More than half of nurseries across the country are unsure of their ability to offer additional places to two-year-olds in line with the government's planned expansion of funded childcare hours, new research has shown.
The National Day Nurseries Association's (NDNA) 2024 State of the Sector survey, conducted in January, that 54 per cent of 448 nurseries in England are “unlikely to offer any additional places to two-year-olds or were still not sure if they could”. It also found that 56 per cent “could not meet local demand for places”.
The concerns come as the government is set to roll out its expanded childcare offer from April, which will allow all eligible two-year-olds of working parents to access 15 hours of funded care per week, increasing to 30 hours per week for children aged nine months and above from September 2025.
The survey found that the offer is not aligned with rising costs, as 83 per cent of nurseries said their costs are higher than the funding for three and four-year-old places, with an average shortfall of £2.36 per hour per child.
