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A mother struggling to repay her debts has said using the word “free” about the government’s new 15-hour subsidy for two-year-olds is “misleading” and gives parents false hope.
Working parents in England will now be entitled to 15 hours of free childcare a week for their two-year-olds under major reforms to childcare funding that began on April 1st.
Prime Minister Jeremy Hunt has announced his plans for the 2023 Budget amid a pledge to tackle crippling childcare costs.
Amy Brown, 38, who has two children in day care, said: I She initially thought the free childcare time would help families eliminate debt.
However, she said her child’s daycare changed its fees from daily to hourly rates, making little difference to the family’s income.
This means she will effectively end up paying £85 per day on non-funded days, rather than the £72 per day she was paying before the funding started.
“We need to stop calling it ‘free child care,’ because it’s deceptive and people think they’re going to shave 15 hours off of what they’re currently paying for child care. That’s not the case,” Brown said. said. I.
“If childcare is not free, please call it “co-payment of childcare” or “child-rearing support.” Childcare is not free, so don’t make parents think that childcare is free. It just gives me hope.”
Additional support for working parents will be introduced in phases. This month, working parents of two-year-olds will receive 15 hours of free childcare, but the scheme will then be rolled out in stages, with all children under five applying for 30 hours of free childcare a week from 2025. become able to.
Ms Brown, who lives in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, with her partner Jesse and children Lois (12), Gracie (3) and Eva (2), works as a secondary school teacher and is head of year. Despite this, he said he was still in debt. Because childcare fees are high.
Before the new funding, the couple paid £1,400 a month for childcare for three-year-old Gracie and two-year-old Ava, four days a week.
Ms Brown thought she could save around £350 a month with the new funding for two-year-olds. But because their nursery counts free time and charges for unfunded time, they will only save around £87 per month.
“The way childcare is funded, which is supposed to be free, is insane and very confusing,” Brown said. “Essentially, the nursery has changed the way it charges from a daily rate of £72 per day to an hourly rate.
“In other words, in two and a half days, [Ava] We pay £8.50 an hour, or £85 a day, as he attends an unfunded nursery. This is more than his daily rate of £72 that we were paying.
“Even on days when they are given ‘free’ time, we pay them £3.50 an hour so they are not free at all.”
Ms Brown said her partner Jesse was in the early stages of her career as she retrained as a software developer during the pandemic, meaning she was now the main breadwinner.
Couples are struggling to cover rising costs with income and maternity leave, and high childcare costs are leading to large debts.
“When we had our baby girl, we waited until we were in a situation where we felt we could afford to have a child,” she explained.
“But the cost was horrendous and beyond anything we could have imagined.
“Things snowballed and I had to take out credit cards. We went into debt. Not only childcare costs, but food and gas prices are going up, and we can’t make ends meet. Can’t cover expenses.
“We are just trying to stay afloat and it makes life very difficult. The amount you save is very small.”
Brown doesn’t think the plan is working as originally described.
Joeli Brearley, CEO of campaign group Pregnant then Screwed, said: I: “For more than a decade, childcare costs have risen faster than inflation. Meanwhile, allowances have fallen significantly.
“A new childcare scheme launched this week will slightly reduce costs for parents of two-year-olds, but our research shows the savings will not be enough to increase employment for mothers and reduce debt for parents. It has been shown that
“Families pay the equivalent of private school tuition for early childhood education, and some, like Amy, are left hanging on to debt for the rest of their careers.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “This Government is making the biggest investment in childcare in UK history, aiming to save parents an average of £6,900 on the full 30 hours they spend on new entitlements.” .
“We have published statutory guidance for local authorities which states that providers should not charge extra fees to parents and that additional charges for consumables or additional time should be a condition of accessing free places. We make it clear that this is not the case.”