The Welsh Government has provided an update on its phased childcare expansion, setting out the phasing for a universal childcare offer for children aged nine months to four years.
Speaking in the Senedd, the Deputy First Minister outlined the programme, which will eventually provide 20 hours of funded childcare a week for 48 weeks of the year for all children aged nine months to four years.
At the start of this Senedd term, three local authorities – Merthyr Tydfil, Newport and Swansea – had rolled out 12.5 hours of funded childcare for all two-year-olds. Wrexham joined them last month, and a further 16 local authorities expect to reach full rollout by the end of this financial year, supported by £55m of additional funding proposed in the Supplementary Budget. Work continues with the remaining two local authorities to support the expansion in their areas.
The phases of the programme will focus on:
- Completing the rollout of 12.5 funded hours of childcare for all two-year-olds across Wales.
- Increasing support for two-year-olds to 20 funded hours a week for 48 weeks, moving faster where local circumstances allow. Working with childcare providers to extend the expanded offer to all three- and four-year-olds.
- Building on these offers before extending support to children aged nine months to two years.
The Welsh Government’s ambition is that, by the end of this Senedd term, families across Wales will be able to access a simpler and more consistent funded childcare offer for all children aged nine months to four years.
Work is ongoing to refine costs and delivery plans, including workforce capacity, training needs, support for children with additional learning needs, ensuring childcare providers have the facilities and resources to offer more places.
The Deputy First Minister with responsibility for childcare, Sioned Williams, said: “The lack of affordable childcare is a societal problem to solve, and in solving it, we will deliver benefits that span across gender equality, early child development, tackling poverty, supporting our economy and improving health and educational outcomes.
“Our clear direction of travel is that, by the end of this Senedd term, all children from nine months to four years across Wales should be able to benefit from a simpler, more consistent childcare offer. Wales has the opportunity to lead the way and achieve a truly universal offer, which is something no other UK nation and only a handful of places in the world have achieved.
“We are making excellent progress on making this commitment a reality to deliver a childcare system that works for children and families.”
