Ahead of the Government’s roll-out of major expansion to free early education entitlements from April 2024, local authorities across England* have indicated concerns about having sufficient childcare places to meet demand, in new research published by Coram Family and Childcare today.
Whilst 60% of local authorities are ‘confident’ or ‘very confident’ that there will be enough places to meet demand for the April 2024 expansion (15 free hours for two-year-olds), just 27% of local authorities say the same about the expansion from September 2024 (15 free hours from nine months), and this falls to just 12% for the September 2025 expansion (30 hours from nine months).**
Today’s report reveals the factors that local authorities see as barriers to successful delivery of the 30 hours free entitlements in 2025, with the vast majority (88%) identifying the local childcare workforce as a ‘barrier’, reflecting the significant ongoing challenges to recruit and retain staff.
Adequate provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) was also highlighted as a major concern, with 64% of local authorities identifying ‘sufficiency of childcare places for children with SEND’ and 55% seeing ‘funding to support children with SEND’ as barriers to successful delivery.
