More staff needed for increased childcare hours

Increased funding for childcare will only be beneficial if more "appropriately qualified staff" and places are available, an association has said.

Jersey's government released its budget for 2027 to 2030 on Tuesday - with a number of targeted measures designed to help families with the cost of living.

It proposed increasing free nursery hours for two and three year olds from 15 hours to 20 hours and giving families who earn £80,000 or less a family support payment of £250 for every school age child.

Chair of the Jersey Early Years Association (JEYA) Belinda Lewis said there was no prior consultation with it regarding the additional £1.7m in funding for the current operation.

She said: "A number of providers have contacted the committee and indicated that they do not currently have additional capacity either to take more children or to offer additional hours to children already attending their settings.

"Increased financial support for parents will therefore not, by itself, necessarily translate into increased access to childcare where sufficient places and appropriately qualified staff are not available."

Lewis said any additional financial support was welcome for working parents in the island to meet the cost of early years provision but said funding did not entitle parents of two and three year-olds "to a specific number of funded hours".

She said: "It provides an amount that parents can claim against the cost of childcare.

"The number of hours of childcare that this funding will finance will therefore depend on the fees charged by the setting attended by the child, which inevitably varies from setting to setting."

The Children, Young People, Education and Skills department said it recognised that increased funding needed to be considered "alongside sector capacity" and current evidence presented "a mixed picture".

It said: "Recent sector surveys indicate that childminders anticipated an increase in capacity from September 2026, while some registered settings reported a reduction in bookings, suggesting there may be available capacity in parts of the market.

"We value the expertise of childcare providers and will continue to engage with the sector as the proposals are developed and implemented - understanding capacity, workforce needs and parental demand will be an important part of that ongoing work."

The department said it understood the "importance of ensuring sufficient places and staffing across the sector" and the cost of childcare was the "number one issue" identified by parents and carers in government research.

"It is important to note that many children eligible for this support are already attending childcare settings - for those families, the additional funding will reduce the financial burden of childcare and help parents remain in, or return to, work," it said.

Backbencher Deputy Louise Doublet said the increased hours were "an improvement" but that it was "a very small rise".

She said: "It is obviously an improvement and it would allow a parent who couldn't otherwise go to work without that childcare, it would allow them to do so.

"There are two benefits to funding childcare - it's potentially benefiting the child in terms of their learning and development, it's also potentially benefiting the kind of economic side, allowing more people to go to work and improving family affordability and the cost of living."

Reform Jersey said it welcomed the continued investment in families and education but called for "stronger action to improve living standards" diversify the economy and restore public trust in government".

Chief Executive of Jersey's Chamber of Commerce Murray Norton said increasing the childcare hours for two and three year-olds could be very beneficial.

He said: "They are quite considerable for new new families and extending this childcare... I think that's going to be helpful, maybe a bit of a boost.

"It might be an incentive for families to stay here."

Reacting to the increase in 15 to 20 free hours, mum of three Oceana Carroll said "everything makes a difference".

She said: "That's five more hours people can go to work and make money for their family, five hours that a child can spend at nursery with their friends.

"Overall, it makes a big difference."

Mother Louise Ahmed said although she and her partner had "good jobs", they still "feel the pinch".

"It's quite hard in Jersey to raise a young family, especially having two children close together," she said.

Father of three Chris Haskins thinks the new measures will help, but do not go far enough for some families.

"The way that the child care assistance is, it expects every household has three adults who can look after the child, two working parents and either a grandparent or a third party, but not all families have that," he said.

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