The Government has selected 16 councils to begin the delivery of its wraparound childcare plans for parents of primary school aged children in England.
The plans would give parents access to childcare in their local area between 8am and 6pm.
The Department for Education (DfE) said it expected some of the selected areas ‘to rollout the wraparound care as early as summer 2024’.
The DfE said that all local authorities would start to receive their share of £289m in funding from January 2024. It said it expected an expansion of the scheme from September 2024.
Education secretary Gillian Keegan said the plans would be ‘transformational for working families’.
A Local Government Association spokesperson said: ‘Councils work closely with schools and other providers to ensure wraparound care is available and it is positive the Government has set out plans to roll this out widely, which will help parents and carers.
‘It is important however that councils are given the resources they need to expand and build provision, both as the scheme is introduced and in the longer term.’
The councils that were selected to trial the scheme are:
1. Barnsley
2. Blackburn with Darwen
3. Cambridgeshire
4. Central Bedfordshire
5. Cornwall
6. Dudley
7. Gateshead
8. Hampshire
9. Hartlepool
10. Kingston upon Hull, City of
11. Merton
12. Newham
13. Norfolk
14. Nottinghamshire
15. Sheffield
16. Wiltshire
