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30-hour childcare pilot in crisis

The pilot of 30-hour childcare is in jeopardy after nursery owners and childminders in a key local authority area united against taking part in the trial.

At a meeting today more than 30 nurseries and childminder representatives from across York voted against taking part in the early implementer pilot, because the funding rate of £3.95 is unsustainable.

The pilot in York is one of eight trials of the 30-hour offer due to run from September, ahead of the nationwide rollout of the scheme to working parents of three- and four-year-olds from 2017.

It is the largest pilot and seen as key, as it is the only local authority area that will include all eligible children in all types of childcare, including nurseries, childminders, pre-schools and schools.

Childcare minister Sam Gyimah has previously said that early years providers would be offered an average of £4.88 an hour to offer the extra hours, but as we reported last week, providers in York have been told they will be offered nearly a £1 an hour less than this to offer the extra 15 hours.

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