Dorset nursery backs government plans to fund 15 hours of free childcare per week
Tops Day Nurseries say they've seen an increase in demand for childcare placements after the government's free childcare rollout was announced
A Dorset nursery says investing in small children is a ‘no-brainer’ as the government expands its free childcare offer.
The Government is funding 15 hours of free childcare per week for eligible working parents whose children are between nine months and two-years-old as well as 30 hours of free childcare to parents of two-year-olds.
The Education Secretary said early years support is her "number one priority" in Government but added an additional 85,000 childcare places must be found by September 2025 to expand its free childcare offer.
Cheryl Hadland, founder of Tops Day Nurseries, who have settings across Dorset told us: “The first thousand days of a child's life are the most important for their whole life.
“If a child goes through nursery, they are more prepared for school, they learn social skills, they become independent and are more enthusiastic to learn.
“An investment in children of this age is one of the best investments that the government can make.”
From September 2025, the Department for Education has committed to funding 30 hours of free childcare for most working parents of children between nine months and school age.
Cheryl said: “If we invest in small children, evidence has shown that they go on to earn more, achieve more, they get better grades and qualifications and quite simply they are just happier, but government have to invest in staff if they are to see any results.
“If staff keep changing it can be very disruptive for small children as they need to bond with the person caring for them.”
Work is under way with local authorities to make sure the right local plans are in place to deliver additional childcare for parents and families.
“We are getting increased demand for places for children from nine months and above as a result of these new funding rules, but we do need more funding so that we can retain the staff,” Cheryl added.
“We have less funding per child than schools and they just expect us to cut our costs but we're right down we made a loss last year.”