Children: Day Care

(asked on 13th March 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will allow the free childcare entitlement to be used to allow parents to utilise fewer hours in a more expensive childcare setting; and what consideration his Department has given to allowing that entitlement to be used more flexibly.


Answered by
Vicky Ford Portrait
Vicky Ford
This question was answered on 23rd March 2020

The department wants parents to have access to a range of affordable childcare, giving them increased flexibility in their working hours. The government funded early years entitlements is intended to deliver 15-30 hours a week (for 38 weeks of the year) of free, high quality, flexible childcare for eligible two-, three- and four-year olds. It is not intended to cover the costs of meals, other consumables (such as nappies and sun cream), additional hours or additional services (such as trips) and providers may charge parents for these.

While many providers will offer 15-30 hours of free childcare per week during term time (38 weeks of the year), this offer can be delivered flexibly. All of the free entitlements can be stretched by taking fewer hours per week over up to 52 weeks of the year to cover term-time and the school holidays.

Some providers will only offer free hours during school term times or only offer free hours stretched over the year whilst others provide a mixture of the two. As set out in the department’s statutory guidance for local authorities, to ensure that parents can make informed decisions on their choice of childcare, providers should publish a statement of how they deliver the free entitlements and any additional charges for optional activities.

Reticulating Splines