Four more councils to join free childcare pilot

Eight local authority areas - Hertfordshire, Newham, Northumberland, Portsmouth, Staffordshire, Swindon, Wigan and York - have been piloting expanded free childcare provision of 30 hours a week for three- and four-year-olds since September 2016.

The DfE has now announced that, from April, a further four local authority areas - Dorset, Leicestershire, North Yorkshire and Tower Hamlets - will join the trial ahead of 30 hours provision being available nationally from September.

Early years minister Caroline Dineage said: "In my visits to the early implementer councils, I've seen the innovative work that's going into delivering our 30-hour offer early.

"Their efforts are vital to the success of the programme and these four new councils will build on the work we've seen so far.
 
"Our childcare offer is already helping to ease the financial burden of childcare for even more working parents. This is backed by our record investment of £6bn a year by 2020 to support nurseries, pre-schools and childminders in providing high-quality early years education."

The four councils have been added to provide a broader mix of geographic areas and levels of deprivation to the trial, the DfE said.

The Pre-school Learning Alliance's chief executive Neil Leitch said: "With the roll-out of the 30-hour offer just months away, any additional information on how the scheme is likely to impact on the early years sector - and providers in different areas of the country - is valuable, and so we welcome the extension of the early implementer scheme."

However, he called on the government to ensure that evaluation of the pilots "is an honest assessment of any challenges that have been identified" especially around funding rates and capacity.
 
"If these issues arise in the trials, they must be addressed - not dismissed - by government. If the 30-hour scheme is to have any chance of succeeding in the long term, we need to be able to have an honest conversation about the steps that the government needs to take to make it work," Leitch added.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association, said: "More trials to learn from, ahead of full roll-out of 30 funded hours in September, sounds positive for the families who are set to benefit from more funded childcare earlier than expected.

"The government has chosen three local authority areas that will receive the lowest possible level funding rate from government of £4.30 per hour in Leicestershire, Dorset and North Yorkshire, as well as Tower Hamlets, at one of the very highest rates of £8.51.

"We all want 30 funded hours to work but NDNA member nurseries in these areas and others are already telling us that the rate to the local authority of £4.30 is totally inadequate to cover costs, let alone deliver high-quality care. They are extremely worried about the prospect and don't think they can deliver more free hours without making losses.

"Expecting nurseries to take part in 30 hours six months early and at such short notice will itself be a challenge and nurseries will need assurances both on the funding rate they will receive - which is still being negotiated at local level - and the level of freedom they will be given to offer funded places in a way that meets the needs of their parents and is sustainable for them as a business."

Last week, the alliance published research claiming that the government has underestimated likely take-up by more than 100,000 places. This follows concerns raised by Ofsted last month that there was insufficient funding and capacity in the early years sector to cope with demand.

According to the DfE, the first pilots are "on track" to meet their target of providing free places for 5,000 working parents.