Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will take steps to encourage the (a) take-up and (b) provision of apprenticeships in the childcare sector in response to the shortfall in recruitment during the covid-19 outbreak.

We have introduced a broad range of flexibilities to ensure that apprentices can continue with their learning, as far as possible, and to encourage the take up of apprenticeships. These include encouraging the remote delivery of training, allowing changes to be made to end-point assessment, and removal of the requirement that level 2 apprentices should work towards or sit their level 2 English and maths GCSE or functional skills exams this academic year.

Apprenticeships will have an important role to play in creating employment opportunities, particularly for young people, and supporting employers in all sectors to access the skilled workforce they need to recover and grow post-COVID-19. We are looking to support employers of all sizes, and particularly smaller businesses such as childcare providers, to take on new apprentices this year. We will set out further details in due course. We will also ensure that there is sufficient funding to support small businesses wanting to take on an apprentice this year.