First councils picked to trial wraparound childcare

The government said councils would receive funding to deliver wraparound childcare from January 2024

The government has selected 16 councils to develop its wraparound childcare delivery plans for parents of primary school aged children in England.

The scheme would see all parents of children in this age group able to access childcare in their local area between the hours of 08:00 and 18:00.

The Department for Education (DfE) said the rollout would begin next summer.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the plans would be "transformational for working families".

The DfE said all councils in England would receive their share of £289m in funding to deliver the provision from January 2024.

Some of the 16 local authority areas selected to first work with the government on its plans are expected to be the first to rollout the wraparound care from next summer, before the scheme is expanded to further councils from September 2024.

Laura Mayes, children's services lead at Wiltshire Council - one of the council's picked to trial the wraparound childcare - said she was "very pleased" the council would be playing a part in the pilot scheme.

"We already work closely with our schools, out of school clubs and early years providers and we know how important having reliable childcare can be for families," she said.

Delivering the Spring Budget earlier this year, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the government would ensure all schools in England offer wraparound care by September 2026.

He said more funding would become available to childcare providers from 2024/25. The DfE said it would be launching a consultation on how that funding would be distributed.

Elsewhere in the Budget, Mr Hunt said the current scheme offering some families 30 free hours of childcare per week would be extended to cover younger children.

The move could allow 60,000 more parents of young children to enter the workforce, according to the Office of Budget Responsibility.

But Paul Johnson, from the Institute of Fiscal Studies, said he doubted the changes would make "a big difference".

The 16 councils are:

• Barnsley

• Blackburn with Darwen

• Cambridgeshire

• Central Bedfordshire

• Cornwall

• Dudley

• Gateshead

• Hampshire

• Hartlepool

• Hull

• Merton

• Newham

• Norfolk

• Nottinghamshire

• Sheffield

• Wiltshire