Nurseries to charge parents and restrict places for 30 hours offer

The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) survey found widespread concern among providers over the hourly funding rates on offer for free childcare, which will double to 30 hours per week for three- to four-year-olds from September.

Of more than 1,000 providers surveyed in July, 15 per cent said the rate was so low that they would not offer the additional hours.

Among the 85 per cent that have agreed to offer the entitlement to parents, 60 per cent said this would only be possible by charging parents extra for meals and activities.

Half of those offering the additional hours have said they would restrict the number of places on offer, in some cases to only one or two children.

"There is a real danger that there simply won't be enough places to meet demand and thousands of parents will end up disappointed," said NDNA chief executive Purnima Tanuku.

"We have lobbied the government hard since 30 hours was first committed to in May 2015 to make sure sufficient funding was put in place to make this a success. This has simply not happened.

"Average increases were just 40p per hour from previous research, so now nurseries are put in an extremely difficult position. If they go ahead with the scheme, they risk their sustainability. If they don't, they risk losing business as parents vote with their feet."

She added that while additional charges are allowed, latest Department for Education guidance states they must not be a condition of accessing a place and providers must offer alternatives to parents who do not wish to pay.

In the North West of England and outer London the proportion of nurseries that will decline to offer the additional hours is above the national average, at 23 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.

The areas with the highest proportion of nurseries set to offer the additional hours are the East Midlands (91 per cent), East of England (89 per cent) and the North East (88 per cent).

Most nurseries told the NDNA that they felt they had no choice but to offer 30 hours despite funding concerns.

"For me to take part, the government needs to change the word 'free' to 'subsided', said Carol Medcalf, owner of Carol Jane Montessori Nursery School in Enfield.

"I then can't think of a reason why any early years setting would not take part. The government would be advertising the 'reality', parents would know what to expect and nurseries could charge according to their cost. Children would receive the quality they deserve."