It is “hard to see” how a Treasury plan to expand wraparound care to all primary schools will be “sustainable” without additional long-term funding, an academies sector leader has warned.
Yesterday, chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveiled an “ambition” that parents of all primary-age children would be provided with “wraparound” childcare between 8am and 6pm in school by September 2026.
He said the government would provide £289 million of start-up funding to councils and schools for this, but the Treasury confirmed that long term, the plan would be funded by schools through charging parents.
Leora Cruddas, chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts, has said that while the majority of primary schools already offer some wraparound care, those that do not have chosen not to because it is “not financially viable” or because there is a lack of demand.
Mr Hunt explained in his Budget that a third of primary schools did not offer childcare at both ends of the school day, but that he wanted this to change.
Ms Cruddas warned: “With school budgets already under considerable pressure, it is hard to see how expanding this will be sustainable without additional long-term funding. While some parents may be able to pay, those families that most need this support are likely to be the least able to afford it.”
‘Myriad questions’ over the policy
Other sector leaders told Tes that the announcement yesterday posed “myriad questions” about how the plans would work, and that need answering.
The Treasury said that there would be a “national rollout” of the plan over 2024-25 and 2025-26, but said further detail, such as whether special schools should be providing the care, would be set out in due course.
School and sector leaders have issues such as recruitment of staff to run the sessions, which could be barriers to the ambition.
And although Mr Hunt said schools could offer the childcare in “partnership” with other settings, rather than having to offer it themselves, questions have been raised about the transport logistics of this.
James Bowen, director of policy at the NAHT school leaders’ union, said that other than funding for the initial start-up period, it seemed there was ”little real substance” behind the idea.
He added: “Clearly, schools won’t be able to fund this and so it will fall back to parents to pay for the wraparound care themselves. What this cannot become is another expectation on school leaders.
“We understand the desire for the extension of wraparound care for parents, but school leaders will be concerned that it will be they that end up being expected to deliver on the government’s ambition without the additional resources to do so.”
Stephen Morales, chief executive of the Institute of School Business Leadership, said that he was “worried” about how schools would mobilise staff, given current recruitment issues.
“Schools generally are very compliant with new requirements from the government so they are likely to read this and think: ‘We’ll have a go’. But whether it’ll deliver the desired outcome remains to be seen, it may not be feasible. School leaders may not have the bandwidth to develop that”, he added.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said that it was important the government understood that many smaller primaries had ”extremely constrained resources and staffing” and that it would be “hugely challenging” for them to develop and deliver wraparound childcare.
Jonathan Simons, head of education practice at the consultancy Public First, said in a Twitter thread that it was “not unreasonable” to expect state wraparound childcare to be funded by parents, but posed several questions about how this would work.
He told Tes that one-form entry primary schools were “surely going to have to cluster and partner” if they were to provide the care, for which transport could pose a challenge.
Subsidise care for disadvantaged pupils
Social mobility charity the Sutton Trust warned that given parents are expected to fund the care long term, it was important that disadvantaged pupils did not miss out.
Carl Cullinane, director of research and policy at the Sutton Trust, said: ”If schools are to provide full wraparound care and maximise the benefit of this time for pupils, those activities should be subsidised for disadvantaged pupils so that they have the same opportunity as their better-off peers to access them.
“Otherwise, less well-off families will face additional financial burden or these children will miss out.”
Potential challenges for special schools
It is not yet clear if special schools will have to offer care as part of the plan, but leaders warned Tes they would face additional challenges if they did.
Warren Carratt, chief executive of Nexus MAT, a trust of special schools, said changing logistics for transport would be an additional issue, given it “accounts for a big part of the day” at his settings.
“Logistically, this would be a real challenge. What I would implore the Department for Education to do is consult with families over what they want, and not assume they know”, he added.
HM Treasury has been contacted for comment.
