Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the 30 hours a week free childcare entitlement for working parents to student midwives and nurses who work in the public sector as part of their courses.

Eligibility for 30 hours for student midwives and nurses was carefully considered during the passage of the Childcare Act. As student nurses are treated as supernumerary, it follows that any time spent on placements will not count as paid work for the purposes of the extended entitlement. Student nurses will, however, be able to access a range of other support with their childcare costs including an additional payment of £1,000 each year for students with child dependents to reflect that students undertaking clinical placements may have higher childcare costs than the wider student population. More information on the range of support available can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/plans-for-changing-healthcare-education-funding)

Student parents who work in addition to their studies and meet the income requirements will be eligible for the additional hours. All student parents, (including student midwives and nurses) will also continue to benefit from the existing universal 15 hours of free early education for all three- and four-year-olds. They may also be entitled to 15 hours of free early education for two-year-old children.