Parents in England could miss out on funded hours at their preferred childcare setting in the spring if there is limited capacity, a minister has admitted.
David Johnston, minister for children, families and wellbeing, said the Government cannot “compel” nurseries and childminders to offer children “free” hours in April when the first phase of its childcare expansion begins.
But he said the Government is “strongly encouraging” settings to provide the new funded places as he argued that childcare providers have been given “considerable increases” in funding rates to be able to offer it.
Nurseries, pre-schools and childminders in England are being inundated with calls and emails from families who want to take up funded places.
More than 100,000 parents of two-year-olds in England have already registered for codes to access the new 15 hours per week of Government-funded childcare which starts in April, but there have been concerns about its rollout due to staffing levels, increased demand and funding uncertainty.
Mr Johnston – who was speaking as the Department for Education (DfE) launched a recruitment campaign for early years staff – told the PA news agency: “I’m very confident that across the country we will have the number of places we need this coming April for the first 15 hours for two-year-olds.
“That may not mean that every parent can have their first choice of nursery because every nursery has a limited capacity.
“And of course there may well be providers who say that for whatever reason they don’t want to take children with the free hours that we’re paying for. We can’t compel them to do that.”
He added: “We’re working very hard with local authorities to make sure that we have the number of places available.”
“If there’s very high demand for the same place then of course there might be parents who are disappointed they couldn’t get their first choice.”
His comments come after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak insisted last month that all eligible children in England would be able to benefit from the Government’s expanded childcare offer being phased in from the spring.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in March last year that eligible families of children as young as nine months will be able claim 30 hours of free childcare a week.
Under the plans, working parents of two-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare from April. This will be extended to working parents of all children older than nine months from September.
From September 2025, working parents of children under five will be entitled to 30 hours’ free childcare per week.
With just two months to go until the first phase starts, many providers have been unable to commit to offering funded places in the spring as they have not yet been given the funding rates they will be paid by their local authority and some are concerned they will not have enough staff to deliver the expansion.
On Friday, the DfE announced a trial of £1,000 sign-on bonuses for new starters and returners into the early years sector in 20 local authorities as part of efforts to increase capacity in the system.
But parents who want to take up the new funded places on offer this year are facing long waiting lists in some areas of the country as providers are full.
Lyndsey Black, manager of Acorn Pre-School and the Mighty Oaks in Shefford, Bedfordshire, which is currently full, said there has been “an element of aggression” in communication from parents who want their children to start at the setting in April to ensure they secure the Government-funded hours.
She told PA: “We run a zero tolerance setting and yet we’re getting more and more disgruntled parents on the phone to us because we can’t give them a definitive answer to their questions.
“We don’t know still where we’re going to be in April with what we can do. Because we don’t know how we’re going to subsidise it. We don’t know what we’re going to be paid for doing it.”
Ms Black said the phone has been ringing “off the hook” from parents who want places. “Locally we just don’t have spaces for them. That is a massive issue. There is nowhere for these children to go,” she said.
When asked about the pressures early years settings are facing from parents, Mr Johnston told PA: “No provider – no one in any role – should be facing aggression from members of the public.”
The minister said 50 out of 153 local authorities in England had so far confirmed their funding rates to early years providers for April 1.
Mr Johnston said the Government will be “strongly urging” the remaining local authorities – who have until March 31 to publish their final funding rates – to confirm their rates this month.
He said: “I entirely understand the frustration of people who work in this sector and haven’t yet been told and they can see in other areas of the country that local authorities have confirmed those rates for them.
“The vast majority have already committed that they will be doing it later this month, in February. And we’re pushing anybody who is saying that they won’t be doing (it) until March to bring that forward.”
Joeli Brearley, founder of the Pregnant Then Screwed charity, said: “The Government’s stance has always been that every eligible two-year-old will be able to access these new funded hours. It seems that as reality bites, they are now backtracking.”
She added: “Many parents are in limbo waiting to hear if their nursery will offer these new funded hours. Meanwhile, providers are unable to plan effectively. It beggars belief that anyone thought it sensible to set a funding rate deadline the day before the scheme is due to be rolled out.”
“If the Government is serious about building an affordable childcare sector in the UK it needs to be funded properly – as it stands, access to affordable childcare risks becoming a postcode lottery for parents,” Ms Brearley said.
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance (EYA), said: “Given that the expansion of the early entitlement offer was sold to parents as a promise of ‘free childcare’, it’s no surprise that many families are expecting just that: early years places available when and where they need them, at no cost.
“The reality, however, is very different. Longstanding underfunding and capacity challenges have made it impossible for many providers to offer enough – if any – additional places to meet demand, while others have been forced to increase prices to remain viable.
“If the Government had actually consulted with the sector before announcing the biggest early years expansion in years – and provided the investment needed to make it work – providers wouldn’t be being forced to bear the brunt of parents’ understandable disappointment.”