Do providers have to guarantee/hold a specific number of places?
The specification outlines the minimum number of places required to be secured to enable the children’s centre to be designated by the government as meeting its “core offer”. The service specification outlines that childcare providers must be able to demonstrate, through the monitoring, that they are providing services to the families in the notional catchment areas of the children’s centre and meeting the needs of the local community. They must also demonstrate, through monitoring, that they are able to continue to develop childcare services which meet the needs of specifically targeted groups of families.
