From 1 April 2024, the government has pledged that working parents of two-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare.
However, concerns have been raised about technical issues with the scheme by charity Pregnant Then Screwed, after it found only one in 10 parents have only been able to obtain an access code for the new scheme.
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In its survey of 6,000 parents, 13% said their childcare provider has given them a deadline to use the code which is before they will receive it. Meanwhile, 17% do not understand how the system works.
Joeli Brearley, CEO and founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, said: “We have been inundated with messages from frantic parents who don’t understand the system, or expect to receive their code too late.
“Meanwhile, many providers haven’t been given the information they need from their local authority to decipher what their income will be from April onwards.
“Parents can’t access their codes, providers can’t do their financial forecasting – it’s bedlam.”
There are also issues with understaffing and underfunding.
Pregnant Then Screwed research found only 55% of parents have found a childcare setting that will accept the new free hours for two-year-olds, due to underfunding.
Meanwhile, almost 100,000 extra workers are needed to fulfil the government’s childcare pledge, according to research by the University of Leeds and the Early Education and Childcare Coalition.
Brearley said poor planning and delivery around free childcare will leave working parents struggling to manage their careers.
She said: “The majority of parents are still unsure as to whether they will be able to secure the funded hours they so desperately need. Why does it often feel as though these schemes are drafted on the back of a fag packet without proper consideration for the end-user?
“Parents struggling to understand the system or trying to secure their code are told to call the childcare services helpline, but parents we have spoken to complain of being on call waiting for very long periods, with many saying the line then cuts out.
“Our benefit helpline isn’t able to keep up with demand, and we’re being flooded with messages. We’ve become a childcare helpline for the government overnight.”
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