Parents may miss out on first choice free childcare places, education secretary warns
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The education secretary has said the rollout of 30 hours’ free childcare by 2025 “will go ahead” but some parents might not get their first choice of nursery or childminder.
Bridget Phillipson said that while all parents will be able to get the free 30 hours by September next year, they may not be able to get their first choice place.
This is down to a lack of available staff and places, Ms Phillipson said.
Writing in the Sun on Sunday, she said: “I’m not surprised parents feel cheated and let down.
“The last Conservative government recklessly rushed through a childcare pledge without a plan to carry it out, once again leaving Labour to pick up the pieces and fix the foundations.”
She added: “Yes, the 2025 childcare rollout will go ahead – but it won’t be the sunlit uplands promised by the Tories.
“That means in some parts of the country while parents may receive the hours they were promised, they might not get their first choice of nursery or childminder.
“I know it’s not what parents want to hear but this Labour government is one of service.
“We will always be honest with the public.”
She made similar warnings before being elected.
In March 2023, then chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced eligible families of children as young as nine months in England would be able to claim 30 hours of funded childcare a week by September 2025.
Working parents of two-year-olds in England have been able to access 15 hours of funded childcare since April as part of a staggered rollout of the childcare expansion, which the new government has committed to upholding.
From September this year, the policy will apply to all those with offspring between nine months and four years, before being doubled to 30 hours the following year.
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The number of childcare providers registered with Ofsted fell by around 1,400 between March 2023 and March 2024 to 61,800.
The number of childminders also dropped by 1,340 to 26,500 in the same period.
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A Labour Party source said parents should blame the Conservatives “if they don’t get their first choice”.
One official who worked on the policy under the Conservatives said it was “total nonsense” there was not a plan.
They added that the Conservatives wanted to encourage private sector providers to supply more places, and did so by guaranteeing the support they would provide per child accepted.
In its manifesto, Labour said it would open 3,000 extra nurseries by upgrading space in primary schools.
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It is expected that Ms Phillipson will announce plans to use £140m from adding VAT to private school fees to create 3,300 nurseries
The Conservatives have been approached for comment.
