The Council says the full report can now be downloaded 

A national evaluation of the trial run by eight councils was published by the government on 17 July and showcases York’s work and partnership with local childcare providers.

This York-specific study by Frontier Economics looks at the work of the council – the only authority to fully implement the 30 Hours free childcare programme in a trial – and details the very high level of participation including childminders.

The Department for Education funded all children eligible for the extended hours and estimated that in York, 1,480 would be eligible. The department challenged York to engage at least 70% of them but the council exceeded that and, by the spring term, 1,678 places had been provided and taken up. Besides indicating the trial’s success, it showed that the number of eligible families in York was higher than estimated.

The case study identified that the reasons behind this success was involving childcare providers and York’s Shared Foundation Partnerships at an early stage to further improve quality and to meet demand for childcare places on this popular programme. The commitment and expertise given to providers by York’s childcare strategy team was also praised.

The case study gives evidence of providers’ support for the 30 hours programme and showed that even when concerns about funding were raised, the providers worked with the programme to make it viable for parents and commercially.

No parents were refused the extended hours.

Over half the York families interviewed said that the additional disposable income the scheme gave them allowed them to afford outings, children’s after-school activities and holidays.

Extended free childcare was first introduced 3 years ago.