Nursery World - Universal childcare up to 11 would save parents thousands and add billions to economy

A universal childcare guarantee for children up until the end of primary school, would create an extra £13 billion for the economy and boost parents’ wages, according to a new report by the IPPR and Save the Children.

The joint IPPR and Save the Children report makes a case for universal childcare, which it claims would save a family with young children between £620 and £6,175 a year in childcare costs PHOTO Adobe Stock

Investing in more childcare provision in England would also create an estimated 130,000 extra jobs in the early years sector, according to the research.

Recommendations include:

making 30-hour childcare universal for three- and four-year-olds and on a higher hourly rate

universal two-year-old childcare for 15 hours on a higher hourly rate

extend a universal 15-hour offer for twos to 30 hours

expand three- and four-year-old offer from 38 weeks to 48 weeks a year

extend wraparound childcare provision in schools from 8am to 6pm

The report states that it would mean that 700,000 households with 1.6 million children could see their incomes rise, with the largest gains for the lowest income households.

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