‘Poorer parents will miss out on childcare places due to 30 hours’

Inadequate funding for the government’s flagship 30 hours ‘free childcare’ policy will result in poorer families missing out on places, according to the Pre-school Learning Alliance.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Alliance, will tell a parliamentary lobby today that poor funding rates have meant that some childcare providers are being forced to prioritise places for families who can afford to pay for optional extras over those who can only take up funded hours.

The parliamentary event, which will focus on concerns around the roll-out of the scheme, is being hosted by shadow early years minister Tracy Brabin. His comments come as the Government publishes figures showing that 90% of parents issued with an eligibility code – meaning they are eligible for the 30 hours free childcare – have had that code validated by a childcare provider. Some 20,000 parents have not yet had their code validated by a childcare provider.

Leitch will say: “If a child’s parents are willing and able to pay their nursery, pre-school, or childminder a bit extra, they might well get pushed to the front of the queue when it comes to a childcare place.

“But if that child’s parents need free childcare to be just that: “free” – tough luck. Because let’s be realistic, if you’re a childcare provider struggling to keep your doors open, and you have three families approaching you willing to pay extra to secure a place, and one that can’t, who wants the offer completely ‘free’– I think we all know who’s going to the back of the queue. It’s something we’re seeing more and more. And it’s a real problem.”

Leitch will also say that a parent earning £99,999 a year would have to work just over two hours a week to be eligible for the 30-hour offer, while a parent who, for example, volunteers or studies but earns less than £120 per week cannot access the offer.

In a recent survey of around 1,400 childcare providers conducted by the Alliance, 20% of respondents said that the way they will offer the 30 hours to parents only taking up funded hours will differ from the way they offer parents taking up additional hours and/or paying for extra goods or services, while a further 18% remained unsure.

One provider said: “I will only be able to offer funded hours to parents taking 40 hours a week and willing to pay for extras. Anything less is unsustainable for my business and would lead to debt and eventual closure.

“I don’t know how I can provide funded places and still make a living, I don’t want to offer a two-tier system to the children in my care but I may be forced to. We are not able to offer places for children who need funded places only.”

• Vote  
• 0
• 0
• You already voted!