The fact that the Government has always referred to the funded hours as ‘free’ hours has long been a bugbear for the sector. Ever since the funded schemes were introduced in 2017, providers have laboured the point that the funding does not cover the true cost of delivery.
Now we have a small but significant win. The Department for Education has confirmed it will refer to the early entitlement offers as ‘government-funded’, rather than ‘free’, in Government communications. It doesn’t alter the fact that there are still ongoing funding shortfalls, but it does suggest an idealogical shift that could pave the way for a more frank exchange around the viability of the extended childcare programme.
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