Thousands of parents of 2-year-olds across the country are getting help with their childcare costs as the first phase of the biggest ever expansion in childcare starts.
In this first stage, working parents of 2-year-olds are now able to access 15 hours a week of government-funded childcare from 1 April.
The rollout of support is part of the government’s plan to help families – freeing thousands of couples from having to choose between having a family and a career, as over 150,000 children are on track to secure government-funded places from this week.
By September 2025 the full rollout will be completed, with working parents able to access 30 hours from the end of maternity leave to when their child starts school, saving parents an average of £6,900 per year.
The government has supported the sector to deliver this expansion by increasing the number of staff and places, introducing measures to boost the recruitment and retention of childminders, launching a major national recruitment campaign and providing over £400 million of additional investment to uplift funding rates in 2024 to 2025. On top of this, the government will increase rates over the next 2 years by an estimated £500 million, the Chancellor confirmed at the Spring Budget.
The government is confident that the childcare sector is ready to deliver the offer and make sure parents have the childcare they need. The government is paying a higher rate per place than parents would pay at the market rate for the new entitlements – as independently reported by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Justin Tomlinson MP said:
"I welcome this expansion. This is an issue I have spoken many times in Parliament on, I have hosted 2 Ministerial visits and roundtables and I have personally visited many nurseries. I will continue to press for nurseries to be exempt from Business Rates (as is the case with schools), long-term certainty on funding rates and wider support for SEN provision."
