More than three children are competing for every early years place, study warns

Poorer families are more likely to be unable to access childcare provision as deprived local authorities are most likely to be struggling to deliver high levels of provision, according to research from the New Economic Foundation (NEF) in its report, A Fair Start for All, which highlights that nearly half of children under five are living with insufficient childcare.

The government is planning to expand funded childcare hours to allow 80 per cent of provision in England to be accessed by families entitled to funded hours the end of 2024.

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However, the new research shows that very few poorer households will be able to access the full 30 hours. This is because childcare is something which has to be purchased, with needs more suited to working parents rather than children.

The report states that this leads to "a perverse position where children from low-income households, who may stand to gain the most from high-quality childcare provision, are least able to access it".

Families with an income of £45,000 and above access 30 hours of childcare a week, compared with 15 hours for those earning £9,999.

The NEF is calling for a universal basic services approach (UBS) to ensure that everyone’s basic needs are met.

It recommends that this can be done through a new funding system based around a single gateway for parents to pay for costs, with additional fees determined by what parents can afford rather than employment status.

It suggests that providers should be able to opt in to this funding system, and that the number of hours of state-funded childcare should taper off for households with higher incomes.

Commenting on the report, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, Neil Leitch, said: "Unless government takes urgent action, this situation is only likely to get worse when the extended offer is rolled out next year. It is absolutely vital, therefore, that ministers ensure that the necessary infrastructure is in place to make certain that every child – regardless of their income or background – is able to access affordable, accessible, quality early years provision.

"This not only means a commitment to funding the sector appropriately, but also the development of a clear early years workforce strategy to address the sector’s severe recruitment and retention crisis."

Meanwhile an investigation by CYP Now finds that the Department for Education has proposed to reduce the proportion of early years funding allowed to be retained by local authorities to deliver functions like staffing, family support and the administration of the funded childcare offer.