Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department provides to schools to (a) collaborate and (b) cluster to deliver wraparound childcare where individual schools are unable to provide adequate capacity.

This government is committed to improving the affordability and availability of childcare and recognises that this requires a skilled workforce.

To support schools to recruit and train staff to deliver wraparound childcare, the department has published a workforce toolkit, available at: https://earlyyearscareers.campaign.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/182/2025/11/Workforce-Toolkit-Recruiting-Retaining-Supporting-your-Workforce-2.pdf.

We have also published a flexible working toolkit here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-flexible-working-in-schools.

These include practical resources and case studies to help schools recruit, train and retain staff for breakfast clubs and wraparound care. Schools delivering free breakfast clubs can also access support from specialist advisors.

Through the National Wraparound Programme, we invested over £225 million to support schools and providers to establish and expand wraparound childcare, creating over 120,000 additional places, including through cluster models and off-site provision. This year, we are providing £12.9 million to support local authorities with school-age childcare. Local authorities can support schools to overcome workforce challenges, and continue to support schools to deliver wraparound childcare, including through clusters where a school-led model may not be viable.