Sector leaders have warned of an “entire collapse” of the early years market if reported plans to expand free childcare for under-twos go ahead without adequate funding for the sector.
Proposals put forward by the Department for Education to the Treasury to “improve the cost, flexibility, and availability of childcare” for working parents include an extension of the free 30-hours-a-week entitlement to include children aged nine months to three years, according to a report in The Guardian.
But offering parents more funded hours under current levels of government investment will not only lead to “lower quality” early education and “more closures” of childcare settings but will ultimately lead to a complete “collapse” of sector, leaders have warned.
