This article was written by Jodie, a mum and A&E doctor who started the petition linked below.​

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Calling all fellow parents and carers that care about the experience their little ones have while being looked after!

I am a Mum and A&E doctor with three little ones who I want to have the best pre-school experience - and I urge you to sign this petition which asks the government to re-think their current funding of ‘free childcare’ hours: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/723948 

The problems with the ‘free childcare’ offer

The government’s current approach to childcare funding is making it very difficult for early years settings – whether pre-schools, nurseries or childminders – to run sustainably.

It is a complex problem, but the following steps help explain what has happened:

1. The government promised to roll out ‘free childcare’ to all eligible parents and carers.

2. However, for many years, the funding that the government gives to nurseries, pre-schools and childminders to pay for these ‘free’ places hasn’t matched the cost of delivering them. This funding shortfall is significant – and it is getting worse. Despite this, the government doesn’t allow the settings to charge ‘top up’ fees (i.e. the difference between their funding rate and normal hourly charge for a place), though they can charge for ‘consumables’ i.e. goods not covered by government funding such as meals, snacks and nappies.

3. As a result of this, over the years, many settings have been forced to use ‘consumables’ charges ­– and charges for additional services that government doesn’t fund but parents and carers may want their children to have access to, such as forest school – to plug the gap left by underfunding from the government, and allow them to run safe, sustainable settings.

4. Follow legal challenges from parents, the guidance on charging for funded entitlement places has been tightened to clarify that any additional charges for parents must be voluntary – but understandably, with government funding still insufficient, many settings cannot survive on voluntary payments.

5. Early years settings are left with three options:

   1. Go fully private: opting out of the ‘free childcare’ scheme entirely, meaning that parents/carers cannot access and use their funded hours

   2. Significantly reduce what they offer, which can me reduction in staff ratios, staff training, shorter hours and fewer activities offered, leading to potential safeguarding issues –  ultimately, not the care we want for our children.

   3. Go bust – which means no care for our children at all.

We all know how expensive childcare can be and that often settings have huge waiting lists. As parents and carers, we need to do whatever we can to support our settings and call on the government to support them too. There has already been a significant number of settings that have closed because of the above challenges.

Please, please sign and share this petition and talk to your setting about what is happening.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/723948