Source: City of Plymouth
New grant funding is available to help childcare providers expand their offering to more children, giving vital support to Plymouth parents and carers.
Following the Government’s expansion of free childcare hours, the city needs to significantly increase the current available number of childcare places.
The Council has received £434,000 in capital grant funding from the Government to help childcare providers, including schools, nurseries and childminders to increase their places.
The grants will be used to increase early years places for under two-year-olds, or to increase wraparound care for primary-school aged children, which means before and after-school provision.
Councillor Sally Cresswell, Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Apprenticeships said: “Increasing the number of childcare places available is absolutely crucial to supporting our families and our local economy. Parents need to be able to access childcare in order to be able to work or study, so it’s important that we help put the infrastructure in place so that our childcare providers can meet the demand. It is so important to offer high quality early years provision.
“This grant scheme offers a fantastic opportunity for schools, nurseries and childminders to expand their provision.”
Capital grants of up to £20,000 can be used to make adaptations to buildings in order to accommodate more children, or the purchasing of new equipment in order to provide childcare to children of different ages.
There are also revenue grants of up to £20,000 available to businesses planning to expand or create wraparound care for primary-school aged children. There’s a total of £446,000 available to be distributed to Plymouth businesses which could contribute to start-up costs, or support with running costs including training.
Childcare provision funded from this grant must meet the definition of wraparound childcare, such as needing to be available directly before and after the school day, from 8am to 6pm and be registered with Ofsted.
Any organisations or businesses interested in applying for a grant can find more information at: www.plymouth.gov.uk/childcare-expansion-grants.