DfE seeks to run Early Years Hubs to support Covid recovery

The Department for Education is inviting bids to run a network of Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs in England.

The Hubs will be responsible for supporting other early years settings with adopting evidence-based practice improvements to address key COVID-19 recovery issues and build local networks for sharing effective practice.

Building on the Early Years Foundation Stage reforms, the Hubs will be existing, well-established early years settings with expertise and knowledge of what works to support child outcomes, and the supporting evidence base. Hubs will also have demonstrable experience of delivering effective practice for the benefit of children. The programme is part of the Department for Education's £180 million investment in recovery support in the early years sector.

The objective for this tender is to support the delivery of 18 Hubs over the duration of the contract. This will involve co-designing and running an exercise to select the Stronger Practice Hubs, providing oversight and quality assurance of the Hubs throughout the delivery period and facilitating best practice and intelligence sharing between Hubs and with the Department for Education and other partners.

The contract will run from July 2022 to December 2024, with a possible contract extension of one year.