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<p>The Department recognises that providers and families living and operating in rural
communities are faced with particular barriers in regards to accessing and delivering
childcare.</p><p> </p><p>We are therefore looking at what those challenges are and
how they can be addressed as part of our Early Implementation of the 30 Hours Free
Childcare entitlement. Northumberland, one of our early implementer local authorities,
is looking specifically at how the extended hours work for and impact on providers
operating within the most rural postcodes in Northumberland. Since September, over
500 children in the most rural parts of Northumberland have been benefiting from a
30 hours free childcare place a year early.</p><p> </p><p>We have also recently consulted
on a comprehensive set of reforms to the early years funding system, and one of our
proposals is to allow local authorities to use a rurality/sparsity supplement in their
local funding formulae, in recognition that there may be unavoidable higher costs
to providers operating in sparsely populated, rural areas. We are currently considering
all responses to the consultation and are planning to publish the government’s response
shortly.</p>
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