Is the government’s expansion of free childcare actually going to work? The early years sector says not. They have warned that parents of two year olds won’t get the 15 funded hours they have been promised without eye-watering fee hikes overall – and that some nurseries may even be forced to close because they simply can’t balance the books. No wonder, then, that this policy was once again the focus of Labour’s attack at Education Questions in the Commons this afternoon.

Ministers really do think the complaints about the scheme now simply amount to teething problems

A number of opposition MPs, including Stella Creasy and shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson, raised the looming launch of these extra free hours, supposed to start in April, during the session. Creasy was particularly concerned about the impact this was having on children with special educational needs, and got a reply from the minister of state responsible for the policy, David Johnson. He said:

I appreciate it must be very frustrating for the honourable lady, who genuinely cares about childcare, to be part of a party that cannot be bothered to come up with any plan for it, and has had to ask someone else to write them one because they can’t think of one. But on her specific issue, as I said earlier, we are working with every local authority to make sure they have the places they need for all children.

The ding-dong between Phillipson and Education Secretary Gillian Keegan was naturally rather more aggressive. The Secretary of State gave her opening statement at the topical questions section of the session, insisting that ‘we’re delivering the largest ever expansion of childcare in England’s history’. She was, she said, ‘delighted to update that the House that our latest projections show more than 150,000 new funded places will be secured by early April’.

QOSHE - Can the Tories actually make their free extra childcare plan work? - Isabel Hardman
menu_open
Columnists Actual . Favourites . Archive
We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close
Aa Aa Aa
- A +

Can the Tories actually make their free extra childcare plan work?

5 0
11.03.2024

Is the government’s expansion of free childcare actually going to work? The early years sector says not. They have warned that parents of two year olds won’t get the 15 funded hours they have been promised without eye-watering fee hikes overall – and that some nurseries may even be forced to close because they simply can’t balance the books. No wonder, then, that this policy was once again the focus of Labour’s attack at Education Questions in the Commons this........

© The Spectator


Get it on Google Play