Childcare providers in Hampshire to receive £6 million cash injection from Hampshire County Council

Childcare providers in Hampshire are to receive a cash injection of more than £6 million from Hampshire County Council between now and March 2024.

The funding comes from the government’s new early years supplementary grant, which is designed to increase the amount that early years providers receive for delivering free childcare to eligible children aged between two and four-years-old.

In total, the government has awarded £204 million from this grant to local authorities to be paid to early years providers in the 2023/24 financial year.

The scheme has already seen more than 1,000 Hampshire providers benefit from additional funding this autumn.

Hampshire County Council’s cabinet member for education councillor Steve Forster said: “Making childcare more accessible is vital to help more parents return to work and also to improve outcomes for some of the most vulnerable children in our communities.

“However, all of this comes at an extra cost to our providers and, with the early years sector continuing to face significant financial challenges, I know that this additional funding will be greatly welcomed both by our providers and the many families they serve.”

The extra funding will go towards providing the following free childcare entitlements; 15 hours entitlement for disadvantaged two-year-olds, 15 hours universal entitlement for three and four-year-olds and 15 hours additional entitlement for three and four-year-old children of working parents.

It will also go towards providing early years pupil premium, to support disadvantaged children aged three and four-years-old, and the disability access fund, to support three and four-year-olds with special educational needs and disabilities.