Government urges childcare providers to take part in 30-hour expansion trial

Under government plans, free entitlement to childcare for three- and four-year-olds will be expanded from 15 hours a week to 30 by 2017, but in June it was announced that trials would begin in some areas in September 2016.

The Department for Education (DfE) has given providers and councils until 28 September to put their names forward for the trials.

The government has not said how many providers it will select or a target figure for the number of childcare places the trial will involve.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said: “For too long, rising childcare costs have been a barrier to working parents and particularly mothers.

“Today, we’re calling on providers to tell us how they can offer innovative, high-quality childcare that helps parents return to work while keeping more of their hard-earned money in their back pocket.”

Childcare sector leaders have expressed concern that providers for the trial are being sought without an assurance that they will be properly funded to take part.

The government has been carrying out a review into funding rates over the summer but is yet to publish its findings.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said: “Chronic underfunding of free nursery places means most nurseries are already losing money on every free hour of childcare they provide.

“Nurseries have a track record of providing flexible, innovative childcare that meets the needs of families, and have great potential to do even more, but the key to this is a meaningful increase to hourly funding rates for free places.”      

She added that the new national living wage, although “welcomed by nurseries that want to see their staff better rewarded” will “exacerbate this funding shortfall”.

While the government has estimated the cost of extended free entitlement at £350m a year, the Pre-school Learning Alliance believes that may only represent a quarter of what will be needed.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, says he remains “concerned at government calls for providers to offer innovative and flexible ideas to prop-up an already severely underfunded sector”.

He added: “For far too long the government has relied on the continued goodwill of the sector and unless sufficient funding is provided, the sector will be unable to deliver the extended hours.”

The government says that a recent Facebook-hosted consultation involving 2,000 parents showed that three quarters would take up the offer of 30 hours free childcare if it were available now.