The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)
This Government’s plan for change sets out a commitment to give children the best start in life, breaking the link between background and opportunity. We are ensuring that families in every community across the country can access affordable childcare places that deliver high-quality early education.
We have set a milestone of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn. We will measure our progress through 75% of five-year-olds reaching a good level of development in the early years foundation stage profile assessment by 2028.
From 12 May, all eligible working parents of children who will be at least nine months old on or before 31 August can apply for 30 hours of Government-funded childcare for September 2025 as part of the next phase of the Government’s childcare expansion.
The increase in childcare places is already having a hugely positive impact on parents and children. Around half a million children have already accessed places, and the findings from our childcare experiences survey shows the positive impact of providing more Government-funded childcare places for more children in the first two phases of our roll-out. An overwhelming majority of parents —97%—who received a childcare eligibility code have gone on to claim the childcare offered, and 93% of parents were able to secure their first choice of provider. Families with lower incomes have seen the biggest benefits, with one in five households earning between £20,000 and £40,000—and 14% of respondents overall—increasing their working hours.
The crucial role that all early years providers and local authorities play in delivering the childcare expansion ensures that families across the country can access the support they need.
This roll-out includes up to 6,000 new nursery places in schools across the country, backed by £37 million, with up to 4,000 available from this September, helping to grow our vibrant childcare market, which gives parents access to affordable and high-quality provision where they need it.
Parents who currently receive 15 hours for working families should reconfirm as usual and the code will work for the 30-hours offer in September, providing they remain eligible. Codes need to be reconfirmed every three months, so if parents have applied prior to June, they may need to reconfirm their code before taking up a place in September.
Floor space requirements
We are removing barriers for early years settings to help them meet the demand for approximately 60,000 places by September 2025. To help achieve this, we are consulting on potential changes to the early years foundation stage statutory framework to include free-flow outdoor space in the current indoor space requirements. This includes considering whether there should be a cap on how much providers can use this to increase their capacity to try to mitigate potential risks to overcrowding. This change to the EYFS could help some nurseries to increase capacity safely and efficiently where the physical structure permits.
This proposed change is in response to the Department’s November 2023 “Pulse surveys of childcare and early years providers”, in which the majority of providers —70%—said they would be likely to use flexibilities in space requirements while ensuring continued high-quality provision for children.
Outdoor play provides huge benefits to children—including improved memory and problem-solving skills, the development of social skills like self-regulation and negotiation, and better mental and physical health—and it boosts school-readiness and learning. By consulting on this change, we will ensure that we can support nurseries to expanding their capacity while maintaining the highest standards of safety and quality in early education.
The consultation can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/space-requirements-in-early-years-childcare-settings-in-england
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