The myth of affordability

But when I'm sat sweating over pre-school cashflow, desperately trying to make income match expenditure, these words have a hollow ring to them. Politicians might try to woo parent voters by offering them ever more 'free' childcare hours, but in reality these
hours are not free to provide. Instead, the entitlement is subsidised by settings, by staff, by parents, by fundraising, by volunteers.

I find it astonishing when announcements of more free hours are made, without anyone consulting the early years sector. Because the key question no politician asks is this: 'Can settings actually afford to increase the funded hours they offer?'

Running costs are increasing, and yet it is countless years since the hourly funding rate went up. We are paid a frankly pitiful £3.51 per child, per hour. Even if we were willing to use a ratio of one adult to 13 children, the hourly rate would still not be enough to cover our costs over the course of the year. A vital point that politicians miss (or conveniently ignore) is that children do not arrive at an early years setting in one neat bundle, like they do in a school Reception class. In September, the oldest children from the previous year have gone to school, and our child numbers drop to their lowest point. Funding must cover salaries during this lean period, as well as in the summer when numbers are higher.