More than 4,000 people have signed a petition urging South Tyneside Council to reconsider plans to review its early years provision, which campaigners fear could lead to the closure of as many as 12 nurseries based inside Family Hubs.

Serious concerns about a suspected paedophile childcare worker were ignored for months by nursery managers, a BBC investigation has been told.

Government is consulting on two options for redesigning early years training so it leads to qualified teacher status.

The Department for Education is working to ‘get the balance right’ between protecting children and causing ‘unintended consequences’ for the early years sector before announcing any changes to guidance around CCTV, the Education Secretary has said.

Childcare experts are questioning the use and accuracy of Ofsted inspection judgments after latest research found more than half of complaints and concerns about “outstanding” early years providers were logged after their most recent inspection.

The University of Hertfordshire is one of the first higher education institutions to offer the Early Years Teacher Degree Apprenticeship (EYTDA) from September.