In among all the recent background noise on other matters, there have been some very impressive steps forward in some of the fundamental things that make a difference to people’s lives which may not attract as much attention. One such thing is supporting young families and a particularly significant piece of support that began at the beginning of this month that really deserves mentioning.
It is so important that our youngsters get the best start in life and that their parents get support with childcare. So I was particularly pleased to see the Labour Government’s manifesto commitment to extend 30 free hours childcare eligibility to children aged 9 months to two years old for all families being made a reality. The support is worth up to £7,500 a year, and makes a huge difference.
For Crawley that means up to 1,842 more children aged from 9 months to two years will be entitled to this from September onwards.
The extension will help more parents into work, and reduce the cost of living for many young families.
This 30 hours of government-funded childcare will save working parents a significant amount annually and they should definitely look to take this assistance – families can check their entitlements at childcarechoices.gov.uk.
In Labour’s first year in government, we had to fix the foundations of our national education system left by the Tories: rebuilding crumbling buildings, turning the tide on teacher recruitment and retention with 2,300 more teachers in classrooms across the country, 1,000 more in training, and driving up attendance with 140,000 fewer children persistently absent.
The Government has made good on other promises made – 2 million meals served at our free breakfast clubs, more mental health support in our schools, and crucially, we are lifting over 100,000 children out of poverty by expanding free school meals eligibility.
I am more than aware that change takes time, locally Crawley Borough Council’s own play area improvement scheme has gone on for some years now, but through extended free childcare, greater access to free school meals, protections for parents on hidden costs at nurseries and the price of sending children to school, Labour is taking real action to help working parents in Crawley with the cost of living, and help ensure our children get the best start in life. Please make sure families with very young children that you know are aware this is available.
Cllr Michael Jones
Leader, Crawley Borough Council