Government plans to double the free childcare hours available to many pre-schoolers come into force in September.

But two major surveys have revealed real concerns over whether the scheme will work properly.

Early years organisation the Pre-school Learning Alliance has warned that findings from an independent report indicate the Government has underestimated the number of families likely to be eligible for the scheme.

Meanwhile the Families and Childcare Trust has found that more than half of all councils are unsure if they will have enough childcare available when the changes come into force.

From September, three and four-year-olds of eligible working families in England will be entitled to 30 free hours of care a week during term-time – twice as much as they currently receive.

But the new poll of local authorities in England has found uncertainty about the impact of the change. Thirteen per cent already know there won’t be enough capacity while around 54 per cent of those questioned said they did not know if they would have enough childcare available for youngsters using the 30 hours. A third (33 per cent) said that there would be sufficient places.

Cumbria County Council has confirmed that some nurseries and other childcare settings will not be able to offer the full 30 hours – but the picture is far from clear.

A spokesman for children’s services at Cumbria County Council said: “The majority of childcare providers in Cumbria are working to identify how they can deliver 30 hours to meet needs of eligible families.

“However, due to sustainability and capacity in some childcare provisions not all providers will offer 30 hours themselves, but they can work in partnership with other providers to meet families’ needs. Families should approach their preferred provider to discuss their options in more detail.”

The Families and Childcare Trust report says: “A clear majority of local authorities expect some settings not to offer the 30 hour entitlement – presumably because it would not make financial sense for them to do so.

“Until the policy has been introduced in full, it is difficult to predict how many settings this will apply to: it is likely that the pattern will vary in different parts of the country based on the comparative price paid for funded and non-funded places, and settings’ ability to attract parents without offering the free entitlement.

“Despite this uncertainty, the majority of respondents believe that the 30-hour entitlement will enable more families to access childcare which meets their needs.”

Privately-run children’s nurseries could face the biggest challenges when the changes come into force.

Nursery leaders have warned that they already have to plug a financial shortfall that arises from the current 15 hours a week deal which they say is underfunded.

Gerry Garvey runs Muddy Boots Nursery at Newton Rigg, near Penrith.


Gerry Garvey He is also the chair of the Carlisle and Eden branch of the National Day Nurseries Association, which represents more than 20 privately-run settings across north Cumbria.

He said: “I’ve already had parents asking me if we’re delivering the 30 hours a week later this year and to be honest I’m sitting on the fence until there’s more information.

“There have been pilots running in a number of places in the country and they are feeding back about their experiences.

“April will be the cut off for me then I’ll have to look at what we will do here.”

He also said: “We don’t have an obligation to provide the 30 hours. The guidance so far says we are not compelled to deliver it.

“I think that is what local authorities are concerned about because they would be in breach of their childcare sufficiency pledge. They have to ensure there are enough places. There is also a misconception among the public that this is free childcare. It isn’t – it is being subsidised. The Government pays us a rate to deliver it but it is not enough. We have to make up the shortfall.”

Mr Garvey says nurseries may have to put up their prices for any hours outside of the free provision to cover additional costs, such as lunchtime. “Providers don’t want to put up their prices for things like their baby and toddler rooms but that could be their only option,” Mr Garvey said.

“As employers we also need to take into consideration things like the rises in the national minimum and national living wages as well as the hike in business rates. There are a lot of factors for us to consider before we decide what model we’ll be running.”

Many primary schools now run their own nurseries and have extended their age range to cater for three to 11-year-olds.

Castle Carrock School near Brampton has 12 children who are expected to go on and join its reception class.


Rebecca Stacey Headteacher Rebecca Stacey said: “Having a nursery makes the whole transition into reception a lot better for the child.

“We’ll be offering the 30 hours from September but we’ll have to be aware of a few factors like we may need more staff and we may have reduced flexibility.”

She added: “I think there will eventually be a happy medium when it comes to the new offering. You can get children split across two settings for their hours but we must remember there are fewer people and we have providers spread across a rural area here in Cumbria. We need to work together.

“It is a really good sound bite for the Government like free school meals for infant-age children – but it needs to be funded properly.”

The Department for Education (DfE) says it is investing a record £6 billion per year by 2020 to help families access high quality, affordable childcare.

A new funding formula will see the “vast majority of providers receive increased funding rates”, it adds.

A DfE spokeswoman said: “We are investing more in childcare than any previous government, spending a record £6 billion per year by 2020, this includes an additional £1 billion per year on our free entitlements to support families with the cost of childcare.

“Around 390,000 working families will be eligible for 30 hours free childcare from September.

“In most cases, their children are already in existing childcare places, which will become free. We are also creating almost 9,000 new places through £50 million of capital grants.”