THE free childcare rollout is under threat amid fears of a shortfall of 40,000 minders and nursery staff.
Experts believe it is “close to impossible” for Labour to honour the plan initiated by the Tory government.
It would see parents of kids over nine months old get 15 hours of free childcare from September, rising to 30 hours a year later.
It was part of the back-to-work drive to ease the burden on parents facing crippling childcare costs.
Yet Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson found staff recruitment and retention in a “total mess”, it is claimed.
She is set to launch an advertising blitz to drum up numbers but leading figures in the sector say they will struggle to fill the vacancies in time.
Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said staffing challenges were a worry given the 15 free hours pledge was just weeks away.
He said nurseries, pre-schools and staff were working hard “but an acute recruitment and retention crisis alongside years of underfunding has made this close to impossible for countless settings”.
The Local Government Association said: “Extended childcare is a positive step but historic underfunding and wider council pressures have left local authority early years teams less prepared to support providers with the expansion, despite concerted effort.”
A Whitehall source said: “We warned that the Tories had made a childcare pledge without a plan and parents would pay the price.
“Now we’ve lifted up the bonnet and found what’s underneath is even worse than we feared.
“It’s a total mess and we’re going to have to go some to ensure people get what they were promised.”
