Childcare providers have to help fund free scheme

Nurseries and childminders are struggling to afford the Government’s free childcare scheme, a survey has found. Under a Government scheme rolled out last autumn, three and four-year-olds in England with working parents are entitled to 30 hours of free childcare a week.

But a survey by the National Association of Head Teachers suggests that, while the majority of early years providers are offering the scheme, a lack of funding means that many are having to find extra funds to cover the costs from other sources.