Applications open for 30 hours of funded childcare

Working parents of children who will be nine months old before 1st September across England are now able to apply for 30 hours of funded childcare starting in September. This measure is expected save families up to £7,500 a year per child.

Last September, 15 hours of free childcare for children from nine months was rollout, which benefitted 499,592 children and counting. These have had the biggest impact on lower-income families, with one in five of those earning £20,000 to £40,000 having increased their working hours thanks to the 15 hours brought in last year.

This comes as part of a range of measures the government is introducing hundreds of school-based nurseries, free breakfast clubs, and a £2 billion boost to support existing providers deliver the 35,000 additional staff and 70,000 places required to meet demand for September.

In anticipation of the 30 hours now available, of the 2,723 respondents planning to increase their childcare hours, over half (1,425) are intending to up their work hours too, meaning the new childcare provisions are beneficial to both parents and children

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "This government has a clear Plan for Change to break the unfair link between background and opportunity across this country, which starts by ensuring our children start school ready to learn.
"Early years is my number one priority, and making sure families are able to benefit from this rollout is a promise made, and promise kept. But this is just the beginning.
"Through the hard work of the sector, supported by our record investment, landmark school-based nursery rollout and focus on vital early learning support, we will deliver an early years system that gives every child the best start in life."

The government has also launched a consultation to investigate if early years providers should be required to have a safe outdoor space as part of their provision.