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The government has today released new statistics on the number of 30 hours childcare codes issued and validated for the autumn term so far.

The figures showed the number of parents with validated codes had increased in the last month with 200,372 (93%) of 216,384 eligibility codes issued for this term being validated, leading to a fall in parents with unvalidated codes from 20,000 last month to 16,000 now. However, the Pre-school Learning Alliance warned these numbers don’t tell the whole story of the government’s flagship childcare policy.

Commenting on the release, Alliance chief executive Neil Leitch said:



“We’re pleased to see that more parents have been able to validate their 30 hour codes over the past month, though it is concerning that there are still 16,000 parents without a 30-hour place more than two months into the term, especially given that the autumn term is generally the quietest term for early year providers. 



“It’s also not clear what these figures mean on the ground.  Where are these 16,000 unvalidated parents? Are some local authorities in particular struggling? When 30 hours first launched, there were huge variations between the national average for validated codes, at 71%, and the worst performing local authorities, where as few as 14% of parents had managed to have their codes validated. That’s clearly not acceptable. Parents have the right to know they’re not subject to a postcode lottery and government should be clear about where this policy is and isn’t working. 



“We know many providers across the country are struggling to provide 30 hours and still balance the books. What we don’t know, and what these numbers also aren’t telling us, is how many of those parents accessing the 30 hours have actually been able to find a truly ‘free’ place, and how many are being forced to pick up the government’s tab and subsidise their children’s childcare. That is the heart of the matter here. Government will understandably welcome the rise in the number of parents with validated codes, but until those numbers equate with the provision of genuinely free childcare, where parents are not having to pay unexpected additional charges and fees and providers’ businesses are not being put at risk, these statistics will be meaningless to many." 

 

ENDS

ABOUT THE ALLIANCE

• The Pre-school Learning Alliance is the largest and most representative early years membership organisation in England. A registered educational charity, it also provides high-quality affordable childcare and education to support children and families in areas of deprivation throughout the country.
• The Alliance represents 14,000 member settings and supports them to deliver care and learning to more than 800,000 families every year. We deliver family learning projects, offer information and advice, produce specialist publications, run acclaimed training and accreditation schemes and campaign to influence early years policy and practice.
•  The Alliance website is