MS, Minister for Children and
Social Care: The Welsh Government is committed to supporting
children to have the best start in life. I am therefore pleased
to provide an update on progress with our Programme for
Government commitment to expand early years provision to
include all 2-year-olds, with a particular emphasis on
strengthening Welsh medium provision.
Phase 2 of the expansion of Flying Start childcare, to go beyond
the original Flying Start postcodes, began in April 2023. It
focussed on the delivery of high quality childcare to
2-year-olds. During 2023-24 and 2024-25 we invested £46m in
expanding Flying Start childcare.
I am delighted that the latest Flying Start
childcare data shows that over the two years of Phase 2
delivery (2023-24 and 2024-25), we have exceeded our target to
support 9,500 additional two-year-olds to access quality
Flying Start childcare. The latest statistics show that, in
this period, we have offered childcare places to over 13,400
children and families across Wales. Over 10,000 of these children
have benefitted from the programme by taking up a Flying Start
childcare place. The latest data shows, that in 2024-25,
over 80% of children took up their Flying Start childcare
place.
In Welsh-medium early years settings, children also experience
the benefits that often come from being bilingual. In the first
two years of Phase 2, more than 2,000 of all places were taken-up
in Welsh-medium settings.
These statistics demonstrate the value of the additional
childcare provision to families right across Wales. I'm
proud of the dedication of our Flying Start childcare workforce
and grateful to them for their role in supporting children and
families in Wales.
We remain committed to delivering our Programme for Government
commitment to expand early years provision to include all
two-year-olds, with a particular emphasis on strengthening
Welsh-medium provision. In 2025-26 we are investing an
additional £25m to support the further expansion of high quality
Flying Start childcare across Wales. This will bring Wales a step
closer to the universal provision of childcare for all
two-year-olds.
This additional funding will make a significant difference to the
lives and outcomes of thousands of children across Wales, in all
local authority areas and offer opportunities for more children
to access Welsh Medium provision.
All local authorities have set out plans for how they will
continue to expand Flying Start childcare in their areas. The
additional funding we are investing will enable us to expand
the reach of Flying Start childcare, making childcare
available to the majority of two-year-olds identified in those
plans in 2025-26.The number of additional children reached by
Phase 3 Flying Start will depend on take-up rates, but we would
expect Phase 3 to reach more than 4,000 children in 2025-26.
I look forward to providing a further update on the programme's
progress in due course.
