New childcare staff offered £1,000 amid concerns about free hours rollout

Published

2 years ago

February 2, 2024

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The government is offering £1,000 to new childcare staff amid concerns about the rollout of free childcare hours in just two months’ time.

Nurseries and childminders say they are experiencing a recruitment and funding crisis which could derail plans to offer 15 subsidised hours a week to all two-year-olds in England.

Thousands of parents who have applied for the funding are thought to be in limbo as their provider hasn’t been told what rate they will get for each of these hours from the local authority.

Research suggests as many as 50,000 more staff may be needed to cope with increased demand when the 15 free hours are offered to babies from the age of nine months later this year.

It rises to 30 free hours for all under-fives from September 2025.

A £5m advertising campaign starts today offering tax-free cash payments for the first 3,000 people who qualify to work with pre-school children under a pilot scheme.

Gillian Keegan, the education secretary, told Sky News: “This is massive, it’s the biggest expansion of childcare in our history.

“We’re doing it because we know working families are struggling and childcare is a big component of their household budget.

“But there’s no doubt it’s a big delivery project. We are working on it; we are doing everything we can to make sure all those places are available.

“As of this morning there’s over 100,000 people who’ve got their code, so many, many people have. We issued the rates to local authorities in November, so every local authority has the funding rates that we are providing, which are much increased.

“So everybody can be comfortable that we are putting in the investment that’s required to grow this market.”

Ms Keegan denied parents were being given false hope, but said: “There have been some challenges, we’ve had to put some workarounds in place.”

She could not yet confirm how many extra staff the government believes will be needed.

The education secretary said the figure of 50,000 staff, from the Early Education and Childcare Coalition, was “misleading” as there is a high turnover of staff in the sector.

Nurseries still waiting to hear

A survey of local authorities by children’s charity Coram last week found 40% did not expect to have enough places in April, despite a £204m injection of Treasury funding.

Ministers will order councils – which have until 31 March to confirm their funding allocations for April – that they must provide their rates earlier as the scheme expands.

Stockwell Gardens Nursery in south London is among those waiting to hear about funding

Ten families already attending have applied for the free hours.

The manager, Bhumika Patel, said: “At the moment we are just waiting and telling them we’ll be in touch when we have more information. We don’t have anything to share yet.”

She said the nursery already has a waiting list, but parents with babies – or who are expecting – are already asking about the extension of free hours to babies.

‘Big panic’

June O’Sullivan OBE, who runs the London Early Years Foundation, a social enterprise of 39 nurseries which offers funded places to low-income families, predicted the later stages of the rollout would need to be slowed down.

“There’s a big panic, which is not very good for parents who think that they’re going to come on 1 April and we’re going to have all these places, which isn’t going to be the case,” she said.

“That’s been the real problem, and everyone is trying to scramble to fix it. There are simply not enough places because there are simply not enough places.

“I would say the government will have to slow it down, especially for babies who need specialist care. You can’t just throw babies in a room and say that’ll be fine.”

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Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said: “This is a startling reminder that the Conservatives have offered a childcare pledge without a plan.

“Childcare staff are leaving in their droves, leading to nursery closures right across the country.

“Cheap bungs to new staff when existing workers are turning their back on this key industry will not magic up new places for parents.”

Councillor Louise Gittins, chair of the Local Government Association’s Children and Young People Board, said: “This announcement is a positive step towards addressing the capacity and workforce issues facing childcare providers.

“Councils have been working hard to support providers to increase their workforce, but many feel constrained by their inability [to] determine where new providers can be established.”

UK

England and Scotland fans discover where their opening World Cup games will be played

Published

16 mins ago

December 6, 2025

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England and Scotland fans discover where their opening World Cup games will be played

England and Scotland fans have found out where their World Cup group games will be played when the tournament kicks off in June.

England, who are in Group L, will begin their tournament against Croatia in Dallas at 4pm EST (9pm BST) on 17 June. They will then go on to face Ghana in Boston at 4pm EST (9pm BST) on 23 June and Panama in New Jersey, New York, at 5pm EST (10pm BST) on 27 June.

Scotland are in Group C, and their first match will be against Haiti in Boston at 9pm EST on 13 June (2am GMT the following morning).

They will go up against Morocco also in Boston at 6pm EST (11pm GMT) on 19 June and then Brazil in Miami at 6pm EST (11pm GMT) on 24 June.

Fans are expected to rush to sort their travel and accommodation plans now that they know where and when the matches take place.

Wales and Northern Ireland have yet to find out if they will qualify.

Wales must face a play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Cardiff, then either Italy or Northern Ireland, if they are victorious.

If they beat these play-off opponents, they will secure their place in Group B alongside Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.

However, Northern Ireland will also be vying to guarantee their spot in the same group if they can beat Italy and then either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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World Cup 2026 – who England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will play

Published

12 hours ago

December 6, 2025

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World Cup 2026 - who England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will play

Scotland and England now know who they will face in the group stage of the next summer’s world cup.

But the fates of Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Wales won’t be determined until they compete in pre-tournament play-off matches in March.

England are in Group L along with Croatia, Panama and Ghana. Their first match will be against Croatia, who beat them in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Scotland’s first match will be against Haiti, in Group C.

Brazil and Morocco are the other Group C teams – both countries were also in the same opening group as Scotland in the 1998 World Cup in France.

Wales have yet to find out if they will qualify as they must face a play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Cardiff, and then either Italy or Northern Ireland, if they are victorious.

If they can overcome these play-off opponents then they will secure their place in Group B along with Canada, Qatar and Switzerland. But Northern Ireland will also be vying and hoping to guarantee their spot in the same group if they can beat Italy and then either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Republic of Ireland also need to get through the play-offs first and are paired against the Czech Republic for their semi-final. Should Ireland win that match, they will need to beat either North Macedonia or Denmark to get to the finals where an opening group containing joint hosts Mexico, South Africa and South Korea awaits.

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Crafted for one man – this was a World Cup draw like no other

Published

12 hours ago

December 6, 2025

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Crafted for one man - this was a World Cup draw like no other

This was a World Cup draw like no other. Crafted less for the teams but for one man.

The choice of venue. The creation of a new trophy. The closing music act.

Donald Trump was lavished with the adulation he craves by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and feels others unfairly deny him.

Knowing how much being overlooked by the Nobel Committee hurt the US president, there was Mr Infantino with FIFA’s newly-created Peace Prize to hand over. And a medal for Mr Trump to wear.

“This is truly one of the great honours of my life,” he said. “And beyond awards, Gianni and I were discussing this. We saved millions and millions of lives.”

This was all on the stage in front of an audience who turned up to find out who they will be playing at the World Cup.

England handed an undaunting route past Croatia, Panama and Ghana. Scotland paired with newcomers Haiti before tricky reunions from their last men’s World Cup in 1998 against Brazil and Morocco.

But the show before the draw could even begin – presided over by Rio Ferdinand – took almost as long as a football match, at 87 minutes after the noon kick-off was delayed.

There was a walk of self-promotion to complete – “I guess they have to wait” – before taking his seat in the Kennedy Center. Or the Trump Kennedy Center as the president takes to calling the venue picked 1.5 miles from the White House.

“It was falling apart,” he said, delaying the walk into the auditorium. “And now it’s, it’s pretty much back.”

Mr Infantino could only watch on, beaming, at his friend.

“We had a dead country,” Mr Trump went on, “and now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world”.

There was the awkwardness of being reminded, before receiving the peace accolade, about threats to launch military strikes on Venezuela to stop the drugs trade.

“I did settle eight wars, and we have a ninth coming,” he swatted away the question. “Which nobody’s ever done before. But I want to really save lives. I don’t need prizes.”

But FIFA knew how much he wanted more gold for the collection with the prize.

More on this story:
What draw means for England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland

And for all the mockery and disdain targeted at FIFA, how many sports would relish having the US president spend several hours attending a procedural event determining the placing of teams in groups for a tournament?

How many would dish out the same flattery to secure direct lines to the leader of the nation staging their championship?

Many have benefited from Mr Trump’s stardust and swagger being attached to this spectacle.

Even Port Vale’s most famous fan – Robbie Williams – secured a walk-on role, exceeding his profile this side of the Pond.

And the Village People are reaping the rewards of becoming the unlikeliest of Trump hype acts.

The festivities ended with eyes fixed back up to the presidential seating and the YMCA dance being performed.

This was an afternoon that dispelled any pretence that FIFA keeps a distance from politics. It was unapologetically political. But few speak out in the FIFA world as the redistributed wealth keeps rolling back in their direction.

It would be easy to forget this isn’t entirely America’s World Cup. They’re sharing hosting with Canada and Mexico.

And eventually the spotlight was ceded to their leaders – very briefly – as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney drew out their countries’ names.

But it did live up to FIFA’s mantra that football can unite the world.

The neighbours were brought together here on a snowy day in Washington. And tensions – often stoked by Mr Trump with Canada and Mexico – thawed in the name of football.