From this month, the Labour Government is rolling out the largest ever expansion of government-funded childcare.
Thousands more families can now benefit from 30 government-funded hours of childcare for children aged 9 months to 2 years old. Here in Oxfordshire, that means almost 10,000 more children will be eligible.
Anneliese Dodds, MP for Oxford East, said: “Time and again, parents tell me they can’t afford to go to work because of the high cost of childcare. This 30 hours per week of government-funded childcare is a game changer for many young families across Oxford, putting up to £7,500 back into their pockets, per child, per year.”
The nursery at Windale Primary School will also be expanding this month, bringing more nursery places straight into the heart of Blackbird Leys in Oxford. It is one of the first 300 school-based nurseries that the Labour Government is funding up and down the country.
And this is only the beginning. The Labour Government is offering childcare in the holidays, creating free breakfast clubs in every primary school, and expanding access to free school meals to every child on Universal Credit. It is creating Best Start Family Hubs to support new parents with breastfeeding difficulties, housing issues, children’s early development, specialist local services, and more. Plus there are now 2,300 extra teachers in classrooms, and 1,000 more in training.
The Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said: “Launching 30 hours of free childcare is a promise made and a promise delivered. It’s a landmark moment for working families across the country, and a clear sign that our plan for change is not just words – it’s action.”
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Notes to editors:
The Government has created a new online platform to help parents of young children, which can be found here:BestStartinLife.gov.uk
More information on how Labour is supporting families and children can be found at www.oxfordlabour.org.uk/how-is-labour-supporting-children-and-families
The extension of 30 hours free childcare to all qualifying children aged 9 months to 2 years old begins at the start of September.
There are 9,745 children aged 9 months to 2 years old living in Oxfordshire.