AN EXTRA 10,000 college-based childcare places were announced by Gordon Brown in his pre-Budget speech this week. Many parents who want to study are deterred by the prohibitive costs of looking after children, he said.
Nearly three-quarters of colleges provide some form of childcare or support and deal with 20,000 children on site, research by the Further Education and Funding Council and the Daycare Trust revealed last November. But many colleges are finding that requests for childcare places or financial help with childcare costs far outstrip the supply.
Money for this can be claimed by colleges through the FEFC but procedures are complicated and remittances do not cover the entire cost. Consequently, many colleges use their own funds.
An additional pound;25 million announced by the Chancellor will fund 50,000 new places for adults on basic training in computer literacy to upgrade Britain’s new technology skills.