Are you a working parent? Early Years Funding Phase 3 Survey Launches
Wirral’s working parents are being asked to help the council understand what level of childcare will be needed in future.
With the Government rolling out additional funded childcare hours for more working parents in three phases, Wirral Council needs to understand how families are using, or plan to use childcare, to ensure enough places are available.
Under phase three of the rollout, working parents with children from 9 months of age up to statutory school age will be eligible for 30 hours of childcare where they meet qualifying criteria*, by September 2025.
Through a new survey, the council will ask parents of children who will be 2 or under by September 2025, to share if and how they may be planning to use the additional hours.
The expansion to childcare is being introduced nationally on a staggered timeline, to ensure that Early Education and Childcare Providers have time to prepare for the changes and increase staff, and for local authorities to ensure there are enough places available to meet demand.
Cllr Stephen Bennett, Chair of Children, Families and Education, said:
With additional funded hours for working parents, more local families may wish to access childcare, sooner than they planned.
We want to better understand and anticipate this demand, so that families can access the extra free childcare if they want to.
The Council is asking families to share how they currently use childcare and, if they’re eligible for the additional hours, how they might use them.
The expansion to childcare is being rolled out in three phases:
Phase one offered 15 hours childcare to working parents of two year olds and began in April 2024*.
Phase two offered 15 hours childcare to working parents of children from nine months of age up to age three* from September 2024.
Phase three (the current phase) will offer 30 hours of childcare to children from nine months of age up to school age where families meet the qualifying criteria* from September 2025.
*Eligibility criteria will match the existing three to four year old hours offer.
Cllr Bennett said:
If you’re a parent with a child in this age group, maybe you’re on maternity or parental leave – please share your plans with us. It should only take five minutes – not the easiest when you have a little one running around - to complete the survey, but it will help us ensure that families childcare plans can be accommodated locally.
All survey responses will help to determine how the use of childcare may change as the new funded hours are rolled out. This will then form part of a review of the borough’s current childcare supply and allow plans to be put in place to meet the demand for additional places, if needed.
The survey is open for contributions until Wednesday 18th June.
To take part in the survey, click here: Early Years Funding Entitlements Phase 3 | Have your say Wirral
To check your family’s eligibility, visit: www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
Accessibility
Wirral Council is committed to making information accessible to everyone. Anyone who needs further information, a paper copy of the survey, documents in another format or telephone support to complete the survey, please contact us: fis@wirral.gov.uk.
