How working parents can get 15 and 30 hours of free child care

The Government is offering a cash incentive of £600 to those who become childminders (or £1,200 for those who join through an agency).

The Department of Education doesn’t yet have figures on the number of people signing up, but it says overall childcare staffing is expected to increase by 4% in 2023., external However, the number of childminders – those providing early years care in homes – is continuing to decline.

It said that while the latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows the total population of zero to five-year-olds will fall by 1% per year from 2018 to 2022, the number of childcare places will increase between 2018 and 2023. There is an increase of 40,000.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said early years had been her “priority from day one”, but nursery bosses said the government’s updated funding rates for 2025 would not offset rising costs and could result in nurseries closing.