The London Borough of Bexley has a strong track record of supporting the startup, development and quality improvement of early years education and childcare provision, giving children the best possible early learning experiences, coupled with a comprehensive range of early help support is a high priority. Our commitment to training and developing the workforce, improving practice, and supporting the development of new provision reflects this.

Every child in our community deserves the best possible start in life – a safe, nurturing environment, access to high-quality early education and care, and the support of a connected, resilient family and community. The government’s Best Start in Life strategy outlines a national mission to ensure that 75% of five‑year‑olds achieve a Good Level of Development (GLD) by 2028. Bexley has been given an ambitious local target of 80% overall GLD and 61.8% for children eligible for Free School Meals. 

This strategy aims to provide children with the vital foundations they need in their early years by expanding funded early education and childcare entitlements, improving the quality of early years provision, and strengthening support for families through the rollout of Best Start Family Hubs. As part of the national reforms, every local authority is required to develop and publish an ambitious, evidence‑based Best Start in Life local plan by March 2026, setting out how they will meet the 2028 GLD targets and deliver integrated early years and family support at a local level. The strategy reinforces commitments to high‑quality early education, accessible childcare, and improved child development outcomes.

Bexley already has an established Best Start Family Hub located in Erith, providing integrated early help, health, and early years support for families with young children. Building on this foundation, the local authority plans to open additional Family Hubs across the borough to further strengthen access to high‑quality early years, health and family services. Alongside the physical hubs, Bexley will develop a virtual Family Hub in the form of a digital platform, enabling families to access information, guidance, and support online. To ensure reach into all communities, Bexley will also adopt a spoke‑hub model, taking services, programmes, and outreach activity into local neighbourhoods so that support is accessible to every family, regardless of where they live.

We envision a borough where:

• children thrive from birth through strong foundations in health, development, and emotional wellbeing
• families are empowered with the knowledge, resources, and support they need to raise happy, healthy children
• communities are inclusive and safe, enabling children to grow, play, and learn in environments that celebrate diversity and promote equity
• services work together seamlessly, putting children and families at the heart of everything we do, with early help and prevention as guiding principles
• every voice matters – children, parents, carers, and professionals co-design solutions that reflect lived experience and local strengths, ensuring our system is built with families, not just for them

Together, we will:

• reduce inequalities in early outcomes by targeting support where it is needed most
• champion early years development, ensuring every child is ready to learn and succeed
• strengthen partnerships across health, education, social care, and the voluntary sector
• invest in workforce development, equipping professionals with the tools and training to deliver excellent care and support
• measure what matters, using data and feedback to continuously improve and innovate

Bexley is committed to proactive sufficiency planning to further support families, particularly eligible working parents and those with children with Special Education Needs and Disabilities.

Furthermore, we continue to adapt our local planning and service integration around the goal of improving developmental outcomes, supporting the requirement for local authorities to develop ambitious Best Start Local Plans. Bexley is aiming to publish their Best Start Local Plan in Spring 2026.

The Local Authority has a duty of care under the Childcare Act 2006 to ensure there is sufficient good quality childcare for parents. It is essential that the Local Authority understands the demand for capacity across the borough and what our parents need. We also have a number of statutory requirements in relation to childcare sufficiency that include:

• providing information, advice and guidance to parents seeking childcare
• providing information, advice, guidance, and access to training for existing and potential childcare providers
• securing sufficient early education places for all eligible children 9 months plus if their parents want to access funded childcare and enough high-quality childcare places for eligible 2-year-olds receiving additional forms of support (Play2Learn). From April 2024, this offer is for 15 hours for 9 months plus to 3 years old.  In September 2025, this will increase to 30 hours for working families, bringing it in line with the existing offer for 3 and 4-year-olds. (see below)
• meeting our duties under the Equality Act 2010 when securing early learning places

Bexley has a team of Early Years Support Officers, Advisers, Area SENCOs and Specialist Officers available to assist providers in delivering high-quality childcare by helping them to meet all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework and Ofsted requirements. Providers are regulated by Ofsted or Childminder Agencies, where required, but the Local Authority monitors them and helps them to maintain and improve their quality of provision.

It is our aim to always meet the needs of parents where possible and to have the tools in place that enable them to source the childcare that best suits their needs. We also have a duty to ensure there is adequate provision for children with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in the borough and that parents can access this for their children.  We know that approximately 12% of children in Early Years settings in Bexley have been identified as having a Special Education Need or Disability (SEND), with the main area of need being speech, language and communication difficulties.   Early Years settings screen children for communication difficulties and have identified that approximately 50% will need some additional support at some stage in their early learning.  Bexley Early Years Team can support parents with finding the right setting for their child, and provide information, advice, guidance and training to settings on meeting their needs, securing extra funding and referring to other professionals as needed.

The Department for Education has invited Bexley to participate in its national Safety Valve Programme. The programme is aimed at addressing the increase in demand for Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and the associated costs it places on the Council’s High Needs Budget. Through this programme, Bexley Early Years will offer early speech and language intervention to children requiring support to help reduce the need for Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), including Early Talk Boost and WellComm.

In the 2023 Spring Budget, the Government announced plans for reforms to childcare to support parents to return to and stay in work. From September 2025, eligible working parents in England are able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week, for 38 weeks per year, from the term after their child is 9 months old to when they start school.

Bexley is a small Local Authority located in Southeast London with a population of approximately 246,500 people (according to the 2021 Census) and comprises just over 6,000 hectares.

Bexley has a range of childcare provision across the borough, offering a variety of flexible childcare options to parents. New providers continue to register. 

At the time of publication, Bexley has: