Portsmouth parents of children from 9-months-old will begin to access 15 hours of government-funded early education per week, following the successful rollout by the Labour government.
For parents of primary school aged children, new “wraparound” childcare places will be available before and after school, sounding the starting gun on Labour’s long-term reform to deliver an early education and childcare system from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school, boosting parents’ work choices and children’s life chances.
This comes as the government looks ahead to delivering the expansion to 30 funded hours from next September.
The scale of the inherited delivery challenge is substantial, due to the pledges made without a plan inherited from the Conservatives.
To deliver what parents have been promised requires an unprecedented rate of growth in childcare places and staff.
Nationally, around 85,000 more places are needed to deliver the rollout for September 2025 compared to 2023 – over double the increase in places seen in the past five years combined. The Labour government has inherited a pledge without a plan from the Conservatives.
This may mean some parents are not able to access their first-choice provider next year – the blame lies squarely with the Conservatives and their broken system.
However, Labour is now taking the action needed to help deliver the additional places needed and will set out further plans to deliver the government’s commitment to use primary school classrooms to create new nurseries.
Commenting, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:
“Portsmouth parents frequently tell me about the rising cost of childcare and the impact this has on their family finances and options to return to work.
“The government is rolling out an expanded childcare offer boosting parents’ work choices and children’s life chances.
“Unfortunately, the previous government announced this policy with no plan to deliver it, so we will be working round the clock to make the next phase of the rollout ready for next September.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:
“I’ve already said that early years is my number one priority. That’s why we are delivering the childcare rollout I know will be such a help to hard-pressed parents, with 15 hours of early education per week for 9-month-olds and above from next week, alongside more wraparound childcare for school children.
“This inherited plan comes with significant delivery challenges – I must warn that for some parents it will not be plain sailing – and while I am excited to see children starting nursery for the first time, or parents being able to increase their working hours, the work for government starts now.
“Over the next year, I will be working flat out with my team to ensure the next phase of the rollout is possible – doubling parents’ childcare entitlements to 30 hours a week.
Jason Elsom, Chief Executive of Parentkind said:
“We welcome all help for families to ease the burden on family finances at a time when many families are really struggling
“Parents tell us that childcare costs are a major concern, and they support action to bring costs down and help families at that crucial time between the end of maternity leave and previous financial support kicking in. It is right we do everything we can to support parents, particularly when children are young.”
Purnima Tanuku OBE, Chief Executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said:
“We support the government’s commitment to investing in our youngest children’s futures. This is something that families really need in order to give their children the best start in life and also enable parents to work.
“Supporting children early in their development means they have the foundations for learning and the necessary social skills to give them a brighter future, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. We are keen for all children to have access to early education and care – the early investment pays dividends in their later education in improving life chances.
“Early educators are also best placed to identify children with additional needs early on which can make a huge difference so any additional training resources for them will be very welcome.”
As a result of the government funding provided, schools will be able to signpost parents to newly appointed wraparound leads in every local authority, who will be able to provide support if parents are unable to access the wrapround childcare they need
