Free childcare expansion pilot councils announced

The eight councils (see list below) will trial the expansion of the free entitlement from September this year, ahead of its introduction countrywide in April 2017, childcare minister Sam Gyimah announced today.

They will be supported by 25 “early innovator” councils (see list below), which will focus on making early years settings more inclusive for children with special educational needs, and more flexible for parents.

The government said their experiences will help make childcare more accessible ahead of the national rollout of the 30-hour offer.

The government announced in June last year that it would be extending the free childcare offer for three- and four-year-olds from 15 to 30 hours a week.

National Day Nurseries Association chief executive Purnima Tanuku welcomed the announcement of the pilot, but warned that it must esnure funding reaches childcare providers.
 
She said: “If sufficient funding does get through to the frontline, the sector will be able to deliver the high-quality early education that parents and children deserve.

“The forthcoming National Living Wage which will increase the average nursery payroll by 10 per cent from April needs to be factored in when looking at the investment needed to make this work."
 
Tanuku also welcomed the formation of the early innovators group.

“This is a particular challenge for the sector to ensure that the provision is meeting the level of need for each child and is funded appropriately," she said.
 
“They also need to look at capacity for delivering this ambitious plan and the difficulties facing nurseries regarding recruitment and retention of qualified staff.”

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said it is crucial the pilots are used to gain a better understanding of how the extension will work in practice.
 
“This means making an honest assessment of any challenges around, for example, funding, capacity and impact on quality, and taking the necessary steps to address them – including further investment into the scheme.
 
"According to DfE data, parents of three- and four-year-olds currently use around 18 hours of childcare a week on average and so clearly a move from 15 government-funded hours a week to 30 is going to have a significant impact on providers, both on their ability to provide sufficient places and their ability to remain financially viable.

"It is vital that the government recognises this and works in partnership with the sector to ensure that the scheme is, in fact, deliverable in the long term."

June O'Sullivan, chief executive of the London Early Years Foundation, said: “We are delighted that the importance of childcare to families across the UK is recognised by the government.

"As with previous, governments childcare has been described and promised as very important, both in terms of working in order to remain financially independent and reduce the risk of getting into poverty, and to give many children, but especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, a leg-up in society.

"This will not only backfire but will have the opposite effect if the government fails to address the funding of this very important support for families. If the government wants to be truly family friendly and actually do something great then they must stop fudging the issue of funding with promises of reviews and consultations and pay providers the real cost of great childcare."


The eight pilot councils are:

• Hertfordshire
• Newham
• Northumberland
• Portsmouth
• Staffordshire
• Swindon
• Wigan
• York

The “early innovator” councils are:

• Barking & Dagenham
• Bolton
• Bradford
• Brighton & Hove
• Bury
• Cheshire West & Chester
• Cornwall
• East Riding
• East Sussex
• Gateshead
• Hampshire
• Islington, Ealing, Hillingdon
• Kingston & Richmond
• Medway
• North Yorkshire
• Nottingham City
• Nottinghamshire
• Sheffield
• Stockport
• Trafford
• Walsall
• Wakefield
• West Sussex