Sir,

The National Assembly for Wales' Petitions Committee has recently received a petition on childcare for three to four-year-olds.

We are interested in receiving views from individuals, groups and organisations on the subject of this petition, which states:

'We call on the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Government to ensure that free childcare for three to four-year-olds is delivered more flexibly across Wales allowing parents, and in particular working parents, to choose when and where they access the free childcare.'

In supporting information, the petitioner states:

'All three and four year olds are entitled to 15 hours of free nursery until they reach compulsory school age, however many parents living in certain local authority areas in Wales are unable to utilise this free childcare due to the restrictions in place.

For example, parents living in the Vale of Glamorgan are only able to redeem free childcare at nurseries attached to schools and this childcare is split into 2.5 hours a day from Monday to Friday.

In Newport Council however, parents are offered a wrap-around service whereby 12.5 hours are available for parents to use against childcare provided in either a nursery school or private nursery setting of their choice.

This essentially means that working parents in certain local authority areas who are unable to drop and collect their children for two and a half hours of childcare a day are being discriminated against and losing out on free childcare while parents in other areas are receiving a disproportionate amount of money towards their childcare costs.

I would urge the Welsh Government to standardise this system so that parents in all local authority areas can use a wrap-around service thus making the free childcare accessible to all including working parents.'

The committee would like to find out more about how the provision of early years education affects parents' ability to access it for their children.

If you would like to share your experiences or submit evidence to the committee on this issue, you can write to Petitions Committee, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff CF99 1NA or email [email protected]">[email protected]

Responses must be recieved by 13th February 2012.

Please note that all submissions may be published on the committee's website, with respondents' personal data removed.

Abigail Phillips

(Clerk to the Petitions Committee)