‘Childcare costs as much as our mortgage – an extra 15 hours won’t make a difference’

The Government has injected over £400m into the early years sector to fund the massive childcare expansion.

However, providers have warned the funding is too little too late as they face a staffing crisis that has left them unable to meet demand for new places. This has resulted in nurseries limiting places or raising fees.

Benefits of free childcare ‘wiped out’

Alison Broderick-Hill said the benefits of free hours for her two-year-old daughter had been almost “wiped out” because of fee rises at her nursery. 

She now plans to reduce her working hours after her nursery announced it was increasing costs for “non-funded” hours by £10 per day and adding a £3 daily charge for the funded hours. 

“The nursery has told us the size of the increased fees are directly because of the lack of proper funding for the “free” places from the Government,” she said. 

“We were expecting an increase due to inflation, but not of this scale. I am aware of children in my daughter’s group who will leave nursery in April because their families can no longer afford it, and it is the mother giving up work or going part time to cover this.”

One in five parents are considering leaving their jobs or cutting their hours due to unaffordable childcare costs, according to research by charity Pregnant Then Screwed.

The Government estimated that free childcare will save families £6,500 a year once the scheme is fully rolled out.

But the charity calculates the savings could be closer to £1,440 annually, once fee increases are factored in. 

Joeli Brearley, of Pregnant Then Screwed, said: “ The new childcare scheme launched yesterday will marginally reduce costs for parents of two year olds, but our research has shown that the savings are not enough to increase maternal employment and reduce parental debt.”

The average cost of 50 hours of care a week for a child aged under two is £13,695 a year, according to Coram Family & Children.