Early Education and Childcare

Stephen Morgan Excerpts

Monday 24th February 2025 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Stephen Morgan)]

This Government are committed to giving 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 for children.

In our plan for change, 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.

Already in 2025-26, we plan to provide a £2 billion increase in funding for the entitlements compared to 2024-25, to deliver the roll-out of 30 hours of funded childcare from 9 months of age in eligible working families. On top of this, we have announced the largest single uplift to the early years pupil premium since its introduction, increasing the EYPP to £1 per hour in 2025-26, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year. We are investing in quality early education for those children who need it most, in the areas that need it most.

Expansion grant funding

September 2025 marks a critical stage in the roll-out of the new entitlements when the new childcare entitlements will increase to 30 hours. To support delivery of this key milestone, on top of core funding, we are providing a £75 million expansion grant that will specifically target providers with children who are using the new entitlements. We plan to publish local authority allocations for this grant by the end of the month, and will expect to ask local authorities to confirm provider allocations within 6 weeks of publication.

Clarifying guidance on additional charges

As we set out in the autumn, we are taking action to protect parents from reported instances of very high additional charges or “top-up” fees on top of their entitlement, ensuring the funded hours remain accessible and affordable for families, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds where it makes the biggest difference. We have therefore updated the statutory guidance on Government-funded entitlements that relates to additional charges, helping local authorities ensure there is clarity and consistency for parents and providers.

The changes also put transparency at the heart of how the entitlement should be passed on to parents, including that all costs should be clear to parents up front and greater clarification of what are considered “consumables” including nappies, suncream and lunch. The guidance also reaffirms, in line with a recent High Court judgment, that while providers can charge for some extras these charges must not be mandatory.

Maths champions and stronger practice hubs

We are focused on growth, working with the early years sector to meet the challenges of creating the places needed for September 2025, but we will not compromise on quality as we deliver on our plan for change for a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn.

The maths champions programme helps early years educators to support children with core maths skills. This year, staff from 800 early years settings will benefit from the maths champions programme, double the number from the previous year. This evidence-based training is delivered by the National Day Nurseries Association through the Education Endowment Foundation. The EEF evidence of the programme shows that children in settings who had maths champions made the equivalent of three months’ additional progress in maths. The first cohort of this year’s settings are starting the programme this month.

Further, we are driving quality early education through the stronger practice hubs programme, with up to £6.1 million in funding for financial year 2025-26. These hubs provide free support and advice to improve quality in early years settings, sharing evidence-informed practice and building lasting local networks.

Together, these latest actions are the next big step in delivering on our plan for change, building a reformed early years system that is sustainable for providers and better serves children and their families.

[HCWS465]