Families face a childcare cliff-edge, with parents forced to pay for school wraparound care when Government funding ends in two years, Labour has warned
Jeremy Hunt announced an "ambition" for all primary schools to provide childcare between 8am and 6pm in last week’s Budget speech.
The Government will provide £289 million in "start-up funding" over three years for schools to explore options for care before and after lessons, in a bid to help parents get back to work.
But there is no mention in the budget of funding after September 2026, leaving schools to fund the programmes themselves, out of already stretched budgets.
A Treasury spokesperson told Schools Week they expect the programmes to be "funded by parents".
And Labour analysis found the cost of breakfast and after school clubs has already hit £2572 per child per year, a 50% rise since 2010.
Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, said: “The Conservatives have not delivered an offer, let alone a plan, for primary school children, just short-term pilots and asking parents to pay for breakfast or afterschool clubs as they do now. It’s yet more sticking plaster politics.”
Dr Lindsey MacDonald, CEO of the charity Magic Breakfast, said it would only cost around £18 million to expand the existing school breakfast programme for 18 months.
That would pay for an extra 2,500 schools to provide food and nourishment to help them through the school day.
She said: "It's a relatively nominal amount, within a Chancellor's gift."
She said an increase in 'wraparound care' was to be welcomed - but urged the Government to think carefully about the kind of care being provided.
"It's not about providing iPads as childcare, just occupying them," she said. "You want the quality of that provision to really enable the education and development.
"There are great ways to spend £289m, and there are rather shortsighted ways to spend £289m. I really hope this policy gets the consideration and intentionality that it really needs to benefit children."
Ms Philipson added: “This budget showed that yet again Labour is winning the battle of ideas.
“Labour has set out a vision for a childcare system stretching from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school with a fully funded offer of breakfast clubs for every primary school child paid for by ending non-dom tax status for the super-rich, so every child gets the best start to their day and the best start to life.”
