Parents with children of nine months and older will receive up to 30 hours of free childcare a week, in a bid to get more people back to work.
This move was announced as part of Jeremy Hunt’s 2023 Spring Budget, which focuses heavily on breaking down barriers to work.
It is hoped that this boost in publicly-funded childcare will help around 60,000 parents to return to/enter employment.
What does the timeline look like?
The free childcare initiative will be rolled out in the following stages:
April 2024 - 15 hours of free childcare for parents of two-year-olds.
September 2024 - 15 hours of free care for children from nine months and older.
September 2025 - 30 hours of free childcare for under-5s.
While the policy is step in the right direction when it comes to making childcare more accessible, many parents have expressed their disappointment that the support will not be available until next year.
Currently, only those with three and four-year-olds can receive 30 hours of free childcare per week.
Nurseries have also warned that the rate being offered is not enough, and will leave some childcare establishments unable to offer parents free hours.
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association, said: “The more funded children that [nurseries] are taking, the more losses they’re making. On average, providers lose £2.20-2.30 per child, per hour. That’s the gap at the moment. Unless proper funding follows, all we’re doing is exacerbating the problem.”
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