Expanding free nursery hours to encompass child minders will be implemented for a period of 15 hours
The Jersey government has announced a significant boost to early years funding, with a proposed £246m allocation for Children, Families, Education, and Lifelong Learning in the 2026 budget. This allocation, the second largest after Health, comes as part of a broader commitment to supporting families and addressing pressures on the childcare sector.
The new funding will bring about an extension of free childcare provisions. Currently, the government offers up to 30 funded hours of nursery care during school term-time. This will now be supplemented with an additional 15 hours of free care for all two and three-year-olds. If approved by the States Assembly, this new provision is set to begin in January 2026.
Pilot programs for this expanded free care provision have already been underway at three government schools since the beginning of this year. These pilot programs, which include D'Auvergne School, Plat Douet, and Trinity School offering extended operating hours and childcare during school holidays, have been met with overwhelmingly positive feedback from parents, according to Deputy Rob Ward.
The Minister acknowledged the challenges facing the childcare sector, such as cost pressures and recruitment, but emphasised that these are not unique to Jersey. In response, a new phase of recruitment for the sector will commence shortly, and the government will also be including childminders in the provision of free nursery and pre-school care for the first time.
The third phase of the pilot will explore partnerships with private nurseries based on school grounds, aiming to further alleviate pressures on families and private nurseries. Deputy Ward mentioned that recent recruitment drives for nursery staff were less successful than similar efforts for teaching assistants, and expressed a desire for the best possible provision for children.
However, the Minister did not provide a number for current vacancies in the childcare sector when asked by Deputy Beatriz Poreé. The childcare sector in Jersey has received warnings about its vulnerability and the need for review in the past.
Notably, the government's plans to cooperate with schools to establish a new kindergarten within the school premises is not explicitly named in the provided search results. None of the results directly mention such a planned cooperation for founding a new kindergarten inside a school.
The additional provision of 15 hours of free care is part of a multi-million-pound boost to early years funding, to be announced at the end of 2024. The hearing for the 2026 budget proposals took place on the same day as this announcement.
In a more challenging scenario, Busy Bees nursery has made the decision to close its toddler and pre-school rooms for up to a year due to staffing issues. This underscores the need for the government's efforts to address the challenges in the childcare sector and provide sustainable solutions for families.
Deputy Ward concluded by expressing his hope that these initiatives will contribute to a brighter future for children in Jersey, ensuring they have the best possible start in life.
