To be disappointed that the free 30 hours for 1-2 year olds won't come in fully until Sept 2025?

[OhwhyOY]

Totally understand the rationale behind needing to delay it a bit to make sure there are sufficient nursery spaces available, to allow for increased government funding to filter through given how financially strapped many childcare providers are atm due to 3-4 year old underfunding, etc. But to delay it coming in for one and a half years feels pretty tough on those who desperately need that support now, and also seems daft when it will potentially offer such a massive economic boost that we also need now. Definitely at least partly selfish disappointment as I have a current two year old who won't benefit at all, but I'm thinking more about all those people who are not in work so the government's primary target, and will still need to be sat at home another year or two. Great long term news though, as long as childcare places are properly funded by the government to avoid a loss of even more nurseries/childminders.

I paid £2k, a class usually has 30 children so I timed by that. I don’t know hence asked. :/

I was asking a question, why harsh?

Have to agree with this . Can’t help but think it’s carrot dangling

YANBU to be disappointed, I felt exactly the same way when I heard the timelines.

My LO is 3 next July, so will benefit from 15 hours for a matter of months at best. It’s better than nothing, of course, and a HUGE step forward in helping families and women get back to work. But I’d stupidly got my hopes up last night that we’d have hundreds back in our account at some point this year, so it’s shit to find out it’s another year before there’s any change.

Having said that, I also don’t hold out much hope it’ll happen. Never trust a Tory.

So will it help if more children are full time, they’ll get more money or will this not help them? I’m happy to pay but £2,000 a month is a lot that I have to pay.

she won't be accepting any more Pre-schoolers she'll just focus on wraparound and holidays as she can't see how it would be viable and the waiting for the money is a pain.

The problem with that is now schools have to offer 8am to 6 pm there won’t be as many wrap around children needing childminders as they can access after school club. It’s a problem as the finding is so low and there is such a wait for it, the unfunded children were always subsidising the funded ones, but there won’t be any left.

You're not being unreasonable.

I got my hopes up too. I thought we might be able to start saving again (or at lease not end up overdrawn ever month!) and maybe even think about another DC but alas no 😢

My manager has already said we won't be changing ratios, I agree, it's safer as it is. I doubt it will be implemented anyway, the tories will be out by then.

I had ti cost upba nursery for my public sector employer and doing everything by the book it was more expensive t han the private nurseries who presumably have to take out a profit. So there must be some major corner cutting going on.

As others have said its a booby trap for Labour after the next GE and also a distraction from the disgusting removal of pensions cap which will only benefit the super rich

What an awful sweeping statement … this is highly offensive to every single hard working childminder out there!

It’s so it’s fresh in your mind for the election where they get re-elected and then immediately cut it so they va rely had to actually fund anything then there’s five years for everyone to forget they did it before voting again.

Where we are in Notts it's not a primary school it's 2 smaller infants that feed into one junior schools.

Only one of the infants schools has a before and after school club this is run by the teaching assistants and they already don't run it on a Friday as it's not financially viable.

The junior school have wraparound provision provided by an external company but they're permanently advertising as the numbers are low and it's board line viable.

It's interesting that you say schools have to have a 8-6pm provision for wraparound - I personally like mine going to a childminder I feel that's a very long day at school.

In addition to this the school clubs are more expensive than a childminder and a lot of people, now they have the ability to work from home, are able to pop out and do the school run and save money 💴 on this.

It's also factually incorrect. More childminders have three or more outstanding grades than do nurseries. Many are more highly qualified than nursery room leaders.

This ⬆️

@MumOf2workOptions

It's interesting that you say schools have to have a 8-6pm provision for wraparound - I personally like mine going to a childminder I feel that's a very long day at school.

no yet, but it’s part of the budget for 2026

schoolsweek.co.uk/budget-2023-hunt-wants-all-primaries-to-provide-wraparound-childcare/

I can't quite get my head around the fact that even more babies and toddlers will end up spending long days apart from their parents. Then, when they are in school, it will be breakfast and after school club 8am - 6pm.

It's crucial for children, especially for babies and children to be in a nurturing and loving environment.

It all comes across as very Victorian and desperately sad.

Watching the news tonight and one parent said it's great as it will allow her to go back to work and improve her lifestyle.

What about making sacrifices whilst your children are small? Once those years are gone, they're gone forever.

This is not good culturally. It reeks of the Tory government desperate for more worker bees (slaves). Never mind exhausted mothers (because it's mothers who will bear the brunt of juggling work and childcare) and retirees who have earned the right to retirement - nope, send them all to the workhouses.

I don’t want to make this a SAHM vs WOHM I said this in OP.

For me, I work in marketing/merchandising - taking 3-5 years out means my career is essentially dead. Career suicide. I will have no salary, career, future and pension contributions.

I’m lucky I can wfh which means school hour childcare I’ll need, I can flex my hours however so many other parents don’t have that option.

So maany women are stuck in bad marriages/relationship because they can’t afford to leave and survive on their own.

Gender pay gap is an issue too.

Meanwhile men sail of to the sunset, with great salary, future and pension.

Also like you said kids are small for little while, cost of living crisis and bills going up. I don’t want to live in poverty or dependent on a man. That’s just me. I can’t risk my financial independence.

And men should make the sacrifices, they should go part time and take the hit on the career. Why does it have to be the woman?

@Freddiefox
Thanks for the link I hadn't seen this.
It'll be interesting to see how this pans out! I know locally here they struggle to staff things like this.

I think I would have been more concerned if they tried to rush it through, as we know that never ends well mini budget anyone

But I just can't fathom how providers will afford it.

I also noted the all schools must provide 8-6 wrap around care......how?? Some schools are teeny village schools! Mine is a massive school and it's provision shut due to covid and is just starting to open up again, but in massively reduced numbers.

I think labour were also planning something similar with childcare weren't they? I watched an interview with them yesterday delighted that the tories were using labour's idea, so I expect even if tories lost the GE, Labour have similar plans anyway.

@MooseAndSquirrelLoveFlannel

I also think that since COVID, a lot of people now having the ability to work from home, a lot of providers are flexible these days and people can often pop out to do a school run which eradicates the need for a-lot of wraparound care too;
With the COL, if people can do a school run themselves it also saves them money.

I'll also be interested to read about the tax free childcare provision and whether there will be more of a discount on this?

I'd love to know how they think they're going to get the workers to staff this.

We do have the highest cost of childcare though when compared to so many countries.

It has an impact on women who would like to work but the cost is a barrier.

Do you mean Labour will reverse it if they get in?