A survey of 3,396 parents by Pregnant Then Screwed finds that for a quarter, the new two-year-old funding will save them less than £90 a month. One in five parents said they will save less than £50 a month.
The findings suggest that on average, parents will save between £100-£120 or up to £1,440 a year. ‘A far cry from the Government’s estimated savings of £6,500 a year once the offer is fully rolled out’, says the campaign group.
It backs earlier research by Pregnant Then Screwed that suggested the expanded offer with save a third of parents less than £100 a month.
More than 20 per cent of respondents to the latest survey eligible for the first phase of the extended entitlement coming into effect from next month, said they are still considering leaving their job or reducing their working hours due to childcare costs.
For 62 per cent, their costs have increased in the last six months. A total of 64 per cent said their costs are due to rise again in the next six months.
According to the survey:
- Of those that have seen their bill increase in the last six months, for almost a third it has risen by at least 8 per cent.
- Of those that expect their bill to rise again the next six months, over a third say costs will increase by at least 6 per cent.
- Of those who said their childcare costs will be increasing, 68 per cent said they will be paying at least £5 more per day.
Finding a funded place
The survey finds that of the 98 per cent of parents who said they had received their code to take up their funded place, for 5 per cent their provider either refused to accept it, said it didn’t work or they didn’t know what to do with it. Just 2 per cent said they cannot access a place because they can’t find a provider, they don’t want to move their children from their current setting, or they can’t afford the charges on top to access a ‘free’ place.
'Nurseries cannot magic up money to plug financial gaps'.
Joeli Brealey, CEO and Founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said, ‘Once again, parents are picking up the Government’s tab due to underfunding. The fault does not lie with the childcare providers themselves but at the door of number 10. Nurseries cannot magic up money to plug financial gaps left by years of chronic underfunding, and so they have to increase their fees. Parents feel like they have been sold a pup. No wonder so many are saying they feel stressed because of issues with the scheme.’
The Early Years Alliance argued that the findings support the fact that the policy is being implemented at the ‘worst possible time for the sector’, which has been ‘grappling with the efforts of sustained underfunding and the worst staffing crisis in years’.
Chief executive Neil Leitch continued, ‘We at the Alliance remain entirely unconvinced that the funding and support announced since then will even come close to addressing these problems, never mind enabling the sector to deliver enough early years places to meet the likely surge in demand.
‘With the next phase of the expansion expected to create even greater challenges, the need for action has never been more urgent.’