Parents may not get first choice of funded childcare space, Phillipson warns

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has warned parents they may not be able to get their first choice of funded childcare space by as late as September of next year.

In its manifesto, Labour said it would open an additional 3,000 nurseries through “upgrading space” in primary schools, to deliver the extension of Government-funded hours families are entitled to.

The Government has said it will use disused classrooms to provide childcare, but questions have been raised about how they will be staffed.

The overall number of childcare providers registered with Ofsted dropped by 1,400 between March 2023 and March this year to 61,800 – a fall of 2%, according to the latest statistics.

The data also suggests the number of childminders registered with Ofsted decreased by 1,340 over the same period to 26,500 – down 5%.

Ms Phillipson has said the plans to use primary school classrooms, recruit more staff through a re-energised recruitment campaign, and deliver improved early language and maths support will build a system that “ensures the best start for every child”.

She said: “It is no secret that childcare in England has often been expensive and hard to find.

“Parents up and down the country will have their own experiences of travelling miles to the nearest available place, or forking out for nursery bills higher than their rent.

“This issue is historic, and in some places it is far worse than in others. The latest data from the Office for National Statistics and Ofsted shows huge variation in the level of access to childcare places across the country, with the most deprived local authorities the most likely to be childcare deserts.

“My promise to parents is that I will do everything I possibly can to bridge these gaps as we reform the childcare system, so that all families – wherever they live – have equal access to brilliant early education, but I must be honest with parents in some areas that they might not get their first choice of childcare place in September 2025.”

In March 2023, then chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced eligible families of children as young as nine months in England would be able to claim 30 hours of funded childcare a week by September 2025.

Working parents of two-year-olds in England have been able to access 15 hours of funded childcare since April as part of a staggered rollout of the childcare expansion, which the new Government has committed to upholding.