Free childcare: More nursery staff needed for Wales expansion

Only certain two-year-olds qualify for free childcare in Wales at present

Extending free childcare to cover all two-year-olds in Wales will only happen if more nursery workers can be recruited, a minister has said.

Julie Morgan, who oversees the extension of the flagship policy, said it was "quite difficult" to find staff.

The promise to extend free childcare to two-year-olds is part of the co-operation agreement between Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru in the Senedd.

Ms Morgan said she was "hopeful" the policy could be delivered by 2026.

The cost of childcare in the UK is among the most expensive in the world, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Parents in Wales pay an average of about £250 a week for full-time childcare for a two-year-old.

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The Welsh government currently funds 30 hours of free childcare a week for three and four-year-olds for 48 weeks of the year, subject to certain conditions.

It also funds 12-and-a-half hours a week of free childcare for two-year-olds in some disadvantaged areas, via its Flying Start programme.

Now it's extending that policy to eventually include all two-year-olds.

However speaking to Politics Wales, Ms Morgan, the deputy minister for social services, said: "We are dependent on having the staff in order to do this and it is quite difficult to get staff at the moment, so we've got to make sure the capacity is there.

"If you can't get staff to operate, obviously you can't go ahead. It is an issue. But we're doing all we can to attract staff into the sector so I'm hopeful that we will manage to do it."

Ms Morgan said the Welsh government was investing £70m to improve nursery settings and boost capacity.

Siân Gwenllian MS for Plaid Cymru added: "The childcare sector is an important sector, but one that has been fragile for a long time.

"That's why we're focusing on putting building blocks in place now through recruitment drives that are happening at a local level, and introducing the policy in phases.

"This policy is so important because it will help to drive up Welsh economic activity by enabling those parents who want to get back into work the means to do so. But more than that - it helps to give children the best start in life."

Meanwhile, a nursery manager has warned that the way the policy was being implemented could put some businesses at risk.

Jodie Evans said the rollout of the policy would financially impact businesses

Jodie Evans of St Aubin's Nurseries, which has nine businesses across Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan, said providers would get less money through the Welsh government scheme compared to what parents pay.

She added that nurseries were facing significant staffing challenges and financial pressures.

"We're not just day care, we're educators, we're carers, we're family, and they're paying us £5.60 to do all that," Ms Evans said.

"Babysitters get more than that and we are a professional service that are providing a quality service, so how do they expect us to do that?

"And the impact of rolling it out to all two-year olds without restrictions is going to have a massive impact financially on businesses."

Programme director for early years at University of Wales Trinity St David, Natalie Macdonald, said that while the roll out was a "fantastic step forward" in principle, it "maybe hasn't been thought through".

Greater collaboration with the sector might have ensured the policy was "sustainable," she added.

The Welsh government said it was working in partnership with the sector and had taken steps to reduce some of the costs faced by childcare providers.

Wales' childcare offer is currently more generous than in England, but in March, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt pledged to extend free childcare in England to eventually include children aged nine months and older, as long as their parents meet certain conditions.

Asked if the Welsh government would follow suit, Ms Morgan said she was focused on rolling out the policy for two-year olds and then she would "assess where we're able to go".

• Politics Wales, BBC One Wales, 10:00 BST on 30 April and on iPlayer