CYP Now - MPs tell government to achieve better value for money on free entitlement

The government and local authorities are not doing enough to monitor the impact and value for money of free childcare places, the public accounts committee has concluded.

Currently all three-and four-year-olds are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare each week.

The committee praised the efforts of government in extending children’s access to early education, but said little has been done to monitor the costs and outcomes in different local authorities from the estimated £1.9bn spent on providing more than 800,000 three-and four-year-olds with childcare.

While research suggests that educational achievement has improved for children at age five, the committee voiced concern that this does not seems to be sustained with little improvement being made for children at the age of seven.

Margaret Hodge, chair of the committee, said: “We welcome the fact that more than 800,000 three-and four-year-olds are now being provided with access to free education.

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