Tory vow to extend free childcare under threat after spike in nursery closures
Nine out of 10 councils are warning that nursery closures could thwart the Government's planned extension to free childcare for working parents.
Town halls fear a lack of early years provision will prevent them from delivering the entitlement to 30 hours a week for children under five, according to new analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA).
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in the Budget in March that the existing scheme - which applies to working parents of three and four-year-olds - would be expanded, starting from next year.
The offer will be available to working parents of two-year-olds from April next year, but initially it will be limited to 15 hours.
From September 2024, the 15-hour offer will be extended to children from nine months, and the full 30-hour offer to working parents of children under five will come in from September 2025.
'Parents support strikes, kids deserve to be taught by teachers who feel valued'
But the LGA survey found 88% of councils are worried that a swathe of nursery closures loom over the next six months.
The Government promised to expand childcare provision in the Budget but councils are worried about shortages (PA)Four in 10 (40%) saw a spike in closures in 2021 compared to the year before amid rising costs and staffing issues.
Less than half (45%) are confident of having enough early years provision to deliver care for two-year-olds.
It comes after the number of childcare providers registered with Ofsted slumped by 4,800 over the past year, according to figures released last week.
Louise Gittins, chairwoman of the LGA's Children and Young People Board, said: "The Government's extension of free childcare is a positive step towards helping working parents manage the high costs of sending their children to a nursery or childminder.
"However, we have serious concerns about the ability of local areas to secure nursery places, with capacity issues providing challenges to the universal rollout of the extended offer.
"Nurseries and childcare providers are already under massive pressure, grappling with severe financial and workforce challenges, which has seen staff numbers depleted and an acceleration in places closing."
She called for improved funding rates and support for councils to manage local childcare markets, alongside the Government's planned recruitment drive.
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: “It is frankly unbelievable that the government wants to expand the 30-hour offer at a time that the sector is facing its most challenging time in decades."
He said settings were closing at an "alarming rate", adding: "We have no doubt therefore, that, in its current form, expanding the so-called ‘free childcare’ offers will only lead to further closures – and that rather than making it easier for parents to access high-quality early education and care, it will only make it harder. "
'My mother-in-law stops my daughter from playing with 'boy toys', I hate it'
A Department for Education spokesperson said: "We are rolling out the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever, set to save a working parent using 30 hours of childcare up to an average of £6,500 per year.
"To make sure there are enough places across the country we will be investing hundreds of millions of pounds each year to increase the amounts we pay providers to offer places and will be consulting on how we distribute funding to make sure it is fair across all areas of the country.
"We are also launching a new national recruitment campaign to support the recruitment and retention of talented staff and considering how best to introduce new accelerated apprenticeship routes so everyone from junior staff to senior leaders can easily move into a career in the sector."
* Follow Mirror Politics on Snapchat, Tiktok, Twitter and Facebook.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
