The week in early years: 12 to 16 October 2026

• School-based and maintained nurseries: check what your council passes on from the pay grant.
• Remind parents that Tax-Free Childcare can help with fees.
• Send your council anything it asks for the autumn census in good time.

A busy week for nurseries and childminders in England, and a quieter one in Scotland. Here is what the official websites published from 12 to 16 October, and the dates coming up.

• Early years teachers' pay grant (Department for Education, 14 October) - Councils' allocations of the £18 million grant are out. It is for schools, academies and maintained nursery schools, not private nurseries or childminders.
• Early years free school meals expansion grant (Department for Education, 14 October) - The November 2026 allocations are out. The grant covers September 2026 to March 2027.
• School-based nursery capital grant (Department for Education, 14 October) - Councils' bids closed on 30 September 2026. Outcomes are expected in spring 2027.
• Ofsted's Independent Complaints Review pilot (Ofsted, 16 October) - A new review of how Ofsted handled a complaint. The pilot is for state-funded schools, not early years settings.
• EYFS profile results date confirmed (Department for Education) - The 2025 to 2026 results come out on 22 October 2026 at 9:30am.

• Tax-Free Childcare figures (HMRC, 13 October) - 601,620 families got a share of £55.7 million in government top-ups in June. For every £8 parents pay in, the government adds £2.

• Changes to infection control guidance (Care Inspectorate, 12 October) - A reminder that guidance on Transmission-Based Precautions changed on 3 August 2026, with a six-month embedding period. It applies to all health and social care settings.

• Competition watchdog sends legal information requests to nurseries (England)
• Safety alert: only use baby sleeping bags with arm holes and no hood (England and Scotland)
• Most providers say Ofsted's new inspections were respectful (England)
• You can now ask your council to pay your funding every month (England)
• Funded places for eligible two-year-olds: Holyrood committee backs the order (Scotland)

• 22 October - EYFS profile results 2025 to 2026 (England)
• 28 October - UK Autumn Budget (UK-wide)
• 6 November - Autumn early years census: councils' loading deadline (England). Your council may ask for your data earlier.
• 27 November - Nursery Management Show, ExCeL London (organiser's listing)
• 3 December - Scottish draft Budget 2027-28 (Scotland)
• 4 December - Autumn early years census: councils' submission deadline (England)

Every Monday morning we post the week's recap here. Anything that cannot wait goes out as soon as it is checked.