A significant investment of nearly £100 million is being made by the Welsh Government to improve childcare availability, boost Welsh language provision and fund free part-time places.
The funding includes £26 million for the next phase of the expansion of part-time Flying Start childcare; £70 million for improvements and essential maintenance available to all childcare settings and £3.8 million to support more childcare providers to improve their Welsh language provision.
The investment is part of a phased plan to expand early years provision to all two-year-olds in Wales, with a particular emphasis on strengthening Welsh-medium provision, which is a commitment in the Co-operation Agreement between the Welsh Government and Plaid Cymru.
Flying Start helps families with young children in the most disadvantaged areas of Wales and includes free, part-time quality childcare for children aged two to three living in those areas.
In April, the Welsh Government announced up to 2,500 more children would be eligible for Flying Start services across Wales. This first phase of the programme began at the start of September across Wales.
Phase two of the expansion will make more than 3,000 additional two-year-old children eligible for Flying Start childcare from April 2023 with £11.65 million allocated for 2023/24 and £14.3 million for 2024/25. Local authorities are currently considering which areas will be included as part of phase two and eligible families will be contacted in the new year.
For further information visit Children in Wales to benefit from £100 million investment in childcare | GOV.WALES