In the 2023 Spring Budget, the government announced that it will provide up to £289 million of start-up funding over two academic years to support local authorities and providers in England to introduce or expand childcare provision on either side of the school day, which parents of primary school aged children will be able to pay to access.
National Wraparound Childcare Programme will only focus on primary school aged children from reception to year 6, Monday to Friday during term time. The expectation is that Wraparound Childcare will be available between 8am to 6pm, so that parents are able to work a full day with travel time, unless local data shows that there is a demand for different hours, for example reflecting local labour market patterns.
Wraparound Childcare, for example: breakfast club or after school club, can be provided by a school, a private, voluntary or independent provider or a registered childminder, but does not include school run activities, such as a sports club, or arts club.
To help us expand the Wraparound Childcare programme to meet current and future demand, we'd like to hear from parents/carers of primary school age children.
By understanding where, when and how often childcare is needed before and after the school day, we can design our programme to better support parents/carers and children. If you don't use the current services, we'd like to know what barriers, if any, are stopping you from using childcare provision.