Nursery World - Capital Funding - Making room for 30 hours

Thinking of extending for the 30 hours? Shannon Hawthorne, press and public affairs director at Pre-school Learning Alliance, gives the lowdown on the Government’s capital funding scheme

With just over a year to go until the planned introduction of the 30-hour free entitlement offer, much sector focus is on the many unresolved issues around early years funding. But funding is only half the story. If the 30-hour offer is to have any chance of succeeding, the government must also ensure that there is sufficient capacity in the sector. Despite arguing that fears about this have been largely overegged, the Department for Education (DfE) has acknowledged that some additional places will need to be created ahead of the roll-out of the extended offer. To support this the Government has pledged £50m in capital funding, and launched a funding application process for local authorities and providers to bid for part of the pot (which totals £40m for this bid round).

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