Parents hope free nursery hours will be extended

17 December 2025

Alex OsborneBBC Guernsey

News image — Mother of two Jane said the provision of free nursery hours in Guernsey should be brought in line with the UK

BBC On the left of the image is a woman with blonde hair tied in a pony tail, wearing a turquoise polo neck top, holding a baby boy wearing a blue stripy top. To the right is a little girl with blonde hair, wearing a pink, orange, yellow and purple striped jumper. She is holding her fingers out towards the camera. — Mother of two Jane said the provision of free nursery hours in Guernsey should be brought in line with the UK

Parents have spoken about the challenges they face paying for childcare in Guernsey, after the island's senior political committee revealed plans to strengthen its focus on early years and families.

The States of Guernsey currently funds 15 hours of pre-school, nursery or childminder care per week for three to four-year-olds.

In Jersey, children of the same age are eligible for 30 free hours per week, while two to three-year-olds will be offered 15 hours from January following the approval of the island's 2026 budget.

In a document setting out its main priorities, Guernsey's Policy and Resources Committee (P&R) said that it would agree a "coordinated, cross-committee Early Years and Families Framework" by 2029.

Deputy Lindsay De Sausmarez, a woman with dark hair, which is tied back from her face. She is staring at the camera. She is wearing a dark top with a round-neck, which is white. She is standing in an empty room, with a royal blue carpet and white walls. Two doors are visible behind her. — P&R President Deputy Lindsay De Sausmarez confirmed a greater focus on early years and families was one of her committee's five "super priorities"

It said the framework would consider:

The funding and quality of childcare and early education
Access to early years physical and mental health and care services
Support services and policies for families in Guernsey
Risks in services for vulnerable children

P&R said the framework would span multiple political terms, but that work to "strengthen support" for working parents and their children would begin before the next election.

However, the document did not specify whether there would be any changes to either the number of free hours offered or the ages at which children become eligible for funding.

'Huge bonus to the economy'

"The fact the funding only comes in at age three is very late," said mother of two, Jane, while attending a playgroup session at Guernsey charity Bright Beginnings.

She said childcare in Guernsey was "excellent quality but expensive", and the provision of free nursery hours should be brought in line with the UK.

Jane said she would be returning to work but that paying for childcare for her two children, she "pretty much won't be making any money at all".

She said: "I think the funded hours are incredibly important for people to be able to go back to work - because it has to make sense for people to go back to work.

"I'm lucky in that I will cover the cost of two of them, but as I said, that will be mostly it.

"There will be plenty of people whose salaries won't cover two children at all and therefore it doesn't make sense to work.

"I don't think we should be in a position where it doesn't make sense for working-age women to not go to work, because they're a huge bonus to the economy and to social society in general."

A baby wearing a red and white santa hat, a santa suit with a faux black and yellow, chunky belt, and a red and white stripy bib, which includes an image of a reindeer with a red nose. To the right is a woman with brown hair, who is turned towards the baby. She is wearing a dark t shirt with light-coloured writing on the front. — Abi felt an increase in free nursery hours would benefit families

Abi, 32, said existing States funding for childcare was "better than nothing", although she added "it would be nice if there was more support available".

She said: "You kind of weigh up whether it's actually worth going back to work.

"By the time you've paid childcare...you come home with so little."

Abi said being a parent of a young child was "hard work", and it could also be lonely.

But she added that Bright Beginnings was "literally a lifelife", thanks both to the free services they offered, and the fact that they remained open throughout school holidays.

A woman with auburn hair with a fringe, who is wearing round, beige glasses and a yellow, round-necked jumper. She is holding a sleeping baby in her arms. She is sitting on a brown, leather sofa. — Bee said children benefited in a number of ways from going to nursery

"I do think that it would be great to have more help from the government for children to have that good head start, because they just have so many more opportunities at a nursery than what they might get at home," said 24-year-old Bee, who is on maternity leave from her job at a local nursery.

"Some parents don't want dough mushed into their carpet or slime on the walls, whereas at nursery we're able to do all of that and more."

She said that the funded hours already available to parents of three and four-year-olds were "great", but added that extending the scheme to younger children would benefit families struggling with "very expensive" childcare costs.