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Rejecting free childcare expansion should not delay 'urgent reform', sector leaders warn

2 mins read Early Years Education
Early years leaders have urged Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt to deliver “urgent reform” to the childcare system alongside adequate investment, following reports he is set to reject plans to expand free childcare provision.
Early years leaders warn that 'urgent reform' to the childcare system is still needed. Picture: Halfpoint/Adobe Stock
Early years leaders warn that 'urgent reform' to the childcare system is still needed. Picture: Halfpoint/Adobe Stock

A proposal by the Department for Education, first reported in The Guardian, would allow the state to extend the 30-hours-a-week funded childcare entitlement to children aged nine months to three years, but a report in the i newspaper suggests that the Chancellor is set to reject the plans.

Responding to initial reports on the plans, early years leaders warned that the sector would be at risk of “collapse” if the plans went ahead, with chief executive of the Early Years Alliance Neil Leitch saying that existing free childcare schemes were “unaffordable” due to being “grossly underfunded”.

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