Pioneering free childcare scheme in Kirklees bids to get families into work

As the government debates the high cost of childcare in the UK through its childcare commission, a council in West Yorkshire has made the bold decision to offer unemployed parents free childcare for children up to the age of 14.

Kirklees Council’s cabinet last month voted to approve the proposal, costing £8.6m over the next three years. It will see up to 25 hours of free provision offered to parents on jobseeker’s allowance with children up to the age of 14, or 18 for children with special educational needs or disabilities.

While the scheme aims to address the problem of affordable childcare, it is part of a wider drive to get more people into work and raise the aspirations of families, particularly those who have experienced long-term unemployment.

Mehboob Khan, leader of Kirklees Council, says: “The council’s four key ambitions include enhancing life chances for young people and ensuring we get people into work and tackle rising unemployment.”

As well as providing free childcare, the council is using local education and training providers to offer parents courses in IT, English language and providing childcare themselves.

“For families at the extreme end, where there are three, four or more generations of unemployment, getting the parents into training and inspiring and motivating their children to the idea of moving into employment when they reach the appropriate age is incredibly important,” Khan says.

Since the early intervention grant is not ringfenced, he says the council has been able to shift the remit of the local children’s centre board to tackling life chances from pre-birth to age 18, as opposed to the previous narrow focus on birth to five.

He adds that by working in partnership with Jobcentre Plus, the Department for Work and Pensions, local health and wellbeing partners and other agencies, the scheme will also help to identify and support families who come under the troubled families agenda.

Anand Shukla, chief executive of the Daycare Trust, says Kirklees is an example of childcare being used as a means of lifting families out of poverty. “By providing free child-care for parents looking for work, it will enable them to take up training, volunteering opportunities and interviews without worrying about the childcare costs,” he says. “High quality childcare before and after school can also benefit children by giving them the opportunity to try new activities, complete homework, and be in a safe and stimulating environment. 

“Our research shows that many local authorities are consistently failing to deliver their duty to ensure there is sufficient local childcare available, particularly for disabled children and older children. Childcare for school-age children is one of the key issues being addressed by the government’s childcare commission. Ministers must recognise that childcare for this age group is too often a barrier to employment.”

The charity Contact a Family agrees that one of the main obstacles to work for families with a disabled child is childcare. Una Summerson, head of policy, says: “We would be keen to see other local councils prioritise affordable and accessible childcare for families with disabled children.”

But she adds that as well as considering providing subsidies, councils should be proactive in getting information to parents and equipping staff with the right skills to cater for disabled children.

“We are pleased that Kirklees council has indicated that disabled children and young people up to 18 will be entitled to access their extended free childcare offer,” she says.

“We hope the move by Kirklees will lead to more childcare facilities taking proactive steps to making their settings more inclusive for disabled children and young people.”