Finding adequate childcare has become increasingly difficult for parents in England, as nurseries and childminder places are more challenging to locate due to the plan to extend government-funded childcare hours for working parents over the next two years. According to BBC News analysis, by 2025, the demand is anticipated to rise by roughly 15%, which is equivalent to more than 100,000 extra children in full-time care. Parents of three- and four-year-olds are currently entitled to 30 hours per week of funded childcare for 38 weeks of the year and this offer will be extended to all pre-school children aged nine months to two years by September 2025.
Jasmine Johnson, a primary-school teacher from a village with just one nursery, was hoping to return to work in September 2024 but was informed that the nearest nursery is full until September 2025. Her baby will be almost two years old before a place becomes available, and Jasmine will miss out on the first year’s worth of funded childcare for which she is eligible. If her application for flexible working is refused, she will be forced to resign from her job.
Pregnant Then Screwed founder Joeli Brearley states that thousands of parents are anxiously waiting for the expansion of funded hours so they can work more, but she is concerned that what appeared to be a favorable development for parents will result in incredibly long waiting lists and more uncertainty. Gillian Paull, from Frontier Economics, states that even if there is unmet demand for places, many working parents will see substantial financial benefits from lower childcare costs.
According to Neil Leitch, from the Early Years Alliance, some providers will have to limit the funded places they offer, and others will “opt-out” completely unless there is adequate support and increased funding. For the sector to expand, it must overcome its most significant challenge – staffing. There were 9,800 fewer people working in childcare in 2022 than there were in 2019, with the number of childminders down by more than a fifth.
Louise Gittins, who chairs the Local Government Association’s (LGA) Children and Young People Board, says provision is already inadequate, particularly in deprived areas and rural areas, and is concerned that there is a relatively short time frame to get everything ready before the rollout. Some fear it could put extra pressure on parents of SEND children finding suitable places, which is already challenging. The DfE said it was delivering “the single biggest investment in childcare in England’s history… backed by £8bn a year once fully rolled out.
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