New childcare staff offered £1,000 incentive amid staffing crisis and government promises

The government has promised working parents 15 hours of free childcare a week for two-year-olds from April – eventually extending to 30 hours for children as young as nine months.

But a staffing crisis in the childcare sector means it might have to break that promise. It’s now offering a thousand pound cash incentive to new or returning childcare workers.

But with nurseries, pre-schools and childminders inundated with calls from families looking for places – many could be left disappointed.