The Childcare Act 2006 (c 21) is an Act

Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom

An Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom is a type of legislation called primary legislation. These Acts are passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster, or by the Scottish Parliament at Edinburgh....

 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

.

Summary

The Act defines new duties for Local Authorities with respect to:

• improving the Every Child Matters
  Every Child Matters
  Every Child Matters is a UK government initiative that was launched in 2003, at least partly in response to the death of Victoria Climbié...
  
   outcomes for pre-school children
• childcare for working parents
• parental information services

Structure of the Act

The Act comprises 4 sections:

• Part 1 - duties on local authorities in England
• Part 2 - duties on local authorities in Wales
• Part 3 - regulation and inspection arrangements for childcare providers in England
• Part 4 - general provisions

Early Years Foundation Stage

Sections 39-48 introduce the Early Years Foundation Stage

Early Years Foundation Stage

The Early Years Foundation Stage is a term defined in Section 39 of the British government's Childcare Act 2006. The EYFS comprises a set of Welfare Requirements and a set of Learning and Development Requirements, which must be followed by providers of care for children below 5 years old – the age...

(EYFS) which supports the delivery of high quality education and care for children from birth to age 5.

Section 109 - Commencement

The following orders have been made under this section:

• The Childcare Act 2006 (Commencement No. 1) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/3360 (C. 121))
• The Childcare Act 2006 (Commencement No. 2 and Savings and Transitional Provisions) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/1019 (C. 41))
• The Childcare Act 2006 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional Provision) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/2717 (C. 106))
• The Childcare Act 2006 (Commencement No. 4) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/785 (C. 35))
• The Childcare Act 2006 (Commencement No. 5 and Savings and Transitional Provisions) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/2261 (C. 101))

• The Childcare Act 2006 (Commencement No. 1) (Wales) Order 2008 (S.I. 2008/17 (W. 6))

External links

• Every Child Matters
• Explanatory notes to the Childcare Act 2006.