Nursery World - Applications open for funded hours for nine-month-olds, but sector warns of difficulty finding a place

As applications open for parents of nine-month-olds to apply for the 15- hour funding, concerns have been raised that early years providers won't be able to meet the increased demand.

The sector has raised concerns over there being enough places for the 15 hours of funded care for nine-month-olds, PHOTO: Adobe Stock

As of yesterday (12 May), eligible working parents of children who will be nine months old by 31 August can apply to access 15 hours of funded childcare a week, from September.

However, the sector has raised doubts about whether settings will have enough capacity to meet demand for the second phase of the extended entitlement, following estimates by the Department for Education (DfE) that an extra 15,000 places are needed.

The Early Years Alliance has flagged that unlike the first phase of the extended offer, which rolled out in April and has mainly benefitted existing parents paying privately for childcare, a lot of parents taking up the funded hours for nine-month-olds will be new to childcare settings.

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