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.

Sorry this was was to the backdated to 1995

Yep. Election next year, everyone.

Telling childcare settings that it’s fine for one member of staff to have responsibility for five 2 year olds instead of four is just wrong. This isn’t anything to do with what’s good for the children.

I wonder whose fault it will be when there are accidents at nurseries due to lack of proper care and attention. Will it be neglect by the setting or dangerous guidelines?!

I agree-1:5 is just too much.

In countries with lower childcare costs, childcare workers are paid much better than here.

Exactly, this sort of system only works if the state provides generous funding. Can't be done properly on the cheap. It doesn't do anyone any favours to pretend we can have a halfway house.

@itsjustnotok The issue for me is if you pitch your Budget as being 'let's get people back to work' but realistically those people can't get to work for 2.5 years, that's pretty disappointing. Particularly as others have said that it was trailed in the media for days, with no sense of the caveats that ultimately mean parents of current under 3s basically won't benefit. I'd love it to come in sooner to help my family with costs but for me that's secondary; my worry is more about this plan 1) damaging the childcare sector and 2) not actually benefitting the economy, at least for some time.

Hypothetically I think you could introduce the scheme quicker by upping the amount the government pays for 3-4 year olds to actually meet nursery costs (or ideally even slightly higher to reflect the need for childcare providers to offer higher wages to recruit staff). Nurseries could then start paying a bit more to staff, have fewer gaps, and then offer more places. New providers could also see a better offer was there and open up (or at least current ones not close). My worry is that in reality what this announcement could lead to in addition to disappointed parents is more nurseries/childminders shutting up shop as they will see they still won't be properly funded to cover costs and won't be able to use 1-2 year olds to subsidise 3-4 year olds.

On ratios I agree with concerns about reducing them, if it was my decision I wouldn't. I worry the ratios are too high already.

Yes those who have changed the ratios have clearly never had yo look after 5 x 2yr olds! Its just supervision at that point and making it through the day!

I do also fully agree with those who feel the whole system needs overhauling though, how it can be that we pay such low wages to childcare providers yet it costs us so much more than other countries, I don't know. There is a strong economic case for reducing childcare costs to increase the working population so proper investment in the system seems a no-brainer. The challenge of course is that the government would have to put that money in before seeing it come back, which means deciding what not to spend money on in the meantime or driving up taxes/the deficit.

@BernadetteIsMySister I struggle with one two year old, I have no idea how childcare providers manage with 4+!

The whole system needs a god damn rehaul, childcare need more funding and childcare needs to be cheaper.

I’m sick and tired of hearing about women who have no pension, financial independence and struggling with childcare costs then having to become a SAHM whilst they’re dh sails of to the sunset with a fantastic salary, pension and good career prospects. Socialising and abroad trips aswell.

Meanwhile, the woman suffers.

The 3 year wait was stupid. It should have started from 1 because 1 year is typical maternity leave. 2 year wait for what?!?!

I’m happy to pay a reasonable amount but £2,000 a month is ridiculous. It penalises women. Gender pay gap issue.

I think realistically even if the Tories were going to fund this properly starting today (ha fucking ha) there'd still have to be a big delay built in because the sector cannot currently do it. There'd need to be premises, recruitment, training, and all this in a tight labour market where there just aren't the workers there used to be.

Now I don't believe this is going to come to fruition anyway, but even in the best case scenario here there'd be no way to do it without pissing off parents of DC currently aged 1 and 2. Obviously a large part of the reason for this is the effects of what this shower have done in their 13 years of power...

The cynic in me says that they're promising this because it won't be their problem to fund or implement. The latest we can have an election is Dec 2024 and the chances of it being a Tory victory is currently looking pretty small.

I’m a childminder and after yesterdays announcement I have decided to close. I will carry in with the current children I have, as I don’t want to let parents down, but once they leave I will close my doors. I’m tired of trying to make ends meet, I’m tired of jumping through the additional hoops that I have to to offer funding, I’m tired of relying on the goodwill of parents to pay the voluntary contribution. I’m just tired.

I give my all to the children, I offer a nurturing environment to support them both educationally and emotionally and I support parents as much as I can. To do that I need to be able to have a roof over my head and to be able to feed my children.

We have been lobbying for government to at least change the title to ‘funded childcare’ rather than ‘free childcare’ they refuse to even do that. If they can’t even make that slight change how can they be expected to make the major changes? Government have knowingly underfunded the sector for years, now we are supposed to rejoice that they are raising the funding yet it still won’t cover the full cost.

This is so sad-I suspect you will be one of many :(

I have seen a number of nursery’s already say on local community boards that they will not be changing their ratios. I just think lots don’t even offer the extended funding and because the competition for places is so high (18m plus waiting lists) there won’t be that incentive to do so especially not for the 1yos.

Yesterday, one of the richest men in the country stood up in Parliament and deliberately, cynically lied to you.

He told you that 3 and 4 year olds receive 30 hours of free childcare a week. He knows it's not true.

1. It's not available to every 3 and 4 year old.
2. It's not available all year, only during term time.
3. There's a massive shortfall in the funding, forcing providers to charge extras.
4. Many settings are obliged to limit what they can offer, so finding fully funded places is a challenge.
5. In many LAs, it's only available to children attending Good or Outstanding settings.
6. In many LAs, if a provider loses their grade, they will lose the funding. If a Childminding Agency loses its grade, all their childminders will lose the funding.

It was the Government who advised them to charge extras when Robert Goodwill was the minister responsible for childcare. The Government has known Early Years was underfunded for a long time: www.eyalliance.org.uk/news/2021/06/new-data-shows-ministers-knew-early-years-was-underfunded

Having blatantly lied, he then compounded that lie. He promised that younger children would also receive 30 free hours, on the same basis, from 9 months old.
He knows they won't.

1. See above (it's not free).
2. It's not available yet, probably won't be for months.

I'm sorry he lied to you. I'm sorry you were duped into thinking you would get free childcare for your younger children, especially since it's currently the little ones who are enabling many providers to balance the books so 3 and 4 year olds can get more of their entitlement. I'm sorry you won't see the free hours he promised you.

You know what to do come election time.

Many of us have used 30 hours though already.

We know what it is and I can say it massively helped me. I have big enough gaps to have not had it for eldest dc.

Well you know what it is because you've seen it in action and experienced it. Many parents don't and are baffled that free doesn't mean free.

I had one parent yesterday think that I would continue to invoice her snd she would get bit paid by the government much like universal credit. She was so confused when I told her it was only £4.60 an hour too!

It can be a bit tricky but when it kicks in there’s usually relief at the saving. I think if I’d had dd a day later I would have lost 9 months help. I was relieved at her timing ;

You don’t agree he lied?

Politicians lie all the time. It's what they do. All parties.

Labour are lying every time they say they support women's right to have single sex spaces because they are including men who have a magic piece of paper which says they've changed sex.

They all lie to make their policies sound better than they are and entice people to vote for them.

I can see you feel strongly about wording. I just know the difference between extra hours or not as have been using childcare over a long period.

I wouldn’t kick this out just due to not using term time only etc wording. People do need to get clued up about what it involves though.

I do have experience of very low retention beyond child bearing age which has impacted my views, I mean many women just cleared out, so I get the sorry etc I just don’t feel it’s needed. Things might change a bit more with wfh and cheaper cc and women might actually stay.