New guidance provides 15 hours of free childcare

The new guidance, published yesterday, will take effect in September. As a result, free childcare provision for three- and four-year-olds will increase from 12.5 to 15 hours a week.

Parents will have more choice on when they can use the hours across the week, as providers must offer at least three five-hour sessions or five three-hour sessions per week.

Local authorities must also prioritise the highest quality settings to deliver the free childcare, and create quality-assured networks for registered childminders. This will ensure that parents have a choice of high-quality provision to suit their needs.

Parents currently have access to 38 weeks of free childcare during term-time each year. But the guidance states that from September 2012 they will be allowed to "stretch" the hours across more weeks. This will help parents balance childcare with employment or training, and will enable them to budget consistently across the year.

Children's minister Dawn Primarolo said: "Whatever choices parents make about where they access their entitlement, they will have a meaningful choice between good quality providers."

However, she admitted that the changes "offer a considerable challenge to local authorities and providers in all parts of the sector".

The National Day Nurseries Association welcomed the positives of increased flexibility for parents, but highlighted that funding continued to be a pressing concern for nurseries.

"We believe it is crucial to look at how the sustainability of providers can be supported so that flexibility is realistic in practice," said NDNA chief executive Purnima Tanuku.

She said the Early Years Single Funding Formula, which has been delayed until April 2011, will go some way to improving the situation for private and voluntary providers.

The code of practice was part of a number of early years announcements made by the government yesterday, as it also celebrated reaching its target of 3,500 children's centres across England.

A package of measures was announced, resulting from a review of maternity and early years services. These include a personal Sure Start contact for all expectant parents, accommodation in maternity wards for fathers-to-be to ensure both parents are involved during labour, and consultation on offering more choice to parents on where the baby is born.

The Family Nurse Partnership will also be extended to all young, vulnerable families within five years, subject to evaluation.

In addition, the government has announced a new advisory panel for nutrition standards in early years settings and published statutory guidance for the running of children's centres.