Starting Monday, September 2nd, hundreds of thousands of eligible working parents with children as young as nine months old will gain access to 15 hours of government-funded

early education per week.

In addition to this, new "wraparound" childcare places will be made available for parents of primary school-aged children before and after school. This marks the beginning of long-term reforms aimed at creating an early education and childcare system that spans from the end of parental leave to the conclusion of primary school, ultimately enhancing parents' work opportunities and improving children's life chances.

The government is also preparing to expand this offer to 30 funded hours by next September.

However, the challenge of scaling up this system is significant. Meeting the promises made to parents will require an unprecedented increase in childcare places and staff, meaning some parents may not be able to access their preferred providers next year.

The government is taking necessary steps to ensure the additional places are created and has plans to use primary school classrooms to establish new nurseries. Nationally, around 85,000 more places will be needed by September 2025 compared to 2023—this is more than double the increase in places seen in the past five years combined.

Local needs vary significantly, with about 20 areas requiring twice the national average increase in childcare hours, and a few areas needing three times the increase, highlighting the scale of the challenge. The government is working closely with local authorities to ensure the right plans are in place to meet the needs of parents and families.

This expansion of government-funded hours is a step towards the Education Secretary’s vision of an early education and childcare system that supports children in building strong foundations and starting school ready to learn.

To ensure that this growth does not compromise quality, the government has extended the early years stronger practice hubs program until at least March 2025. This initiative supports nurseries by fostering collaboration across local areas, sharing evidence-based practices, providing advice, and building lasting local networks.

Additionally, resources for early educators are being enhanced to better support children with special educational needs. A new online training module and assessment guidance will launch next month, aimed at improving the identification, assessment, and support of children with additional needs.

More wraparound childcare places for primary school-aged children are also expected to become available starting January 2025.

Thanks to the government funding, schools will be able to guide parents to newly appointed wraparound leads in every local authority. These leads will provide support if parents encounter difficulties in accessing the wraparound childcare they need.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:  

“I’ve already said that early years is my number one priority. That’s why we are delivering the childcare rollout I know will be such a help to hard-pressed parents, with 15 hours of early education per week for 9-month-olds and above from next week, alongside more wraparound childcare for school children.

“This inherited plan comes with significant delivery challenges - I must warn that for some parents it will not be plain sailing - and while I am excited to see children starting nursery for the first time, or parents being able to increase their working hours, the work for government starts now. 

“Over the next year, I will be working flat out with my team to ensure the next phase of the rollout is possible - doubling parents’ childcare entitlements to 30 hours a week.”

 Jason Elsom, Chief Executive of Parentkind said:

“We welcome all help for families to ease the burden on family finances at a time when many families are really struggling.

“Parents tell us that childcare costs are a major concern, and they support action to bring costs down and help families at that crucial time between the end of maternity leave and previous financial support kicking in. It is right we do everything we can to support parents, particularly when children are young.”

Purnima Tanuku OBE, Chief Executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said:

“We support the government’s commitment to investing in our youngest children’s futures. This is something that families really need in order to give their children the best start in life and also enable parents to work.

“Supporting children early in their development means they have the foundations for learning and the necessary social skills to give them a brighter future, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. We are keen for all children to have access to early education and care – the early investment pays dividends in their later education in improving life chances.

“Early educators are also best placed to identify children with additional needs early on which can make a huge difference so any additional training resources for them will be very welcome.”