Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support the provision of early years childcare in Bournemouth East constituency.

In the Spring Budget 2023, the government announced a number of transformative reforms to childcare for parents and children. This government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education by 2027/28, helping working families with their childcare costs. This announcement represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England.

From September 2025, working parents will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare a week for 38 weeks a year, from the point their child is 9 months to when their child starts school. The department is ensuring a phased implementation of the expansion to the 30 hours offer to allow the market to develop the necessary capacity. We are working closely with the sector on the implementation of these reforms.

The government will also increase support for those parents on Universal Credit who face the highest childcare costs, by increasing the Universal Credit childcare cost maximum amount and providing support with childcare costs upfront rather than arrears.

The reforms announced build on the department’s current early education entitlements that the government offers, which includes a universal 15 hour offer for all 3 and 4-year-olds, a 15 hour offer for the most disadvantaged 2-year-olds, the existing 30 hours offer for 3 and 4-year-olds, Tax-Free Childcare, and Universal Credit Childcare.

My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, also announced that the hourly rates for the entitlements will be substantially uplifted, on top of additional investments announced at the 2021 Spending Review and on 16 December 2022.

We will provide £204 million from September 2023, increasing to £288 million by 2024/25, or local authorities to further increase hourly funding rates to providers, with further uplifts to follow each year. This will include an average 30% increase in the national average 2-year-old hourly rate from September 2023 and means that the average hourly rate for 2-year-olds will rise from the current £6 per hour in 2023/24 to around £8 per hour. The average 3 and 4-year-old rate will rise in line with inflation to over £5.50 per hour from September 2023, with further uplifts beyond this.

This funding is in addition to the £4.1 billion that the government will provide by 2027/28 to facilitate the expansion of the new free hours offer.

The government is investing up to £180 million in a package of training, qualifications, expert guidance, and targeted support for the early years sector to support the learning and development of the youngest and most disadvantaged children.

Designed to support all areas of the early years sector, the Early Years Education Recovery Programme offers national programmes focusing on continuing professional development, with training on child development, communication and language, early maths and personal, social and emotional development, leadership of settings, supporting caregivers in their home learning environment, and speech and language skills of children in reception year.

The department will be providing additional funding for qualifications for graduate level specialist training leading to early years teacher status, accredited level 3 early years Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators qualification, and improving the Early Years level 3 qualification. We will also be providing support and guidance to early years settings through Stronger Practice Hubs and Experts and Mentors.

The department acknowledges that recruitment and retention are key issues for the early years sector. Supporting this workforce continues to be a priority for the department, and we are working proactively with the sector and local authorities to grow, develop, and support the workforce.