Nadhim Zahawi 'aware of 30 hours challenges'

Zahawi, who was confirmed as children's minister earlier this month, said that more than 200,000 children around the country are benefitting from the 30 hours childcare offer, which was introduced in September 2017, and that the number of eligible parents receiving and validating their codes is growing every term. 

But he added that, while the offer is saving parents money and helping many of them get back into work or increase their hours, he is mindful that there have been difficulties with the implementation.

"I have heard, both as minister and before that, of the challenges introducing the offer has brought in some areas, as with any new policy of its kind - but I'm delighted that providers and councils have risen to meet these challenges with huge success, and I'm grateful for their incredible hard work to date," Zahawi, writing in Nursery World, said.

Among challenges the flagship 30 hours offer has faced is concerns from providers that it has been under underfunded by the government. A Pre-school Learning Alliance survey last month revealed that more than a third of settings had been forced to introduce additional charges for parents to make the scheme financially viable.

In addition, thousands of parents have also yet to receive confirmation that they are eligible.

Department for Education figures last month revealed that 25,000 parents had yet to have their codes validated. The figures also revealed marked regional differences, with just two thirds of codes being validated in some areas.

In his first few weeks in the role as children's minister, Zahawi has visited settings in Wigan and Doncaster and has pledged to meet as many early years staff as he can across all types of provision.

"Research shows that children benefit from different types of childcare provision available, and their different skillsets are enhanced depending on whether they attend a nursery, childminder, pre-school or a combination," he said.

"So I want to be a champion for every part of our dedicated workforce, building on what we have already set out in our Early Years Workforce Strategy to support their professional development."

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said: "The minister is right that the 30 hour offer, combined with a continued lack of sufficient funding, has brought with it significant challenges, but the suggestion that providers and councils have "risen to meet these challenges with huge successes" implies that all is now fine with the policy - and this is simply not true.
 
"It is of course the case that some providers in some areas - often those that have enjoyed a significant boost in funding - have been able to roll out the scheme with less difficulty.

"But the reality is that a substantial proportion of the sector is struggling to make this work, and we know that things are only going to get more difficult when the living wage increases in April given that many providers are seeing little to no increase in their respective funding rates."

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association, said: "In order for the minister to really understands the challenges nurseries face, he needs to visit private, voluntary and independent nurseries and engaged with the sector proactively.

"Nurseries are struggling to offer the government's 30 hour scheme due to chronic underfunding.

"Meanwhile nurseries are struggling to recruit staff. Despite this, business costs and in particular, staffing costs are increasing by about 6 per cent from April but funding rates are stagnating.

"We really hope that Mr Zahawi will engage in meaningful discussion with the sector to address these long-standing issues."

Zahawi has also said he will pay close attention to progress in the government's 12 "opportunity areas" where work is under way to provide extra support to the early years sector in a bid to narrow the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers.

These 12 areas were launched in 2016 to offer extra support and funding to boost social mobility in areas of high deprivation.

"In my first week at the department I visited Doncaster, one of the government's 12 opportunity areas, to hear about the projects aimed at raising aspirations across every stage of the education system and beyond," Zahawi said.

"I myself know only too well how the opportunities experienced early on in life play an important role in shaping the way for future success.

"And although the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers continues to close at age five, there are still far too many cases where background or where you live dictates opportunity."