Funding for free childcare insufficient, sector warns

Childcare organisations and sector leaders have told CYP Now that unless the government puts more money into the scheme, sufficient places will fail to be created.

Under the scheme, the country’s most disadvantaged two-year-olds can receive 15 hours of free weekly childcare from a nursery or childminder.

Earlier this week, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced that local authorities will receive £755m to deliver free childcare places to about 260,000 two-year-olds from next September.

The amount of funding provided to local authorities is based on a national average cost of £5.09 per hour per child, which some childcare professionals say is not enough to cover the cost of delivering the scheme.

Denise Burke, director of United for All Ages and the Good Care Guide, says that not all providers receive the full amount of funding available to them.

“The government is still paying the rate of this £5.09 which is fine for some providers if the whole £5.09 went down to them, but that’s not the actual fee that goes down to the providers," she said.

“If we’re going to encourage any kind of providers to create capacity, the right amount of funding has to come down.”

Sue Chambers, an independent childcare consultant, says providers are caring for more children with additional needs, who require more funding to support them.

She said: “The funding is already insufficient, but if you add to that the level of need of the children coming in and the high staffing level required, it’s just far too untenable.

“My concern is that these are the neediest children we’re talking about, who need some of the highest provision to undo the damage that has been done. I think to do too little and for people to try to cope will be to the detriment of the children.”

Similarly, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said: “If the Department for Education took the time to develop a better understanding of early learning and development, and the varying needs of children of different age groups and socio-economic backgrounds, they would know that when it comes to early years provision, one size simply does not fit all.”

June O’Sullivan, chief executive of the London Early Years Foundation, believes children’s centres should help deliver the scheme.

She said: “I understand that they have to have some kind of average rationale, but that doesn’t really help you when you’re trying to run an organisation, especially in areas of high deprivation.

“How about thinking about the way children’s centres are configured and the way spaces are configured? There’s so much confusion about them at the moment – why can’t we use them in a different way so we can run some of the free offer?”

Free childcare for the 130,000 most disadvantaged two-year-olds started in September, with the government providing £500m of funding.