Since the government announced their ‘childcare revolution’ in March last year, a number of childcare providers have raised concerns that they don’t have enough spaces to deliver the funded hours.
Now, a new report by the National Audit Office (NAO) has found there is a risk of quality being ‘jeopardised’ by an influx of ‘inexperienced’ early years staff, as well as higher staff-to-child supervision ratios for two-year-olds.
The first phase of the government's staggered rollout means eligible parents of two-year-olds are now entitled to access 15 hours of free childcare. From September 2024, 15 hours of free childcare will be extended to all children from nine months. Then from September 2025, every working parent of under-fives will have access to 30 free hours.
Last week, the Department for Education estimated that around 85,000 new childcare places and an additional 40,000 staff are needed for the expansion of funded childcare by September 2025. But the NAO report said that there are ‘uncertainties’ over whether the childcare sector will be able to provide enough places amongst a lack of qualified staff and appropriate space.
There are concerns that the ‘rapid growth’ in childcare places in certain areas may ‘impact quality or displace those children who may be more challenging or costly to support', the NAO said. They noted that just 34 per cent of local authorities surveyed by the government in March were confident there would be enough places to meet demand for childcare in their areas.
Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said the NAO report was 'yet more resounding evidence that the Conservative government made a childcare pledge without a plan to deliver it,' adding 'yet again families will be paying the price of the Tories’ broken promises.'
This comes at a time when the sector is already struggling to provide enough nursery workers. Research published in 2023 by the Early Education and Childcare Coalition and the University of Leeds found that almost six in 10 nursery staff and just over a third of childminders are contemplating leaving the sector in the next 12 months because of concerns over low pay rates, lack of training opportunities, poor career progress and feelings of being undervalued. The researchers also found that only 17 per cent of nursery managers said they could provide the new childcare measures because of staffing issues.
Joeli Brearley, CEO and founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, told Grazia that the government's 'ambitious' plan to reduce childcare costs must be matched with 'adequate funding' to ensure effective delivery.
'This report highlights that whilst many elements of the scheme have been enormously successful, there are still some significant challenges on the horizon in terms of capacity and accessibility. The Government needs to get an urgent grip of the staffing crisis and ensure providers can flourish, particularly in areas of deprivation,' she says. 'Securing a childcare place must not be a postcode lottery. And whilst parents seem to be saving some money from these schemes, it is clear that these savings are far more meagre than the Government’s projections due to providers increasing their costs to cover their funding shortfall.'
To help meet demand, the Department for Education has announced plans to pilot a new scheme to explore how unused spaces in schools could be turned into childcare settings to offer more places. In February this year, the government launched a a £6.5m-backed recruitment campaign to encourage people to work in the early years sector.
A DfE spokesperson said 'The NAO rightly acknowledges that we have already exceeded our target for the first phase of the rollout, with almost 200,000 two-year-olds already benefiting from government-funded places – supporting parents to balance their career and childcare,' adding 'We have taken decisive steps to prepare the sector for the next phases, including increasing funding well above market rates, launching a workforce campaign and new apprenticeship routes, as well as providing £100m of capital funding to help expand or refurbish facilities.'
However, campaigners believe more work needs to be done. 'Until the underfunding of the 3-4 year old entitlement is addressed, costs will not reduce to a rate that is sustainable for the majority of parents,' says Brearley. 'This, in turn, will impact maternal employment projections. If we are serious about creating the social infrastructure that enables more women to work then you can’t do it on the cheap.'
Alice Hall is staff writer at Grazia UK. She was previously a Junior Features Writer for The Daily Telegraph. At Grazia, she writes news and features about pop culture, dating, health, politics and interiors.