The government announced that they would be changing the free childcare scheme to become more accommodating to parents returning to work after their parental leave ends.
As it currently stands, parents earning less than £100,000 per annum are entitled to 30 hours free childcare for three- to four-year-olds. However, the scheme is changing to accommodate parents of children over the age of nine months old. It has been announced that from April 2024, working parents of two-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare. From September 2024, 15 hours of free childcare will be extended to all children from the age of nine months. From September 2025, working parents of children under the age of five will be entitled to 30 hours free childcare per week.
This will have a great impact on parents that are currently unemployed as it will not only give them the support of childcare that they need, but will also allow businesses to be able to offer more flexible hours to accommodate childcare needs.
The government also announced that they would be offering more funding to schools to work alongside the free childcare scheme. This will mean that childcare is available through school in forms of breakfast clubs and afterschool clubs from the hours of 8am to 6pm. This will also be a major help to working parents.
One of our Senior Consultants in our Construction team, Katie Wymer, is a full-time working mum. She said, “After maternity leave, I faced the same problem a lot of women come across after they’ve had a baby – “Is it worth me going back to work with the current cost of full time childcare”. We were so happy with the budget announcement as the financial pressure will be much less as these schemes come into play over the next few years. It also means that if we ever wanted to have another child, I know it will be much more affordable to come back to work. This means I can stay at a company where I am comfortable and happy, and I can continue to focus on my career and being a Mum at the same time. We really can have it all ladies!
The new childcare scheme is exciting for new parents – it means women & their families can make the right decision for them when it comes to childcare and work.”