Wraparound childcare
The national wraparound childcare programme (WAC) is part of the childcare reforms announced at the 2023 Spring Budget. The government’s ambition is that by 2026, all parents and carers of primary school-aged children who need it will be able to access term time childcare in their local area from 8am-6pm, so that parents can access employment and improve labour market participation.
Wraparound childcare is childcare that is provided before and after the conventional school day. It can also refer to provision in the school holidays. Many parents rely on the invaluable support from wraparound childcare to enable them to work. This means it needs to be regular and dependable.
Wraparound childcare can either be:
- on a school’s site (run in-house by the school or in partnership with a provider)
- at a nearby school or private, voluntary or independent (PVI) provider
Wraparound childcare guidance for schools
Creating a sustainable inclusive system
To be sustainable the new wraparound childcare needs to be available, affordable and of good quality.
Meaning of available
Wraparound childcare needs to be in places that parents can access it. It needs to be operating for the hours that parents and children need. It needs to support all children including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The aim is to increase the supply and take up of wraparound childcare places.
Availability will be determined by
The programme is designed to fund the initial setup or expansion of wraparound provision to meet existing unmet demand. It is also designed to remove the financial risk of setting up or expanding wraparound provision where sufficient demand is not guaranteed to sustain provision from the start (but where sufficient demand may be built over time as parents are assured of the supply of places). The expectation is that this over-supply of places will help to generate additional demand, as parents are assured of the availability of provision.
For example, I only have one parent asking for care until 6pm and I cannot pay staff to stay for just one child, do I have to offer care until 6pm? – The funding is for precisely this situation – you can apply for funding for staff costs to open your provision until 6pm with a view to creating demand between now and Sept 2026.
By the end of the programme providers will be expected to be self-sustaining with Wraparound provision
The local authority has funding available from the government to help providers set up and/or expand wraparound childcare to meet parental demand. This funding is to help offset start-up costs and help to fund new places when demand for places may not be as high yet. It is expected that by the end of the programme in September 2026 all provision will be funded by continued parental demand and payments, without the need for additional funding.
Funding is available for both schools and PVI settings
The local authority has a duty to make sure that provision is targeted to areas where it is needed. To determine this the local authority has gathered data from schools, PVI providers and parents across the county to see what wraparound childcare is already available and where there might be demand for more places. We are putting in place an application process for schools and PVI providers to apply for funding to open new or expand existing wraparound provision. We will look at where demand for places is most needed and target funding to support those areas.
If the school or PVI provider can show that there is a need for wraparound childcare places that will be self-sustaining by the end of the programme in 2026 they can put in an application for funding. Schools and PVI providers can carry out Official - Financial their own surveys of parents to determine demand and can provide the local authority with the proof of this in their application.
We will provide schools and PVI setting with survey format
Schools and PVI providers can develop their own surveys, but they can also ask the local authority for the survey formats that we used, which they can adapt to gather the information they need.
Schools and PVI settings are expected to provide inclusive accessible wraparound provision
When looking at whether to provide new or expanded wraparound provision schools and PVI providers should consider the needs of children attending their provision and the levels of parental demand. This means that they should consider those children who may have SEND to make sure their provision can meet their needs. School SENCos can work with providers to ensure that provision is suitably adapted to meet the needs of children with SEND. This may include making physical adaptations (for example, the use of ramps to ensure buildings are accessible to children with physical disabilities and ensuring toilet facilities are appropriate) and ensuring staff are suitably trained to support children with SEND. Schools and providers must also consider transport for SEND children as the government are not expanding the current scheme whereby children have transport to and from school. It is the responsibility of parents to drop off and collect children from wraparound childcare or make alternative transport arrangements. As is already set out in the home to school travel and transport statutory guidance, children will only be eligible for home to school transport to get to school for the beginning of the school day, and to return home at the end of the school day, provided they meet the eligibility criteria. If children attend the wraparound care transport cannot be guaranteed, so this must be factored into any plans. Business plans and costs should consider how the provider will meet the needs of children with SEND not only at the start of the programme but also ongoing to ensure sustainability from Sept 2026.
Covering the costs of inclusive provision
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are clear that if a reasonable adjustment is needed to enable children with disabilities to attend childcare, providers must pay for it, not parents. Where adjustments are deemed unreasonable by the provider but are necessary for the child to access the provision, parents may be asked to cover the associated costs. Schools and PVI providers should take this into account when they are putting together their business plans and financial/running costings. Parents in receipt of DLA are entitled to up to £4,000 a year in Tax Free Childcare, which may be used towards any additional childcare costs. NB see point above in section 1 about registering with HMRC
Career opportunities
The Department for Education has information on careers in childcare, Do something big.
For further information please contact the Barnet’s Early Years and Wraparound Coordinator salwa.cooper@barnet.gov.uk