Free childcare in Wales: 3,000 two-year-olds to get places

An extra 3,000 free childcare places will be created for two-year-olds from April, the Welsh government has said.

The money for these extra places in the Flying Start programme will be funded as part of £100m pledged by the Welsh government to improve availability.

It is not yet known which areas will benefit, and eligible families will be contacted in the new year.

The Welsh Conservatives said more affluent families would benefit "while the most deprived lose out".

Of the remaining cash, £70m will pay to upgrade childcare settings and £3.8m will be spent on boosting Welsh language provision.

The investment is part of a phased plan to expand early years provision to all two-year-olds in Wales, with a particular emphasis on strengthening Welsh-medium provision, which is a commitment in the co-operation agreement between the Welsh government and Plaid Cymru.

In April, the Welsh government announced up to 2,500 more children would be eligible with the expansion of Flying Start places, which started earlier this month.

Phase two, which begins in April, will see a further 3,000 two-year-old children eligible, with £11.6m allocated for 2023-24 and £14.3m for 2024-25.

The 3,000 places will mean each child will have 12.5 hours every week during term-time. The offer will not be means-tested and could be either inside or outside an existing Flying Start area.

Ceri Bailey from Abergele, Conwy county, whose three children have all gone through Welsh medium nursery education via Flying Start, said it would not have been possible without funding support.

"Places like this are vital," she said. "It really does give them a flying start."

Nerys Sandland, co-leader at Abergele's Cylch Meithrin nursery, said children received an "excellent first education in Welsh medium".

Speaking about the Welsh government move to increase access to the Flying Start programme, she added: "They should have done this a long time ago.

"We know children who can't come here because their parents can't afford to bring them and they don't live in the postcode area for Flying Start.

"The sooner we have more postcodes, the more children can benefit from free education."

The Welsh government said local authorities were considering which areas would be included in the next phase, with eligible families to be contacted in the new year.

"It is clear that high-quality provision in the early years supports child development and plays an important role in ensuring that every child has the best start in life and enjoys learning, expands their knowledge and fulfils their potential," said Deputy Minister for Social Services Julie Morgan.

Welsh Conservative services spokesman Gareth Davies welcomed more funding for childcare, but claimed another £100m could be made available if Labour and Plaid did not have a separate pledge to increase the size of the Senedd.

Mr Davies added: "Furthermore, it seems that extending the offer by supporting Flying Start providers to expand their reach rather than by, say, a voucher system for those families on universal credit, Labour and Plaid have got the implementation back-to-front.

"I hope that the minister reflects on this and makes the necessary changes to end the postcode lottery where affluent families benefit from the scheme while the most deprived lose out."

Plaid Cymru Member of the Senedd (MS) Sian Gwenllian said children "learn and benefit so much from high quality childcare provision".

"We look forward to continuing to work together with the Welsh government to deliver this important commitment for all our communities," she said.

The money for improvements to facilities and maintenance is available for registered childcare settings via local authorities in Wales.