New figures reveal over half a million children are now benefiting from the government’s rollout of funded childcare, easing pressure on household finances, giving children access to high-quality early education and supporting parents to work.
Already, the rollout has far surpassed the target of 500,000 children set when the 30 hours kicked off at the beginning of this month, with the government going further and faster to break down barriers to opportunity for every child.
Strong take-up is seen across the country – from over 78,000 validated codes in the North West to almost 92,000 in the South East – helping families save up to £7,500 a year per child and boosting the economy by helping parents get back to work.
And thanks to the continued growth of school-based nurseries, life is getting a little easier for families looking for new childcare places closer to home. According to the latest figures, schools are now providing over 5,000 new childcare places from September, well above the original school forecasts of 4,000.
These nurseries are based on school sites, helping parents manage the daily pressures of family life by making drop-offs and pick-ups easier and helping children familiarise themselves with a school setting.
Schools across the country are being urged to consider applying for the next round of funding for 300 more school-based nurseries which opens today, backed by £45 million to deliver up to 7,000 new places for local families, delivering on the Plan for Change.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:
When we launched the 30 hours childcare expansion at the start of September, we said around half a million families were on track to benefit.
Today’s figures show we have gone even further.It is fantastic to see our Plan for Change delivering for families – helping them save up to £7,500 a year per child on childcare costs and supporting parents to balance work and home life. This is real cost-of-living relief that families can feel in their pockets today.
As the next bidding round of school-based nurseries kicks off today, we are not slowing down. This government is giving hard-working parents the support they need and ensuring every child gets the best start in life.
Increasing access to quality early education and making life easier for families sits at the heart of the government’s Plan for Change. Funding for early years entitlements is set to rise to over £9 billion next year to help more parents, especially mothers, balance work and family life. The government will continue to work closely with the early years sector – including private, voluntary and independent providers – whose partnership has been vital to the rollout so far.
And through the Best Start in Life strategy, backed by £1.5 billion to rebuild early years services, recruit more early years teachers and open a Best Start Family Hub in every local area, tens of thousands more children – a record share – will be school-ready at age five.
This will tackle long-standing barriers to early education and help teachers focus on teaching so every child can thrive, while the new Best Start in Life website brings trusted advice and support together in one place for parents from pregnancy through the early years.
