Free childcare: the key questions

A consultation published in April outlines government proposals for implementing the increase from 15 to 30 hours a week of free childcare from September 2017.
 
The overarching aim of the proposals is to make childcare provision more accessible so that it better fits around working parents’ needs. However, the drive for flexibility has resulted in a number of changes to how the entitlement works, with potential implications for early years provision.

We assess five key questions to arise from the proposals for childcare providers and practitioners, and local authorities.

How will the increased hours impact on nursery opening times?

The consultation proposes extending the hours that the free entitlement can be used from 7am until 7pm, to 6am until 8pm. It also wants to remove the restriction for free childcare sessions to be at least two hours 30 minutes long before 9am or after 3.30pm.

Liz Bayram, chief executive of the Professional Association of Childcare and Early Years (Pacey), says the proposal will be “complex” to manage, especially for small settings, with some deciding the case for staying open longer is not strong enough.

In particular, she says many of Pacey’s members are concerned over the extra business costs opening later could bring – which will be hard to justify if only a small number of families use the extended hours. Bayram says another factor is the more complicated shift patterns for staff and how these impact on relationships they have with other children’s professionals.

What will nurseries need to do to deliver longer hours?

Jill Rutter, head of research at the Family and Childcare Trust, agrees that longer opening will present nurseries with a “logistical challenge”.

“The working hours will need to be manageable for staff,” she says. “They will need at least two members of staff to cover the increased hours.”

However, she adds that some parents may use nurseries during the day and other childcare providers – such as childminders – for the extended hours.

Bayram says it is unclear how many nurseries will have the facilities and resources to offer the extended hours, despite the government offering £50m in funding to improve nursery facilities.

“Many of the nurseries that work with us are small businesses that have limited space and staff resource to offer the extended hours,” she says. “As always, how well funded the offer is will be a key determinant for many settings.”

Will funding be sufficient to cope with higher demand?

The government has pledged to raise the hourly rates for free childcare in an effort to encourage the creation of more places, but a recent survey of 1,500 providers by the Pre-school Learning Alliance found just 30 per cent definitely plan to offer the 30-hours, with half feeling they do not have the capacity to meet demand for places.

The survey also showed that 58 per cent of providers expect the extended entitlement to have a negative impact on their businesses because it will reduce the amount of top-up hours parents will need to buy – these tend to be charged at a higher rate to cross-subsidise the lower fee paid by government and councils for free childcare.

Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch says: “While we welcome plans to increase average early years funding rates, independent research has shown that, with continued cost pressures, this will still leave a significant funding gap for early years providers.

“The move to 30 hours means that most providers will no longer be able to cross-subsidise in order to plug this gap, so it’s no surprise that many are fearing for their future.

“The Department for Education cannot expect providers to put the sustainability of their businesses at risk to fulfil a manifesto promise that wasn’t properly thought through.”

Can councils play a greater role in ensuring sufficient places?

Under the government’s proposals, local authorities will be required to regularly publish data on Ofsted inspections and work closer with providers.

James Hempsall, director of Hempsall’s consultancy, which oversees the delivery of the free entitlement for disadvantaged two-year-olds programme, says having up-to-date “market” data from councils will help providers “make informed business decisions”.

“They need information about what is happening in the market in terms of quality, flexibility options, and parental need and demand,” he says. “A good partnership between local authorities and providers reaps lots of rewards.”

The government has also proposed amending legislation so that providers are not constrained by local authorities in how they deliver the entitlement.

“There is a need for a neat balancing act,” Hempsall says.

“Local authorities need to use their funding and contractual levers to affect supply in their local areas.  

“Providers need to be allowed to operate within national guidance and respond to the needs of modern parents and children, outside of traditional routines and structures.”

Will provision for children with additional needs rise?

The proposals include plans for councils to receive extra funding to offer individual childcare settings help to support children with special education needs.

Rutter says the additional funding is insufficient to ensure providers can deliver high-quality care for the child.

Bayram adds she is “deeply troubled” by the current low take-up of the free entitlement by parents with disabled children.

“Although 96 per cent of all three- and four-year-olds are currently accessing the full entitlement of 15 hours per week, this number drops to 60 per cent for disabled children,” she adds.