Most of you will have heard that the government have announced changes to childcare provision for parents. This isn’t happening immediately but will be staged over the next two years. The proposals are currently:
April 2024 – 15 hours childcare will become available for all two year old children.
September 2024 – 15 hours childcare becomes available for children aged over 9 months.
September 2025 – 30 hours childcare for children aged over 9 months whose parents work at least 16 hours a week.
They have also proposed that all schools should be providing breakfast and after school care from 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. from September 2026.
This is a major increase in childcare provision and the government acknowledge that there will need to be changes if we are to be ready for the new numbers of children. This is an exciting opportunity for both parents and us and we look forward to seeing the details on the proposals.
In the meantime if you have a two year old child and want to find out if you are entitled to 15 hours childcare per school week please contact us. We can provide an immediate check on whether you are eligible for the Achieving Two Year Olds programme.