Free childcare Wales: Calls for more free provision
BBCFree childcare provision should be more available and less complicated, a Senedd report has said.
Working parents of children aged three and four currently get up to 30 hours a week under the Childcare Offer.
Under Labour and Plaid Cymru's co-operation deal, two-year-olds in some areas will now get an additional 12.5 hours from September.
But one Cardiff mother told BBC Wales she could not afford to go back to work full-time due to nursery costs.
Alice, from Cardiff, who works in hospitality, said the childcare costs for her 16-month-old son Teddy were preventing her from returning to full-time work.
"I couldn't afford for me to go back full-time, because I couldn't afford full-time nursery, so it's a huge deal for us, when we've got rent and energy bills going out too - and they're rising," she said.
"I did have to look at my finances and decide whether it would be worth me going back to work because after childcare and transport, I essentially don't come away with any money."
The Women's Equality Network Wales, which is calling for childcare support to start at just six months old, says the current provision is "hampered" by a lack of provision for under three-year-olds, limited availability and inconsistency across Wales.
Under planned changes, the 12.5 hours free childcare that is currently offered in Flying Start areas will start to be extended to two-year-olds in other areas from September onwards.
The first phase will see an increase in funded places in some of Wales' most disadvantaged areas, before it is rolled out across the country.
What's the current provision?
- Since 2008 local authorities provide a minimum of 10 hours free Foundation Phase nursey education per week after their third birthday until they start school full-time
- Many working parents are eligible for a further 20 hours per week free care for three and four-year-olds for 48 weeks per year under the Childcare Offer
- The Flying Start programme provides free childcare for children in disadvantaged areas from the term after their second birthday until the term after their third birthday for 12.5 hours a week
A report by the Senedd's Equality and Social Justice Committee calls for additional support in areas where the Flying Start scheme operates to be increased further.
The report, due to be debated in the Senedd on Wednesday, outlines "disparate features" in the current provision and says the system is "complex".
It adds that while parents are aware of the Childcare Offer "many do not fully understand it."
What does the report say?
The wide-ranging report also looked at barriers which prevent parents, especially women, from returning to the workplace, in turn reducing their earning potential.
A total of 18 recommendations were made, including:
- Research and build an evidence base of ethnic minority representation in the childcare workforce and set out targets to increase the number of ethnic minority staff in the sector
- Improve cultural awareness training for all childcare providers
- Improve pay and working conditions for childcare workers
- More detail about plans for universal wrap-around care around school hours, including after school clubs
- Ensure free childcare is available for children with complex and additional needs from the age of two
- Make it easier for parents with irregular working patterns and zero-hours contracts to access childcare provision
- Review and reduce the eligibility of each parent earning up to £100,000 per year
The Welsh Government has accepted most of the recommendations.
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