P-06-1359 Offer Welsh working parents the same financial support for childcare as England
P-06-1359 Offer Welsh working parents the same financial support for childcare as England
This
petition was submitted by Jade Lily, having collected a total of 10,820
signatures.
Text of Petition:
In England from April 24
all working parents of 2 year olds get 15 hours free childcare. From September
24 this will be extended to parents of 9 months old +. From September 25 the
free hours will be extended to 30.
In comparison Wales will
take until September 25 to provide 12.5 hours to all 2 year olds. With no plan
in place for 9 months + or increasing the hours to 15 or 30.
We’re in a cost of living
crisis where the Welsh Gov have the ability to support working parents but
aren’t.
Additional Information:
The Welsh Government are
choosing not to roll out the 12.5 hours to 2 year olds like the current 30
hours free childcare for 3 year olds scheme. Instead they’re getting Flying
Start to lead. This is more complicated because it means you have to wait for your
postcode to be eligible rather than it being universal. And childcare providers
have to register with Flying Start before they can receive the 12.5 hours.
The thinking behind this
is that Flying Start will make childcare providers provide higher quality care
to produce better outcomes for all children. But all registered childcare
providers have regular inspections and the outcomes are available online, so
you can find out about the quality before applying to the setting.
Additionally children from
“disadvantaged” areas of Wales that need it have always been covered by Flying
Start and therefore eligible for the childcare offer when 2 to help improve
their outcomes.
Senedd Constituency and Region
- Vale
of Glamorgan
- South
Wales Central
- The Petitions Committee homepage
- View all open petitions
- View all petitions the committee is currently considering
- How the petitions system works
- Petition research briefs
Business type: Petition
Reason considered: Senedd Business;
Status: For consideration
First published: 04/10/2023