Parents 'in complete chaos' trying to access new free childcare scheme
A warning has been issued to parents who are trying to access the Government's new "free" childcare scheme for two-year-olds.
The charity Pregnant Then Screwed (PTS) has said parents are “in complete chaos” trying to access the new scheme – which offers 15 hours of "free" childcare from April 2024. The charity says the Government's execution has left parents "confused and frustrated."
Brits have been able to apply for a code to access the scheme from the start of this year but only 11% of the 6,000 surveyed parents have been able to get their code. Some said they were repeatedly trying to access their code but failing as the website sends them in “an endless loop”, with others “being sent on a wild goose chase” with incorrect advice from the childcare helpline.
Around 17% of respondents said they "simply don't know how it works" and just under half said they were unable to find a childcare setting that would accept the new scheme on April 1. Over a third of parents (34%) said their preferred provider was currently "unable to confirm" whether they would accept the codes with the charity noting this was likely due to providers not having the necessary information from their local authority.
Parents are told they cannot apply for a code until their “reconfirmation window” in their Government childcare account opens, but many say this won’t happen until late March, just days before the scheme is due to start. A small number say their reconfirmation window opens in April which is after the scheme starts.
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The charity says this means thousands of families are set to be out of pocket when April 1 hits through no fault of their own. The Department for Education (DoE) has made it clear that there should not be any deadlines before March 31. The Government department said codes that were applied for on time – by the end of March – can be processed after April 1 if necessary.
Some childcare settings were even removing the Government scheme for three and four year olds as well as not enrolling in the new two year scheme due to continued underfunding.
Georgina, a mother of three from Northamptonshire said that her child's nursery "dropped the bombshell" that they would be opting out of the new childcare scheme on January 2. The nursery told Georgina that it could not "afford to continually take a hit on the deficit" between its daily rate and what it is receiving from the Government - even with charging parents a top up.
Georgina said: "This means by May, my monthly outgoing on childcare alone will be close to £2000 per month. For context, our mortgage is £1300 per month, up from £995 last year. I just do not know how or if we can afford this and it adds insult to injury that there is funding we’re entitled to yet can’t utilise due to not enough provision in the area we live.”
Joeli Brearley, CEO and Founder of Pregnant Then Screwed said the charity had been "inundated with messages" from frantic parents.
She said: “With just one in 10 parents successfully accessing their code, the majority are still unsure as to whether they will be able to secure the funded hours they so desperately need. Why does it often feel as though these schemes are drafted on the back of a fag packet without proper consideration for the end user?
"Parents struggling to understand the system or trying to secure their code are told to call the childcare services helpline, but parents we have spoken to complain of being on call waiting for very long periods, with many saying the line then cuts out. Our benefit helpline isn’t able to keep up with demand, and we’re being flooded with messages. We’ve become a childcare helpline for the Government overnight.”
A Government spokesperson told the Mirror: “The childcare application system is working as intended, with thousands of parents applying for and receiving codes to access their new free childcare entitlements every day. We are working to ensure all parents can access their codes in time to use the new entitlements in April and confirm childcare places as soon as possible.”
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