The Government has announced £100m in capital funding for early years providers to expand their provision ahead of the 30 hours extension, along with regulatory changes to the EYFS to provide more 'flexibility for settings'.
Within the announcement, which has been made today by the education secretary Gilian Keegan, the Department for Education (DfE) has also confirmed applications for the childminder start-up grant of £600 for independent childminders and £1,200 for those who join childminder agencies, will open by Thursday 10 November.
The DfE says it anticipates the £100m capital funding, which will be distributed by local authorities to settings, will add thousands of new childcare places across the country.
The money is on top of £289m being made available to expand wrap-a-round care for primary school children, ‘plugging gaps in the existing provision’. Local authorities are due to receive details of their allocation of the fund today.
The sector has argued that while additional funding is welcome, the DfE has failed to acknowledge how providers will find the additional staff needed to meet increased demand for places with the 30 hours expansion.
