Spring budget 2023: free early years places extended – but needs of children and staff must not be forgotten

By Nathan Archer, Director International Montessori Institute, Leeds Beckett University

The centrepiece of the spring 2023 budget was the provision of funded early years places for children of working parents. This will be expanded to cover children from nine months old until they start school, and will be rolled out in stages between April 2024 and September 2025.

It is notable, however, that the budget’s approach to the early years sector has prioritised “free childcare”, focusing on providing parents with a route into employment rather than on the needs of children. This…

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