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1357303

registered interest
date	21/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the findings of the survey of 20,000 parents by Mumsnet with 13 other groups, published in September 2021, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of the cost of childcare on (a) household bills and (b) the career choices of parents.
tabling member constituency	Hornsey and Wood Green
tabling member printed	Catherine West
uin	52566
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/09/2021 answer text <p>The department welcomes the contribution that Mumsnet and their partner organisations have made around this topic. However, it is important to note that this survey is unweighted, and the sample size represents a small proportion of all parents with a child or children in the early years.</p><p>Ipsos MORI conducted wave 9 of our parent poll, ‘Childcare use, perceived impact on child development, information on working from home, and awareness and use of free entitlements for families of 0-4 year-olds during COVID-19’ in July 2021, with a smaller but representative sample of 1,000 parents of children aged 0-4 in England. This is available at: <a href="https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/childcare-use-perceived-impact-child-development-information-working-home-and-awareness-and-use" target="_blank">https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/childcare-use-perceived-impact-child-development-information-working-home-and-awareness-and-use</a>.</p><p>The data has been weighted to match the population profile of parents of children aged 0-4 in England by region, social grade, and the age of the selected child.</p><p>The Parent Poll asked different questions to the Mumsnet survey but key points from the findings include:</p><ul><li>The affordability of weekly childcare costs is unchanged for just over half of parents compared to before the COVID-19 outbreak, and for 3 in 10 parents their weekly childcare costs are now easier to meet.</li><li>The majority of parents (91%) who used formal childcare before the COVID-19 outbreak, and are currently using it, say that their child is spending about the same number of hours or more in formal childcare as they did before.</li><li>More than half (56%) of parents report that their child is currently using formal childcare, this increases to 94% when looking at just those children who were receiving formal childcare before the COVID-19 outbreak.</li><li>Only 6% of parents whose child was not receiving formal childcare said they would like to use formal childcare but have not been able to find a suitable provider. This is only approximately 2% of all parents.</li><li>Nearly two thirds of parents of 0-4 year olds currently using childcare (64%) agree that the hours their child(ren) can access formal or informal childcare/school fits with the working hours of the adults in the household.</li></ul> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 29/09/2021 08:55:03 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
tabling member	4523 label Biography information for Catherine West

1352304

registered interest
date	03/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential developmental benefits of expanding 30 hours free childcare for three- and four-year-olds to all low-income families.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	42044
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2021 answer text <p>All 3 and 4- year-olds are entitled to 15 hours free childcare each week, providing children with high-quality early education. Eligible working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds are eligible for an additional 15 hours (30 hours) to help them with the additional costs associated with childcare.</p><p>The Effective pre-school, primary and secondary education project suggested there was no evidence that full-time provision (of 10 sessions per week) resulted in better outcomes for children than part-time provision (for example, 5 sessions per week). Findings suggest that an extended period of pre-school experience on a part-time basis is likely to be more advantageous than a shorter period of full-time provision. Further information can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/eppse-3-to-14-years" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/eppse-3-to-14-years</a>.</p><p>The 2017 Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) report showed mixed outcomes at age 3 from childcare used at ages 2 to 3. Some measures showed some improvement with additional hours of childcare (such as cognitive outcomes, socio-emotional outcomes and peer problems) but some measures showed detrimental outcomes (such as emotional self-regulation). Further information can be accessed here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627098/SEED_ECEC_impact_at_age_3.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627098/SEED_ECEC_impact_at_age_3.pdf</a>.</p><p>The 2018 SEED Report concerned the impact of early education at ages 2 to 4 on child outcomes at age 4, and the importance of the early years home environment. The report suggested that outcomes were more strongly associated with demographics and the home environment than time spent in childcare. It did not find that the amount of childcare per week had any greater effect on the most disadvantaged children, although on one outcome, it had a greater effect on moderately disadvantaged children. The report can be found here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/738725/SEED_Impact_Age_4_Report_September_2018.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/738725/SEED_Impact_Age_4_Report_September_2018.pdf</a>.</p><p>When 5-year-olds were assessed in 2019, nearly three-quarters of the country’s youngest children had achieved a good level of development. This is a substantial improvement, when around half of children achieved that same level of development in 2013, when comparable data is first available.</p><p>As part of the COVID-19 education recovery strategy we have invested £17 million on the delivery of the Nuffield Early Language Intervention - improving the language skills of reception age children who need it most during the outbreak. Two-thirds of eligible mainstream primary schools have signed up for this programme, the majority of these have free school meal rates above the national average. We estimate 90,000 reception age children will get extra support with their speech and language development.</p><p>In June 2021 we also announced an additional £1.4 billion to support education recovery for children aged 2 to 19 in schools, colleges and early years settings, including £153 million which will provide the opportunity for evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners. This includes new programmes focusing on key areas such as speech and language development.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 42045 question first answered 10/09/2021 16:14:20 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1352305

registered interest
date	03/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to tackle the educational gap between children of three and four years from low income families in receipt of 15 hours free childcare and those in receipt of 30 hours free childcare.
tabling member constituency	Dulwich and West Norwood
tabling member printed	Helen Hayes
uin	42045
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2021 answer text <p>All 3 and 4- year-olds are entitled to 15 hours free childcare each week, providing children with high-quality early education. Eligible working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds are eligible for an additional 15 hours (30 hours) to help them with the additional costs associated with childcare.</p><p>The Effective pre-school, primary and secondary education project suggested there was no evidence that full-time provision (of 10 sessions per week) resulted in better outcomes for children than part-time provision (for example, 5 sessions per week). Findings suggest that an extended period of pre-school experience on a part-time basis is likely to be more advantageous than a shorter period of full-time provision. Further information can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/eppse-3-to-14-years" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/eppse-3-to-14-years</a>.</p><p>The 2017 Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) report showed mixed outcomes at age 3 from childcare used at ages 2 to 3. Some measures showed some improvement with additional hours of childcare (such as cognitive outcomes, socio-emotional outcomes and peer problems) but some measures showed detrimental outcomes (such as emotional self-regulation). Further information can be accessed here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627098/SEED_ECEC_impact_at_age_3.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/627098/SEED_ECEC_impact_at_age_3.pdf</a>.</p><p>The 2018 SEED Report concerned the impact of early education at ages 2 to 4 on child outcomes at age 4, and the importance of the early years home environment. The report suggested that outcomes were more strongly associated with demographics and the home environment than time spent in childcare. It did not find that the amount of childcare per week had any greater effect on the most disadvantaged children, although on one outcome, it had a greater effect on moderately disadvantaged children. The report can be found here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/738725/SEED_Impact_Age_4_Report_September_2018.pdf" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/738725/SEED_Impact_Age_4_Report_September_2018.pdf</a>.</p><p>When 5-year-olds were assessed in 2019, nearly three-quarters of the country’s youngest children had achieved a good level of development. This is a substantial improvement, when around half of children achieved that same level of development in 2013, when comparable data is first available.</p><p>As part of the COVID-19 education recovery strategy we have invested £17 million on the delivery of the Nuffield Early Language Intervention - improving the language skills of reception age children who need it most during the outbreak. Two-thirds of eligible mainstream primary schools have signed up for this programme, the majority of these have free school meal rates above the national average. We estimate 90,000 reception age children will get extra support with their speech and language development.</p><p>In June 2021 we also announced an additional £1.4 billion to support education recovery for children aged 2 to 19 in schools, colleges and early years settings, including £153 million which will provide the opportunity for evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners. This includes new programmes focusing on key areas such as speech and language development.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford grouped question UIN 42044 question first answered 10/09/2021 16:14:20 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4510 label Biography information for Helen Hayes

1349454

registered interest
date	22/07/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps parents can take to claim free childcare for the remainder of a term in the event that they have moved area well into a term and have missed the deadline for application as a result of the timing of their relocation.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	38309
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2021 answer text <p>We provide funding to English local authorities for education, and this includes the statutory entitlement to free early years provision through the Dedicated Schools Grant for two, three and four-year-olds. As education is a devolved power, different funding schemes operate in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.</p><p>Local authorities in England have a statutory duty to secure 570 hours of free early education a year over no fewer than 38 weeks of the year for two-year-olds who meet the eligibility criteria for the disadvantaged two-year-old offer, as well as for all three and four-year-olds. They also have a duty to secure an additional 570 hours of free childcare for three and four-year-olds of working parents who meet the eligibility criteria for the 30 hours entitlement.</p><p>In statutory guidance provided to local authorities, we advise that, as far as reasonably practicable, they should ensure that eligible children who move into their region from another local authority are able to take up a free entitlements place, regardless of when this is during the term.</p><p>To take up an extended entitlement place (also known as ‘30 hours’), eligible parents need to apply by 31 March for a place at the start of the summer term, 31 August for autumn term and 31 December for a place to start in the spring term.</p><p>We strongly encourage all eligible parents to continue applying for, and reconfirming, their 30 hours codes ahead of the deadline for the term they are eligible, even if they do not immediately plan to take up a place.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 06/09/2021 09:56:51 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1349033

registered interest
date	21/07/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the accessibility of the Government’s free childcare offer to (a) student nurses and (b) other students who rely on loans and grants rather than job-related income.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	37544
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2021 answer text <p>All three and four-year-olds are eligible for 15 hours free early education per week, which includes children of parents undertaking full or part time study. This entitlement provides young children with high quality early education and helps to prepare them for school.</p><p>30 hours free childcare is an entitlement for working parents of three and four-year-olds. Its aim is to help working parents with the costs of childcare so that they can take up paid work or can work additional hours if they want to.</p><p>The Childcare Bill policy statement, published in December 2015, sets out that students are not eligible for the government’s 30 hours free childcare entitlement, unless they are in work. Students who undertake paid work in addition to their studies and meet the income requirements will be eligible. To qualify, students do not have to physically work 16 hours a week, but they do need to earn the equivalent of a weekly minimum of 16 hours at national minimum wage or national living wage (currently just over £7,400 a year for parents aged over 23).</p><p>Students on a low income, or whose children have special educational needs, may also be eligible for the government’s 15 hours free childcare per week entitlement for disadvantaged two-year-olds. The full criteria for this entitlement can be found on here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-2-year-olds" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/free-childcare-2-year-olds</a>.</p><p>Outside of the free early education entitlements, students who are parents may be eligible for support from the Student Loans Company, including the Childcare Grant and the Parents’ Learning Allowance (PLA). More information on support available for students can be found at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/browse/education/student-finance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/browse/education/student-finance</a>.</p><p>The PLA is available for full time undergraduate students with one or more dependent children to help with their learning costs. For the academic year 2021/22 students could receive up to £1,821 a year depending on household income.</p><p>With regard to student nurses, the government keeps the funding arrangements for all NHS health professionals’ education under close review, to ensure that students are appropriately supported.</p><p>The government has introduced new maintenance funding for many healthcare courses. The Department of Health and Social Care offers £2,000 for parental support per academic year. This is available for eligible students attending a full time pre-registration healthcare course, including for student nurses, at English universities. More information can be found at <a href="https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-learning-support-fund/parental-support-formerly-child-dependants-allowance" target="_blank">https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-learning-support-fund/parental-support-formerly-child-dependants-allowance</a>.</p><p>Some students may also qualify for Universal Credit and may be eligible for the reimbursement of some of their childcare costs through Universal Credit. To qualify for the childcare costs element of Universal Credit, students need to be in paid work or about to start paid work, and the childcare costs must relate to childcare arrangements (with a registered provider) that enable them to take up or continue in this paid work.</p><p>Help with upfront childcare costs for parents starting work, or in full-time training, is also available to eligible Universal Credit claimants through Budgeting Advances and through a Flexible Support Fund award for the first payment of childcare costs. Further details on claiming Universal Credit as a student which includes a list of students who may qualify for Universal Credit can be found on GOV.UK at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-students" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-students</a>.</p><p>We encourage all parents to view the full range of childcare support available, which can be found at: <a href="https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk" target="_blank">https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 06/09/2021 13:49:57 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

1348781

registered interest
date	20/07/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to support nurseries and other childcare providers to cope with the (a) practical and (b) financial effects of high levels of staff self-isolation during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	36711
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/07/2021 answer text <p>We have provided unprecedented support to early years providers during the COVID-19 outbreak and settings have also had access to a range of business support packages, including the extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. As long as the staff in the nursery schools affected meet the criteria for the scheme, then early years providers are still able to furlough their staff while that scheme remains in operation, for example, if settings have to close temporarily to manage local effects of COVID-19, such as infections. Findings from the Childcare and Early Years Provider and Coronavirus survey have shown that in November/December 2020, 74% of group-based providers have made use of the Furlough Scheme at any point. Findings of this survey can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/survey-of-childcare-and-early-years-providers-and-coronavirus-covid-19-wave-3" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/survey-of-childcare-and-early-years-providers-and-coronavirus-covid-19-wave-3</a>.</p><p>Eligible nurseries may also have qualified for a Business Rates discount to help reduce the costs of their business rates bills during the COVID-19 outbreak. Eligible Nurseries could get 100% off in the first 3 months of the 2021-22 tax year with 66% off for the rest of the 2021-22 tax year which may help providers who have had a reduced income as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.</p><p>Additionally, eligible nurseries have been able to access recovery loans to help with access to loans and other types of finance, so that they can recover after the outbreak and transition period.</p><p>We liaise regularly with local authorities, and they have not reported to us a significant number of parents unable to secure a childcare place, either during this term or at any time since early years settings re-opened fully on 1 June 2020. Where parents have been unable to temporarily secure a childcare place, for example due to their usual setting being temporarily closed due to COVID-19, this has been able to be quickly resolved locally and local authorities are not reporting significant sufficiency of supply issues.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 27/07/2021 14:21:50 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

1308058

registered interest
date	12/04/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of providing 15 hours free childcare for three and four year olds to people who are out of work on the ability of unemployed people with children to find work; and what comparative assessment he has made of the effect of (a) that policy and (b) the provision of 30 hours free childcare for people who are in work on levels of educational attainment of the children of households with (i) higher and (ii) lower rates of unemployment.
tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Edgbaston
tabling member printed	Preet Kaur Gill
uin	179347
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/04/2021 answer text <p>The department offers universal 15 hours free childcare to all three- and four-year-olds in England for 38 weeks per year, regardless of parental income or employment status. The purpose of this entitlement is to provide free, high-quality early education, helping children to develop social skills and preparing them for school, with 93% of three- and four-year-olds benefitting in January 2020. 15 hours free childcare is also available for disadvantaged two-year-olds, including those from low-income households or those with special education needs or disabilities. In January 2020, approximately 143,000 children benefitted from this entitlement.</p><p>As the 15 hours policy was introduced with the primary aim of improving children’s outcomes, no evaluation has been undertaken of the impact of this policy on the ability of unemployed people with children to find work.</p><p>The 30 hours free childcare policy was introduced in September 2017 and is an entitlement for working parents of three- and four-year-olds, benefitting around 345,700 children in January 2020. It aims to help working parents with the costs of childcare so they can take up paid work if they want to or can work additional hours. To be eligible, parents must earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at national minimum wage and less than £100,000 per year.</p><p>The evaluation of the national rollout of 30 hours free childcare, published in 2018, found that 27% of those using 30 hours at the time reported they were working more hours as a result of the policy. Further detail is available in the report here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/30-hours-free-childcare-final-evaluation-of-the-national-rollout" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/30-hours-free-childcare-final-evaluation-of-the-national-rollout</a>.</p><p>The government is tracking the impact of early education on children’s outcomes via the Study of Early Education and Development (SEED). There is mixed evidence from SEED on how the number of childcare hours used by children at ages three to four impacts their educational attainment. There is no clear evidence of an optimal number of hours for child development as the type of setting used, the quality of the setting, the starting age in childcare and the child’s home learning environment are also important factors influencing the child’s educational development.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 20/04/2021 10:01:36 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4603 label Biography information for Preet Kaur Gill

1302232

registered interest
date	12/03/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of the 30 hours free childcare policy on the number of nurseries in England.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	167965
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2021 answer text <p>The 30 hours free childcare policy was introduced in September 2017 and is an entitlement for working parents of 3 year olds and 4 year olds. It aims to help working parents with the costs of childcare so they can take up paid work if they want to or can work additional hours.</p><p>Approximately 345,000 children were in a 30 hours place in January 2020. The Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers 2019 showed that the majority of providers with children aged 3 to 4 registered at their setting at the time of the survey were offering 30 hours (90% of group-based providers, 70% of school-based providers and 80% of childminders).</p><p>The number of providers offering childcare on non-domestic premises, which includes nurseries, on the Early Years Register (EYR) has seen a small reduction of 5% from 31 August 2015 to 31 August 2020.</p><p>On 31 August 2020, there were 1.3 million childcare places offered by providers on the EYR, including nurseries and those on domestic premises such as childminders. There is no noticeable change in this trend around 2017, when the 30 hours policy was introduced.</p><p>Ofsted data indicates that, despite around 14,500 providers having closed between March 2015 and March 2020, there are approximately 15,400 more childcare places, with the majority of closed providers being childminders.</p><p>The evaluation of the first year of the national roll-out of 30 hours of free childcare found that provision expanded among providers delivering the extended hours through increased occupancy and higher use of staff. There was no evidence of any immediate adverse effect on other funded or paid provision. It also found that a high proportion (76%) of providers delivering the funded entitlement were willing and able to offer the extended hours.</p><p>Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure sufficient childcare places in their area for all children, including children benefitting from any of the department’s free early education entitlements.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 17/03/2021 10:26:07 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1301320

registered interest
date	10/03/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken by (a) his Department and (b) local education authorities to help ensure that (i) will be (A) sufficient, (B) affordable and (C) local full-time holiday childcare provision for people working in frontline and key services and (ii) working people on lower incomes are prioritised above those not working and able to provide childcare from home during the Easter 2021 and summer 2021 school holidays.
tabling member constituency	Bexhill and Battle
tabling member printed	Huw Merriman
uin	166482
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2021 answer text <p>Ensuring working parents and carers have access to the childcare they need remains a priority for the government. That is why we ensured that all before and after-school clubs, holiday clubs, and other out-of-school settings were able to continue to stay open for children eligible to attend school on-site, for the duration of the national lockdown, i.e. for critical worker children, where the provision was reasonably necessary to support them to work, undertake education or access medical care, and for vulnerable children and young people. For this reason, we have also extended the eligibility for attendance as of 8 March, in line with the wider reopening of schools on 8 March, with all parents now able to access this provision for their children for certain essential purposes, including those outlined above, with vulnerable children and young people able to continue accessing provision under any circumstance.</p><p>As set out in the ‘COVID-19 Response – Spring 2021’ guidance, from 29 March, in line with the Easter school holidays, out-of-school settings and wraparound childcare providers will also be able to offer outdoor provision to all children, without any restrictions on the purposes for which they may attend. The guidance can be accessed here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-spring-2021" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-spring-2021</a>. Indoor provision will also be available regardless of circumstance to vulnerable children and young people, as well as children eligible for free school meals, where they are attending as part of the Department for Education’s Holiday Activities and Food programme. Other children will continue to be able to access indoor provision, where the provision is necessary for certain essential purposes, as already mentioned. We have updated our protective measures guidance for the sector, which outlines eligibility and aims to support providers to allow them to open for as many children as safely as possible. This guidance can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak</a>.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to this, we have also ensured that there are several other ways that parents and carers can continue to access the childcare they need. This includes:</p><ul><li>Childminders, which remain open for children in early years, children of critical workers and vulnerable children and young people.</li><li>Nannies, which are still able to continue to provide services, including in the home.</li><li>Parents are also able to form a childcare bubble with one other household for the purposes of informal childcare, where the child is under the age of 14.</li><li>​Some households will also be able to benefit from being in a support bubble, which allows single adult households to join another household.</li></ul><p> </p><p>We have also encouraged all local authorities to consider using local grants made available to them by government to help bolster this part of the childcare sector in their areas, to safeguard sufficient childcare provision. This includes the £594 million discretionary fund for councils and the devolved administrations to support local businesses that may not have been eligible for other support during the current national lockdown, as well as funding streams such as the Holiday Activities and Food Programme, aimed to support disadvantaged children. The expanded programme, which comprises a £220 million fund to be delivered through grants to local authorities, will be expanded to reach all local authority areas during the upcoming Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays this year.</p><p>However, where parents are still finding it difficult to access sufficient childcare, we recommend that they contact their local authority’s family information services. Local authorities are required by legislation to secure sufficient free early years provision and paid-for childcare places, so far as is reasonably practicable, for working parents, or parents who are studying or training for employment, for children aged 0 to 14.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 15/03/2021 12:26:31 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4442 label Biography information for Huw Merriman

1287527

registered interest
date	19/02/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Children: Day Care
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the 30 hours of free childcare a week to full-time graduate students.
tabling member constituency	St Albans
tabling member printed	Daisy Cooper
uin	155406
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/02/2021 answer text <p>30 hours free childcare is an entitlement for working parents of three and four-year-olds. It aims to help working parents with the costs of childcare so they can take up paid work if they want to or can work additional hours.</p><p>The Childcare Bill policy statement, published in December 2015, is clear that students will not qualify for 30 hours free childcare. However, students who undertake paid work in addition to their studies and meet the income requirements will be eligible for the additional hours. This means they do not have to physically work 16 hours a week but need to earn the equivalent of a week of 16 hours at national minimum wage or national living wage (currently just over £7,250 a year).</p><p>Students with children aged three and four will qualify for the universal 15 hours free childcare entitlement in England, regardless of the income or employment status of the parent, allowing them to access 15 hours per week of high-quality early education for their child.</p><p>Those undertaking a master’s degree are able to apply for a postgraduate master’s loan of up to £11,222 for help with course fees and living costs, which may include childcare.</p><p>Students starting a doctoral degree on or after 1 August 2020, can apply for a postgraduate doctoral loan of up to £26,445 which can also help with course fees and living costs, including childcare.</p><p>In cases where full-time students have additional needs that are not met through the student support system, support already available to them from their education institutions, they may be able to apply for help through Universal Credit. It remains the case that to be eligible for 85% reimbursement of childcare costs through Universal Credit Childcare a claimant must be in employment.</p><p>Further details on claiming Universal Credit, and Universal Credit Childcare, as a student can be found on GOV.UK at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-students" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-students</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelmsford answering member printed Vicky Ford question first answered 25/02/2021 17:42:34 answering member 4674 label Biography information for Vicky Ford
tabling member	4769 label Biography information for Daisy Cooper