General Discussion
Right.....so......not only do we already have a dearth of nursery and childminding places in Dawlish but now the Chancellor's gone and increased potential demand by phasing in free childcare for those children aged 9 months to 3 years (children aged 3 and 4 already qualify for free childcare of 15-30 hours per week depending on family circumstances.)
The first tranch of this new scheme starts this time next year (April 2024) when 2 year olds will qualify for 15 hours per week.
So....between then and now, in order for the demand to be met, action needs to be taken to encourage more childminders to be registered.
Here's some information - please share:
This is what the Chancellor said:
"Working parents of two-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free care from April 2024, helping about half a million parents. From September 2024, that 15 hours will be extended to all children from nine months up, meaning that a total of nearly 1 million parents will be eligible. From September 2025, every single working parent of under-fives will have access to 30 hours of free childcare per week."
and this is the response of the campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed:
"Just 3 years ago, we would talk to Ministers about childcare and they would look at us like we were speaking Klingon. It was of no interest to those in power. To go from there to childcare being the main event in the Spring budget shows the power of collective action and we are elated to hear that the childcare sector will now receive a significant investment. Parents of young children felt ignored, but this will restore their faith in democracy so we thank Minster’s for hearing our cry and bridging the gap for mothers from the end of maternity leave so that they are supported to be able to work.
However, we are concerned that the money pledged is not enough to reduce costs for parents sustainably. It is imperative that there is a clear and remunerated strategy to attract more educators into the sector, to retain those workers and to offer progression opportunities. Without a workforce plan providers will continue to be forced to close, and increasing ratios will be detrimental to staff retention, what they need is better pay which will come from significant investment into the sector and into the roll out of the free hours scheme.
The CBI estimates that to do what the government is planning costs £8.9 billion not £4 billion, so we need to see the detail as to how this money is being distributed and we need to know that the government is investing in these new schemes based on the actual cost to deliver them. Free childcare from 9 months is brilliant, but only if there are childcare settings to be able to access this care, without the correct funding there won’t be."