Nurseries to get £204m to support expansion of childcare places

NURSERIES will receive £204 million to support the expansion of childcare places in the largest ever investment in the sector, a statement said on Friday (7).

Sixteen local authorities were selected to deliver the primary school childcare provision for every family between 8am and 6pm to support more parents to return to work, the statement added.

Announced in the Spring Budget, every area across the country is getting a share of the funding which childcare providers can use to ease cost pressures such as staffing costs, training and bills.

Funding rates per child paid from September will increase from an average of £5.29 to £5.62 for three and four-year-olds, and from an average of £6.00 to £7.95 for two-year-olds.

The local authorities selected to be part of the programme are Barnsley, Blackburn with Darwen, Cambridgeshire, central Bedfordshire, Cornwall, Dudley, Gateshead, Hampshire, Hartlepool, Kingston upon Hull, City of Merton, Newham, Norfolk,  Nottinghamshire, Sheffield and Wiltshire.

According to the statement, eligible working parents of two-year-olds will get 15 free hours per week of free childcare from April 2024. From September 2024, eligible parents will get 15 free hours from nine months until their children start school, and from September 2025, they will get 30 free hours from nine months until the start of school.

“I know the cost of childcare can be a real struggle for parents and can become a barrier to work. That’s why we announced the largest ever expansion of free childcare at Spring Budget, and today we’re increasing hourly funding rates to make sure the system is ready to deliver, including uplifting rates for a two-year-old by a third," said Jeremy Hunt, chancellor of the exchequer.

“These reforms will be transformative, and ensure that we build a childcare system comparable to the best”.

The local authorities have been selected to work with the government to develop plans for this universal provision, with some of them expected to be the first to rollout the wraparound care as early as summer 2024.

All local authorities will start to receive their share of £289m in funding from January 2024 to support their delivery of the programme.

Education secretary Gillian Keegan said, “Today is a great step forward as we deliver on the largest ever expansion of childcare which will be transformational for working families and will help grow our economy. I want childcare to be truly affordable and available when and where parents need it.

“This initial investment of over £200 million will go a long way in supporting the fantastic early years sector to prepare for the expansion of free childcare hours available to parents next year.”

A consultation will be launched soon on how the funding for the new entitlements in 2024-25 will be distributed, to make sure it remains fair in light of the radically expanded free childcare offers, the statement further said.

A further £12m is also being given to local authorities this year to effectively roll out the new offer.