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Partner with the Out of School Alliance for consultancy, training, and support tailored to your childcare business.

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One month on from the spring budget statement

On 15th March 2023, Jeremy Hunt MP announced in his Spring Budget a pledge to invest £289 million over two years from September 2024, to enable Local Authorities to encourage the development and extension of school based wraparound childcare from 8am to 6pm. This policy commitment is one that seeks to address availability rather than affordability of school aged childcare in England. An aligned move to remove the Universal Credit claim cap and uplift the amount paid by the Childcare element of Universal Credit is seen as sufficient measures to support the affordability challenge for families. At the Out of School Alliance, we reacted quickly issuing a press release which was picked up in a number of media outlets. Rebekah Jackson Reece, Managing Director of OOSA, met with Department for Education for comment and consultation within 48 hours of the announcement being made by HM Treasury. As a result of a

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Staff Qualifications Ensuring Your Team Has the Right Skills

With so many reasons to be worried at the moment, it’s no wonder that many small business owners are suffering from symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression. That is why it is important to take a bit of time out for yourself, and focus on something outside of your immediate concerns. Just for a little while, try to stop thinking about your family, your business, the children and your staff, and dedicate a little time to just looking after yourself. We’ve collected together some suggestions for how to treat yourself whilst not leaving home – and all of them are free or very cheap. Relax and enjoy! Calm your mind Calm has put together a collection called Calm Together, consisting of its favourite meditations, calming exercises, sleep stories and music. All the resources are completely free to use and share.https://www.calm.com/blog/take-a-deep-breath Insight Timer has 45,000 guided meditations to help you relax, sleep better, lift

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Treat yourself

If your out of school club is registered on Ofsted’s Early Years Register the legal requirements for the staffing levels at your setting are specified in the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. If your club is registered on Ofsted’s Childcare Register the legal requirements are specified in Annex C of the Early Years and Childcare Registration Handbook. (Not sure whether your club should be registered with Ofsted? See our information about Ofsted registration.) Background The Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage originally had a very clear requirement that you must have a minimum of two members of staff on duty at all times, even if you only had one child present at your club, but this was quietly dropped in the 2012 version. However, the requirement to have two members of staff on duty was preserved for settings on the Childcare Register until it was updated in September 2014. Since then there

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Resources and insights​

Industry News, Expert Insights, and Resources for Childcare Providers

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One month on from the spring budget statement

AtomicDigitalMarekting on June 4, 2025

On 15th March 2023, Jeremy Hunt MP announced in his Spring Budget a pledge to invest £289 million over two years from September 2024, to enable...

Staff Qualifications Ensuring Your Team Has the Right Skills

AtomicDigitalMarekting on June 4, 2025

With so many reasons to be worried at the moment, it’s no wonder that many small business owners are suffering from symptoms of stress, anxiety...

Treat yourself

AtomicDigitalMarekting on June 4, 2025

If your out of school club is registered on Ofsted’s Early Years Register the legal requirements for the staffing levels at your setting are specified...

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Testimonials

What people say about us.

Dramatis Drama School

Just wanted to write an email to say thankyou again very much for your help and wisdom on my drama school. It was incredibly helpful and inciteful. I also wanted to say…. I actually felt a little bit teary. I’ve been so on my own trying desperately to get my school off the ground, knowing that I can help children but having no one I could talk to about it, who actually understands what we do and how to translate it. Really grateful Rebekah

Mike Barclay

I’m happy to say I’ve known Rebekah for many years through our shared work developing strategic support for children’s play at a local government level and the delivery of community based playwork provision.
As a consequence of her qualifications and many years of experience, Rebekah offers a valuable and rare combination. Firstly, she has extensive knowledge and understanding of the childcare sector and the challenges involved in developing and sustaining high quality childcare provision. Secondly, Rebekah knows her play and playwork and this underpins her approach to quality improvement and staff development. The result is a childcare business mentor and playwork trainer with an in-depth appreciation of what high quality childcare looks like for children and their families, and importantly, how to achieve it.”

Janine Dodge

Dear Rebekah,
I LOVED your training session this morning!  It was so clear and engaging.  Simply awesome.  I really liked the way you explained the key terms.  I learned a lot and am very inspired for our workshop here.

Rebekah

Rebekah, Many congratulations to you on your new venture!
I am over the moon that I am going to have you in my business life all the time!

Nikki Pitts

Hi Rebekah,

Just wanted to say a big thank you for all the amazing courses, your constant inspiration and motivation! It’s really given lots of exciting things to think about and start putting into place … love it!

Adam Smart

‘Starting my own childcare business was unexpected and I struggled to understand the skills and knowledge needed to run it successfully. As someone inexperienced in business, I was in uncharted territory. However, after enrolling in Rebekah’s training, everything changed. Her advice and tips helped me bridge gaps and transformed the way we operate. Not only that, her expertise in play and early years education has elevated the business to become one of the leading childcare companies in Cambridge.’

Lianne

Our OOSA membership is non-negotiable for us. It set the foundation for our business and continues to play a huge part in how and why we continue to thrive in what feels like a very vulnerable sector. The resources available, sector knowledge, experience and support you can expect to receive is nothing short of outstanding. They make a lot of sense in a place where nothing is ever black or white!

In difficult situations, we have received honest, practical, and sound advice, some of which has saved us from the brink of giving up.

OOSA is a progressive and present voice for our sector. We feel supported, protected, and heard.

Keep up the amazing work you do, we’d be lost without you!

Claire & Lianne

“We cannot recommend OOSA highly enough to anybody that looks after children. Their paperwork packs are meticulous and their website a one stop shop for anything and everything you need.

More recently, they have been pivotal in supporting our club through a very stressful experience, not only in terms of their extensive industry knowledge, but in terms of emotional support and validation.

The whole team deserve a huge THANK YOU, but Becks in particular has been our rock, our safe space and our comfort blanket”

Kudize Club

I first joined OOSA when I started my wrap around childcare business in 2015 and it was completely invaluable with helping me navigate through the whole process; from registering with Ofsted and having all the policies and procedures in place to feeling confident the pre-reg visit then opening our doors for the first time.

 

OOSA has evolved so much over the years, and I love feeling part of a wonderfully supportive and professional OOSA community. I feel valued as a childcare provider when we are invited to share our insights and experiences, and I enjoy continuing to broaden my knowledge and understanding of the childcare sector with the opportunities my OOSA membership provides. Over the years, I too have evolved –  I feel much more confident as a business owner, and I have developed a professional vocabulary. I am  proud of what had been achieved for childcare sector so far, but determined to continue to educate the families I work with, on how vital Playwork and professionalism go hand in hand with proving their children with the best experiences when in our care.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I contact OOSA for press and media enquiries?

We welcome all enquiries from press and media directly to rebekah@outofschoolalliance.co.uk. Speaking opportunities, conference key notes and training events enquiries all to info@outofschoolalliance.co.uk please.

We welcome enquiries relating to guest website posts, blogs and newsletter articles from individuals or companies in related industries. We have standard charge rates for guest posts and sponsored articles. Please email info@outofschoolalliance.co.uk to discuss further.

To join the Out of School Alliance (OOSA), click any of the blue buttons that say ‘Join Us Today’.  You’ll be prompted to then choose the membership plan that best fits your needs, complete the online registration and payment. Once registered, you’ll gain immediate access to the membership benefits, including the Knowledge Hub and OOSA team support.