Catherine McKinnell, MP for Newcastle North, has called on the Government to ensure that early years’ education is properly funded if it is to keep its promise of introducing 30 hours of free childcare a week from September 2017.
Ministers made the 30-hour pledge for working parents of 3 and 4-year olds at last year’s General Election, but there are increasing concerns that it will be impossible to deliver this commitment as the financial sustainability of the early years’ sector is increasingly under threat.
Childcare providers have warned for some time about the impact of the 30 hour-pledge if this policy is not properly funded, with the Pre-School Learning Alliance reporting in April 2016 that almost half of all nurseries feared they could be forced to close as a result.
In addition, the Government’s new Early Years Funding Formula leaves over one quarter of local authorities facing a reduction in the funding they receive to pass on to childcare/early years providers, with those in Newcastle set to receive, on average, £4.88 per hour in 2017/18 – a drop of 2p per hour on existing funding levels. The average reduction across the North East is 12p per hour.
With Shadow Childcare Minister, Tulip Siddiq MP
Catherine, who is a member of the Education Select Committee and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Nursery Schools, has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer ahead of his Autumn Statement on 23rd November, urging him to ensure that the early years sector is properly funded if it is to remain sustainable, and working parents are to receive the childcare support promised.
The Newcastle North MP said:
‘High quality early years education is so important in ensuring children get the possible start in life – and we need more, not fewer, childcare places to enable more parents to go out to work.
‘But this investment in our children’s future costs money, and I know that childcare providers are already struggling to make the existing offer of 15 hours of free childcare a week work.
‘Expecting nurseries to double this provision, whilst facing a reduction in funding and rising costs quite clearly doesn’t add up. The Chancellor must step in if the Government is to deliver this flagship election pledge, and secure the long-term future of the early years sector.’