by Tony Rucinski, TCW
ON MONDAY the Government completed its childcare expansion. Eligible working parents in England can now claim 30 funded hours a week from the term after a child turns nine months until school starts. Ministers are clear about their aim to raise labour market participation by getting mums back to work.
It is a big, costly bet. The Department for Education’s own technical notes put average funding for under-twos at about £11.54 an hour in 2025‑26. Thirty hours over 38 weeks equals 1,140 hours, so the public cost is roughly £13,155 per child per year before any local top-ups or extras. The Treasury’s costing puts the programme at about £4.1billion a year by 2027‑28. Staff‑to‑child ratio rules for under twos are 1:3, which is one reason the youngest places are so expensive.
Yet the scheme forbids paying close family who actually do the caring. Informal providers such as grandparents don’t count. Only approved providers qualify, even though many families depend on grandparents and kin.
The first three years of a baby’s life are not a policy convenience. They are the foundations of attachment, stress‑regulation and brain architecture. That is not ideology. It is the mainstream science of responsive ‘serve and return’ interactions between a baby and a consistent, attuned adult.