FREE nursery places for two-year-olds will be brought forward several months.

The Government has given Kirklees money to fund pre-school places for some two-year-olds.

Kirklees Cabinet is this week expected to roll-out the £5.1m scheme months earlier than planned.

If backed, 20% of two-year-olds in the borough – around 1,118 children – will be able to access 15 hours of free pre-school education from April.

The council hopes that 40% of two-year-olds, 1,782, will benefit by September 2014, and it will go some way towards securing 350 full time jobs.

The Government has only made the provision a legal requirement from September, but the council is bringing the scheme forward.

Clr Cath Harris, Cabinet member for Children’s Services, explained why: “We are a pilot area and it is designed for children who will benefit from childcare provision, because their parents are looking for a route back into work, they have disabilities or are in care.

“We have already been offering 10 free hours and will increase it because we are in a position to be able to help and we can see the advantages of it. It helps the children gear up for school and education, but it’s about the parents too. They might be looking at training or returning to work and would struggle if they couldn’t find childcare.”

Alongside the scheme, the council is launching a ‘ready to work’ trial which aims to offer funding for up to 25 hours of childcare for parents on training programmes.

Clr Harris added: “The reason we’ve been offering up to 25 hours is because sometimes 10 or 15 hours isn’t enough.

“The sooner we can help the better is it for everyone.”

Clr Harris said the authority was working with its own nursery providers, schools and the private sector to make sure the provision is available for more children.

The £5.1m of funding breaks means:

£3,091,715 Government funding to fund pre-school places for eligible two-year-olds at £4.85 per hour, paid to the providers.

£1,213,724 to fund a Trajectory Building Fund to ensure there is sufficient capacity within the local childcare system to handle increased demand by September.

£807,286 capital money to help to meet capacity issues.

Clr Linda Wilkinson, an Almondbury Liberal Democrat, welcomed the scheme, saying: “This investment from Government will provide some of the area’s more disadvantaged children with access to free, high quality preschool education that research has demonstrated plays a massive part in how children develop and perform later in life.

“It will also provide some parents with the time and opportunity to access training and to look for and attend work.”

“Many local parents I speak to, especially lone parents, are caught in a catch 22 between wanting to work but not having any options in terms of child care.

“This will help resolve this for them and give them the chance to fulfil their potential, which will be of benefit to them and their children in the longer term.”