Council delays planned fee for breakfast club childcare

A CHARGE for childcare provided before school breakfast clubs in Rhondda Cynon Taf won’t be introduced for the time being.

In January, the decision making cabinet approved plans to charge parents £1 a day for the childcare that is available before free school breakfast clubs begin.

They approved a two tier system which will see a £40 per term charge for those who use it three days a week and £60 a term for those who use the childcare five days a week following feedback from the consultation and the council confirmed that the breakfast clubs themselves will continue to be free.

But following further feedback and to allow continued discussions with schools and trade unions, the council said it is not ready to introduce the charge so the childcare will remained unchanged for now and will continue to be delivered as normal following the Easter break.

The original plan was that it would come in at the start of the spring term this year or as soon as possible after.

Children eligible for free school meals would be exempt from any charge and parents and carers would only pay for the first two children of primary age, living in the same household and using the service.

The report to cabinet in January said there was a general disagreement with the proposal due to reasons such as financial strain, impact on working parents, concerns about implementation and mixed opinions on service use.

Some emphasised the importance of free meals for children, expressing worries that introducing charges may hinder access to nutritious breakfasts.