will also assess implications of changes to accountability and oversight arrangements, including the phased move to more frequent inspections for providers on the Early Years Register from April 2026, and the introduction of Ofsted’s updated Early years inspection: toolkit, operating guide and information.
Attendees will assess how providers, schools, trusts and local authorities can interpret data, contextual indicators and performance information in judging progress. We also expect discussion on the use of performance data and contextual indicators in judging progress alongside how evidence of outcomes can be considered in the context of the lived experience of children and families, and the alignment of school-readiness policy with wider family-support reforms.
Overview of areas for discussion
- policy, implementation and local delivery:
- best start reform - Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 - local duties, partnerships and accountability
- national and local delivery - governance across sectors - local roles, escalation and shared accountability
- implementation of Giving every child the best start in life, Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies services and the Families First Partnership programme
- school readiness and improvement:
- the 2028 good level of development ambition - feasibility, local planning and implications of a statutory or system-wide target
- consistent measurement of progress across diverse communities, provider types and local contexts
- evidence-informed parenting and home-learning interventions - support for speech, language and communication development
- integrated family support:
- integrated support for families from pregnancy through early childhood - commissioning horizons, delivery capacity and sustaining reform beyond initial rollout
- Family Hubs and Start for Life services - links with maternity, health visiting, early years and community provision
- multi-agency working - leadership, outreach, workforce mix, shared learning, and implementation support
- childcare expansion:
- expanded funded childcare - provider viability, market development, local sufficiency and workforce pressures
- nursery provision on school sites - delivery models, disadvantaged family access and mitigating regional disparities
- affordability, accessibility and practical implications for providers, schools, trusts and local authorities
- inclusion and SEND:
- SEND reform consultation - early identification, inclusive practice and access to specialist advice
- school-readiness objectives - alignment of funding, training, local support and transitions into reception
- joint working between providers, schools, specialist services and families
- data, accountability and oversight:
- local reporting and data use - accountability, improvement and consistent assessment of progress
- inspection and evaluation - Early Years Register inspections and Ofsted’s updated toolkit - contextual data and outcome measures
- workforce priorities:
- standards, pay, status and retention pressures - quality, continuity of provision and capacity to deliver reform
- training and professional development - improving practice and implementation support locally and nationally
- workforce capacity across early years, family support, health, education and specialist services
