Following the government's planned expansion of funded childcare hours, nurseries and other childcare providers must now expand to offer additional places to two-year-olds. Find out everything you need to know about the changes and how to meet the rising capacity demands by investing in an additional nursery building.
With the government's planned expansion of funded childcare hours, many nurseries and childcare providers are looking for ways to meet capacity demands. The government is introducing free childcare gradually, to make sure that providers can meet the needs of more families, starting with 15 hours of free childcare for working parents of two-year-olds.
What are the government changes to funded childcare?
Starting from April 2024, existing childcare support will be expanded in phases. By September 2025, most working families with children under the age of 5 will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare support.
From April 2024, eligible working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours childcare support.
From September 2024, 15 hours childcare support will be extended to eligible working parents of children from the age of 9 months to 3-year-olds.
From September 2025, eligible working parents with a child from 9 months old up to school age will be entitled to 30 hours of childcare a week.
Uncertainties among childcare providers
The Early Years Alliance carried out a provider survey of nurseries, pre-schools and childminders and found that the majority of its respondents expect to struggle to meet rising capacity demands. There is a fear that many settings will not be able to offer parents places for the extended entitlements.
Meet Capacity Demands With An Additional Nursery or Pre-School Building
Rather than opting for time-consuming and costly renovations, you can increase your nursery space with an additional outdoor building designed and installed by Cabins for Schools.
We can support you with securing your funding for an additional nursery building. We can supply a FREE design drawing as well as a FREE quote to support your funding application.
In fact, we have a helpful guide on writing a successful funding bid here!
We also have finance options available for nurseries, pre-schools and other childcare providers looking to pay for their additional buildings over time. Get in touch and we will arrange for Time Finance Leasing to contact you and provide a bespoke finance quotation to suit your needs.
We have helped to transform a number of nurseries and pre-schools, such as:
The Old Forge Children's Day Nursery
We have two product types: our bespoke outdoor eco classroom style buildings and our log cabins. We will support you with choosing a build style and size to meet your nursery or pre-school expansion needs.
We can design nursery or pre-school buildings with plenty of features keeping little ones in central focus, such as:
- A porch area for muddy wellies
- A storage extension for coats, personal belongings, toys, arts and crafts, etc.
- A small kitchen area for snack preparation and a toilet
- Low-threshold doorways or a ramp for wheelchair users
We also design and install buildings ideal for schools looking to provide wrap-around care. A member of our team will be happy to discuss your requirements and offer their expert advice.
