The Prime Minister announced plans to provide 20,000 two-year-olds from low-income families 15 hours of free childcare a week at the Labour Party conference last week. The government intends to spend £100m over the next three years on the scheme, with pilots starting in 32 local authority areas before expanding to 63 in 2010/11.
But the NCMA told CYP Now the plan could run into trouble since there are not enough quality accredited childminders registered in England to deliver the scheme.
A recent members survey conducted by NCMA showed more than half of childminders were not aware of, or did not have access to, a quality improvement scheme, such as NCMA's Children Come First childminding networks, which provide the accreditation necessary to offer free childcare (CYP Now, 24-30 September). Liz Bayram, the NCMA's chief executive, said: "Gordon Brown's proposals will need careful exploration. While registered childminders are ideally placed to care for very young children, more investment would be needed."
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