New analysis shows that areas in Manchester are becoming childcare deserts, with multiple children fighting for a single place. Across North West England it’s estimated that there are – on average – three 0-5 year olds per childcare place. Children in Manchester are being hit particularly hard, with nearly four children for every place.
Labour plans to use spare capacity within primary schools, growing across the country due to falling birth rates, to house more on-site nurseries as part of its plans to drive high and rising standards in early years. Labour said the move represented the next stage in its long-term plan to deliver a modern childcare system that better supports parents from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school. The move follows the Party pushing through an amendment to the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Act to enable local councils to deliver new childcare provision for their communities.
The expansion will see Labour create 3,300 high quality nurseries from converted classrooms into high quality nursery provision, which the party says will help meet both the immediate demand for childcare in under-served areas, and anticipated additional demand from the expansion of government-funded childcare entitlements announced in the 2023 Budget, which Labour is committed to delivering. These conversions will be paid for by ending tax breaks for private schools.
In the North West of England Labour’s plans could see the creation of around 330 nurseries, equivalent to places for approximately 10,000 children.
Labour said it would target its new school nursery places at areas of highest need, where parents simply cannot find local childcare places for their kids. The party said that nurseries could be run by the schools themselves or local private or voluntary sector nursery providers. School-based nursery provision is popular with parents, especially families with multiple children, provides high quality education and sees lower turnover of staff than private nursery providers.
Angela Raynor, Labour’s Deputy Leader, said:
“Meeting with local families here in Bury it is clear how important high quality early years education is for them, but their children are either stuck on waiting lists or they are left paying a fortune for childcare.
“Families have been badly let down by a Tory government that overpromised, and underdelivered. If anything is going to change we need people in Bury North to vote for James and for a Labour government.”
