If every week has a theme these days, last week could have been dubbed ‘free childcare stats’ week.
First, a report from the National Audit Office (NAO) warned that poorer families could be pushed out by the Government’s drive to extend free childcare to 30 hours for three- and four-year-olds.
The report, ‘Entitlement to free early education and childcare’, also highlights providers’ concerns about the funding and warns that some settings may cut back on offering the more expensive two-year-old places so that they can expand provision for three- and four-year-olds.
This would jeopardise the Department for Education’s aim to improve educational outcomes for those who would benefit most from free childcare, the NAO says.
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