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Stronger Practice Hubs

Children Artwork

National Children's Bureau have been named as the national delivery partner for the Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs programme, working on behalf of the Department of Education (DfE).

The programme aims to support early years settings to address the impact of the pandemic on young children, by sharing effective practice and building lasting local networks.

Existing, well-established early years settings can apply to become Stronger Practice Hubs from 15th August, and will support other settings in their area to adopt evidence-based practice improvements.

Each Stronger Practice Hub will be led by a group-based early years provider (school-based, private, voluntary, or independent). The ambition is for Stronger Practice Hubs to be evenly distributed across England, with two Hubs in each of the nine government office regions. Hubs will be funded for two years until late 2024.

To be eligible to become a Stronger Practice Hub, your setting must be:

  • A group-based early years setting, including:
  • School-based (local authority maintained or schools belonging to Multi-Academy Trusts where the application comes from the school rather than the Trust itself)
  • Private, voluntary, or independent (PVI)
  • Currently rated good or outstanding by Ofsted
  • Providing pre-reception early education

This programme will mainly target settings and children most in need due to COVID-19, with a focus on supporting children from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

We would encourage all settings who meet the criteria to consider making an application to become a stronger practice hub. Please speak to either the Early Years Consultants (schools) or the Quality Improvement Team (PVIs) who would be happy to help with your application.