Sector voices capacity doubts as second phase of early entitlement expansion opens
by Jess Gibson
The second phase of the government鈥檚 early entitlement expansion opened on Sunday 12 May, sparking fresh concerns about the early years sector鈥檚 capacity to accommodate demand.
Eligible working parents of children aged between 9 and 23 months old by 31 August can now apply for a code to access 15 hours of government-funded early education and childcare per week from September 2024.
The government has urged parents to check their eligibility at childcarechoices.gov.uk and secure places with providers.
However, with the Department for Education predicting that a further 15,000 places will be required by September to meet demand, there are concerns remaining in the early years sector around whether it will have the capacity needed.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: 鈥淟ast month, we successfully delivered on our promise to expand free childcare to two-year-olds, with over 210,000 families now feeling the benefits.
鈥淟ast year, just two thirds of local authorities felt confident they could deliver the rollout for April, but with our support,鈥100% have done so.鈥
鈥淭hat was only the beginning, and we will continue to support the sector so that every eligible parent can access the high-quality childcare they deserve.鈥
Commenting Neil Leitch, CEO of the 无码天堂, said: 鈥淎s applications for the second phase of the early entitlement expansion open, we remain entirely unconvinced that the government will be able to keep the huge promise it has made to parents.鈥
鈥淲hile the first phase largely involved families who were already accessing early years places switching from private to government-funded places, the next phase is set to place further 鈥 and far more severe 鈥 capacity challenges on the sector, with the government itself predicting that 15,000 places will be needed by this September alone, and a further 70,000 by the end of the rollout.鈥
鈥淲ith the recent National Audit Office report raising serious concerns about future phases of the expansion, and the Department for Education itself describing delivering enough places to meet demand as 鈥榩roblematic鈥, it鈥檚 clear that significant challenges lay ahead for government.鈥
鈥淵et, should this really come as a surprise? Long before the expansion rollout began, the early years sector was suffering from the effects of years of severe underfunding and an acute staffing crisis, both of which 鈥 so far 鈥 have failed to be adequately addressed.鈥
鈥淪o, rather than pretending that today鈥檚 application launch is a cause for celebration, ministers should acknowledge the scale of the challenge ahead of them and take the action needed to safeguard the future of the sector 鈥 that is, adequate funding and a comprehensive workforce strategy. Only then can this policy have any hope of succeeding in the long term.鈥濃