​​CSA Serve Guide

Comprehensive Guidance and Compliance Support

Introduction to CSA Serve

It is important that local authorities can demonstrate their understanding of the childcare needs of local families. Therefore they require an ongoing comprehensive knowledge of the local childcare market – which is based on robust data (analysis).

CSA Serve was established in 2026 in order to enable local authorities to take a supply and demand-focused data driven and strategic approach to planning childcare sufficiency - and helping to support that localised childcare is accessible, affordable, high-quality, and inclusive.

In early 2026, the Department for Education notified all local authorities about the relative importance of maintaining a detailed and annual Childcare Sufficiency Assessment (CSA) – including aligned to new duties that focused on school-age childcare. However, the necessity of producing supply and demand-themed CSA also corresponded to a need for robust information of early years childcare, including the three types of funded entitlements, i.e.:
     1. Working Parents Entitlement (9 Months to 4 Years Old)
     2. 15 Hours Funded Childcare for 2-Year-Olds (Targeted)
     3. Universal Entitlement for 3 and 4-Year-Olds

CSA Serve is designed to support a local authority with childcare sufficiency assessment-focused analysis and reporting – and to provide an up-to-date picture aligned to termly, contemporary early years and childcare dynamics for a local childcare market.

DfE Requirements Summary

Section 12 of the Childcare Act 2006 stipulates that local authorities must maintain a service providing information, advice and assistance to parents and families, which should cover the provision of childcare in their local area.

To this effect, in February 2026, the DfE reiterated that:

     1. They expect local authorities to base their Childcare Sufficiency Assessment (CSA) reports on robust data relating             to supply and demand in their local area. They directed that this research should co-ensure that there is adequate             detail and evidence to support their strategy for school-age childcare sufficiency and early years childcare                   sufficiency, including in relation to their entitlement funding.

     2. And that, for the first time, they were requesting that local authorities provide their annual Childcare Sufficiency                   Assessment to the Department.

They outlined that local authorities would have autonomy over when in a financial year they completed their CSA – however, they would be required to submit a CSA before a financial year end – commencing with a first deadline of March 2027.

DfE’s Childcare Sufficiency-themed annual updates should:

     1. From a demand perspective:
         - be aligned to baseline calculations and occupancy-themed metrics
         - incorporate an element of forecasting of need for new places
         - incorporate specific demographic themes including aligned to new birth rates and the establishment of new                         housing
         - have a consideration of travel to childcare (where children live vs. where they access childcare) – i.e. the factor of:             redistribution

      2. From a supply perspective:
          - be aligned to what childcare providers actually offer in terms of places – as well as their registration metrics
          - be mindful of early years census and funding information
          - ideally demonstrate a contemporary and accurate (as possible) mapping of supply through an annual survey or                  questionnaire directed at childcare providers.

Essentially, CSA Serve is a function which supports local authorities to view relevant metrics, forecasts and information at any point in time - including for their annual updates for DfE.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Childcare Sufficiency Intelligence Platform?

CSA Serve is a data insight repository which can be utilised to inform key childcare sufficiency strategy decisions, for both: (a) early years childcare for 0-5 year olds and; (b) school-age childcare for 5-14 year olds. The analysis and (supply and demand) data presentation functions can be exported so as to inform, direct and narrate the production of a Childcare Sufficiency Assessment update.

Who can access the platform?

The licence provides a local authority with the ability to nominate and register INSERT NUMBER users/officers. Such officers can access the platform - through a dedicated user name and password - at any time they wish in order to develop specific supply and demand-themed childcare sufficiency reports and data tables/images.

How is childcare demand forecasted?

Childcare demand is presented and forecast through a number of sources and approaches, some of which are triangulated – these include:
1. Incidence of new forthcoming approved housing developments and dwelling numbers (by size/number of bedrooms).
2. Birth rates.
3. New GP registration metrics.
3. Population forecasts for relevant age groups.
4. Incidence of waiting lists outlined by (types) of childcare providers.
5. Incidence of vacant places outlined by (types) of childcare providers.
6. TO BE WORKED ON inward and outward migration.
7. TO BE WORKED ON incidence of working adults/families.
8. Incidence of pupils with SEND and EHCPs.

Can I monitor real-time childcare supply?

This is dependent on the frequency of when supply data is input in to the function data repository. Funded childcare data can be input on a termly basis. INSERT: WE WILL ADD A NARRATIVE IN JUNE 2026 ALIGNED TO AN ABILITY FOR SUPPLY TO BE PRESENTED THROUGH AN ANNUAL CSA AS:

A/NUMBER OF PLACES OFFERED/AGE GROUP B/REGISTERED NUMBER OF PLACES [WITH OFSTED]

An annual local authority Childcare Sufficiency Assessment is expected in order to confirm fundamental supply data from childcare types, including:

Type of early years childcare providers:
- PVI sector day nursery
- Sessional pre-school playgroup
- Maintained nursery class (If relevant)
- Maintained nursery school
- Registered childminder

Funded Childcare:
- Funded Entitlement for 2 year olds experiencing disadvantage
- Universal Funded Entitlement for 3&4 year olds at 15 hours/week
- Funded Entitlement for 9 months – 4 years for eligible working families – up to 30 hours/week

School-age wraparound childcare provider:
- PVI sector day nursery
- Sessional pre-school playgroup
- Primary school Maintained nursery school
- Registered childminder
- After school club
- Breakfast club
- Holiday playscheme/club
- HAF provider  

Is training/user guides available for new users?

Yes, the designers of CSA Serve are pleased to offer training to local authority officers, including new recruits to a relevant team/department. This can be organised so as to suit the local authority best and can be delivered remotely INSERT IN PERSON?. INSERT TRAINING ON UPDATES.

INSERT: ABILITY TO VIEW TRAINING RECORDINGS. INSERT: LINK TO ‘A MANUAL’.

How often is the demand data updated?

The following demand data is updated on a termly basis: BY INSERT .

The following demand data is updated on an annual basis: BY INSERT.  

DRAFT
GDPR Protocols

​​1. Purpose and Scope - governs the collection, processing, storage, and visualization of data within CSA Serve. It ensures compliance with legal requirements - prioritising data security
2. Data Protection Principles (data minimisation) - data will only be used for the specified purpose of… e.g., performance monitoring, analysis…
3. Data Minimisation - only necessary, anonymised will ever be displayed. Procedures are in place to ensure data is accurate and up to date.
4. Data Flow and Access Control Data Sources – will be listed…
5. Access Levels: Access to the dashboard is role-based: - Admins: Full access - Users: View-only aggregated data
6. Authentication: Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is mandatory for accessing the dashboard.
7. Technical and Organisational Security – insert: encryption?
8. Data Retention - data shown on the dashboard will retained for a period of time and then archived/deleted/updated.
9. Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) has been completed for this dashboard, identifying risks associated with high-volume data analysis 10. Incident Response and Data breaches policy

Licensing Logistics

Details for Licensing Logistics coming soon!

Contact Details

For further assistance or inquiries, please reach out to our support team. We're here to help you with any questions or support you need regarding CSA Serve and compliance matters.

Email: CSAServe@place-group.com

Phone: 0845 548 5677