How working parents can get 15 and 30 hours free childcare

The government is offering a cash incentive of £600 to those who become childminders (or £1,200 for those joining via an agency).

The Department for Education does not yet have figures for the numbers who have signed up, but says childcare staffing rose by 4% across 2023 as a whole., external However, the number of childminders – those providing early years care in homes – has continued to decrease.

It adds that while the latest Office for National Statistics data shows the total population of zero to five-year-olds has fallen 1% per year from 2018 to 2022, the number of childcare places increased by 40,000 between 2018 and 2023.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said early years had been her “priority from day one”, but nursery bosses said the government’s updated funding rates for 2025 would not offset rising costs and could result in nursery closures.