However, education and childcare minister Elizabeth Truss is proposing to raise the threshold to three hours a day.
The proposal is just one of a series of recommendations set out today in More Affordable Childcare.
Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-School Learning Alliance, said, ‘As most sessional childcare provision is only for three hours a day, this could open the door for registered settings to choose to become unregistered,’ he said. ‘We would advise that the Government proceeds with great caution.’
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said, ‘We would issue a note of caution around the increase in hours a child can be looked after informally. The benefit to a child’s development of a good quality early years environment, working with the EYFS cannot be underestimated, especially for children in more deprived areas, informal care arrangements cannot provide the same development opportunities.
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