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'Completely free' 30 hours shunned by most providers

Only around a third of providers are offering the Government-funded 30-hours childcare completely free to parents, a major survey has found.

The online survey of 1,662 nurseries, pre-schools and childminders in England in December  asked them for their experiences of delivering the 30 hours after the first term of the scheme’s national rollout.

The survey reveals the extent to which providers are struggling to offer the 30 hours, with numerous comments from respondents about how the impact of the underfunding has led to financial suffering, with some saying they may have to close.

The Alliance says that the survey findings are evidence of a funding crisis and that the Government’s flagship childcare policy is failing.

The findings echo repeated warnings from the sector that underfunding of the 30 hours offer means that many providers are being forced to charge parents for extras to cover the funding gap, or risk going out of business.

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