Coventry childcare provider calls for more government help

Katie George she may be forced to close with rising costs and if the funding for free childcare doesn't cover her costs

With rising costs, some nursery owners claim government plans to help working parents will fail unless there's a big increase in funding for childcare providers.

Free childcare for working parents is due to be extended to more age groups in the coming years.

Katie George, owner of Georgie Porgie's Pre-school in Coventry, is worried she will be forced to shut.

"Let me do the job I love doing without thinking, can I meet my own costs?".

She explained her gas bill this time last year was £400 for the month.

"I had my March gas bill not long ago and it was £1,200," she said.

"It's not just that, the food has increased massively, water rates have increased massively, rent has increased.

"Staff salaries have increased, rightly so, but if the funding isn't increasing very much... it doesn't calculate," Ms George said.

Some families will get up to 30 hours of free childcare in 2024

The changes will be phased in for households in England where the parent or parents earn at least £152 a week but less than £100,000 a year:

April 2024: Eligible two-year-olds will get 15 hours of free childcare per week

September 2024: Eligible children between nine months and two years will get 15 hours

September 2025: Eligible children between nine months and three years will get 30 hours

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said: "In the West Midlands, the hourly rate is much lower than the average that the government has announced.

"That means below £5, so they are expected to deliver high quality education and childcare under £5 an hour and that can't work".

'Provide a proper service'

Claire Richmond from Gosling's Day Nursery said from September, "everybody here will need at least one privately funded day, that hopefully will protect our business to be able to continue to provide a proper service".

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said its announcement in the budget represents the "single biggest investment in childcare in England ever".

It intends to uplift the rates for free childcare for 2-year olds to around £8 per hour and for three to four year olds to £5.50 per hour from September 2023, a total investment of £204m.

Claire Richmond said from September 2024, everybody would need at least one privately funded day

Ms George added she did not want to pass rising costs on to the families who use her nursery but said government funding she receives doesn't covered the shortfall.

"I'm not asking to be a millionaire, I'm not asking to be a really profitable business, I'm asking to staff the nursery adequately with fantastic staff, pay them really well, and let me do the job that I love doing without thinking 'can I meet my own cost at home?'," Ms George said.