From Monday 2nd September, hundreds of thousands of eligible
working parents of children from 9-months-old will begin to
access 15 hours of government-funded early education per
week.
For parents of primary school aged children, new “wraparound”
childcare places will be available before and after school,
sounding the starting gun on long-term reform to deliver an early
education and childcare system from the end of parental leave to
the end of primary school, boosting parents' work choices and
children's life chances.
This comes as the government looks ahead to delivering the
expansion to 30 funded hours from next September.
The scale of the inherited delivery challenge is substantial. To
deliver what parents have been promised requires an unprecedented
rate of growth in childcare places and staff. This may mean some
parents are not able to access their first-choice provider next
year.
However, this government is now taking the action needed to help
deliver the additional places needed and will set out further
plans to deliver the government's commitment to use primary
school classrooms to create new nurseries.
Education Secretary said:
“I've already said that early years is my number one priority.
That's why we are delivering the childcare rollout I know will be
such a help to hard-pressed parents, with 15 hours of early
education per week for 9-month-olds and above from next week,
alongside more wraparound childcare for school children.
“This inherited plan comes with significant delivery challenges -
I must warn that for some parents it will not be plain sailing -
and while I am excited to see children starting nursery for the
first time, or parents being able to increase their working
hours, the work for government starts now.
“Over the next year, I will be working flat out with my team to
ensure the next phase of the rollout is possible - doubling
parents' childcare entitlements to 30 hours a week.”
Jason Elsom, Chief Executive of Parentkind said:
“We welcome all help for families to ease the burden on family
finances at a time when many families are really struggling.
“Parents tell us that childcare costs are a major concern, and
they support action to bring costs down and help families at that
crucial time between the end of maternity leave and previous
financial support kicking in. It is right we do everything we can
to support parents, particularly when children are young.”
Purnima Tanuku OBE, Chief Executive of National Day Nurseries
Association (NDNA) said:
“We support the government's commitment to investing in our
youngest children's futures. This is something that families
really need in order to give their children the best start in
life and also enable parents to work.
“Supporting children early in their development means they have
the foundations for learning and the necessary social skills to
give them a brighter future, especially those from disadvantaged
backgrounds. We are keen for all children to have access to early
education and care – the early investment pays dividends in their
later education in improving life chances.
“Early educators are also best placed to identify children with
additional needs early on which can make a huge difference so any
additional training resources for them will be very welcome.”
Nationally, around 85,000 more places are needed to deliver the
rollout for September 2025 compared to 2023 – over double the
increase in places seen in the past five years combined.
These figures vary significantly on a local level, with around 20
local areas needing double the increase in childcare hours than
the national average, and a handful of further areas needing
three times the increase, showing the scale of the delivery
challenge. Work is underway with local authorities to make sure
the right local plans are in place to deliver for parents and
families.
The expansion in government funded hours is just one step towards
the Education Secretary's vision of an early education and
childcare system that supports children to build on strong
foundations and start school ready to learn.
To make sure growth does not come at the cost of quality, the
government has also announced an extension of the early years
stronger practice hubs programme until at least March 2025. The
programme supports nurseries by bringing groups together across
local areas, to share evidence-informed practice, advice and
build lasting local networks.
This comes alongside additional resources for early educators to
support children with special educational needs, with a new
online training module and assessment guidance launching next
month to enable them to better identify, assess and support
children with additional needs.
More primary school-age wraparound childcare places are also
expected to become available from January 2025.
As a result of the government funding provided, schools will be
able to signpost parents to newly appointed wraparound leads in
every local authority, who will be able to provide support if
parents are unable to access the wrapround childcare they need.
