Labour appeared stumped when, earlier this year, the government announced it would be drastically increasing its ‘free’ childcare provision. Given it was a policy that shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson was rumoured to be considering, her party would now need to find a way to outdo itself. Now, we have a clearer idea what its ‘signature offer’ to voters might entail.
At present, all parents of pre-school children over the age of three are entitled to 15 ‘free’ hours with registered providers. From April 2024, this will expand to all over-twos, and from September, to all children over nine months (the point at which Statutory Maternity Pay ends). If the rollout continues into the next Parliament, then from September 2025 all working parents will be able to claim 30 hours of free childcare a week.
Some parents are doing a poor job of raising their children but it’s not obvious the solution is to put more toddlers in pre-school
There are many, many flaws with this arrangement.
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