Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have introduced childcare (a) before and (b) after the school day as a result of the pathfinder scheme.

As the programme is yet to launch, the department is unable to provide data about participation in the programme.

In the Spring Budget 2023, the Chancellor announced a transformative set of childcare reforms aimed at increasing labour market participation. This included the largest ever investment in childcare, including expansions of early years entitlements and wraparound childcare.

The government is investing £289 million in a new wraparound childcare programme which will support local authorities to work with primary schools and providers, including childminders, to set up and deliver more wraparound childcare before and after school in the term time. The government’s ambition is for all parents of primary school children who need it, to access childcare in their local area from 8am to 6pm.

Parents should expect to see an expansion in the availability of wraparound childcare from September 2024, with every parent who needs it able to access term-time wraparound childcare by September 2026. Programme funding allocations for local authorities were announced on 27 October 2023.