The government’s 30 hours’ free childcare scheme has come under a lot of scrutiny recently. On the anniversary of its launch back in September, Children and Families Minister, Nadhim Zahawi, praised the scheme, noting that it has helped almost 70% of families to spend less money on childcare each month. 340,000 three- and four-year-olds have had access to the scheme and 86% of families claim that it has helped their children to be better prepared to start school.
The 30 hours’ free childcare scheme allows parents to claim 30 hours per week in care for their child for 38 weeks of the year. If they are eligible, this means that their child can attend a private nursery, childminder, play group or after school club.
While parents are reaping the benefits of the scheme, for childcare providers, the rewards have not been quite so clear cut. Serious levels of government underfunding have caused half of private nurseries (52%) to increase their fees this year, along with a quarter of school nurseries and childminders.
The National Day Nurseries Association has also recently released some research showing that due mainly to under funding from the 30 hours’ scheme, fee-paying nurseries are set to be £42,000 worse off in the next year. Added to this, the annual gap between the cost of providing childcare and what the nursery receives in funding from local authorities has grown to an average of £2,166. LEA nursery schools attached to schools are also experiencing their own issues, with government funding set to drop at the end of next year, leaving the future of up to 400 schools in jeopardy.
For private nurseries, the 30 hours’ scheme is causing a financial strain—with underfunding comes staff cuts, limited places and ultimately extra costs for parents as they try to reap back some of their profits.
As one nursery manager in Surrey explains, ‘In our area we are given just £4.10 per hour per child by the government—our normal rate should be £8 per hour. Therefore, since the 30 hours’ scheme has been introduced, we just don’t have the funds to pay our staff the correct wages and to cover our overheads. We have to make money by charging parents for extras, be it for nappies, lunches, excursions or overtime hours. We are losing money, but if we decide not to offer free hours to families, then they will go elsewhere.’