We’re delighted that the children’s minister has today announced during a debate in Parliament that fostered children aged three and four in England will be able to access the 15 additional hours free childcare from September 2018. This will bring to an end to the discriminatory policy decision that came into force in September, and we thank the Department for Education for hearing our concerns and those of our members.

We look forward to working with the Department for Education in the new year as they seek to implement this new decision. Thank you to everybody who got involved in our campaign for making their voices heard so clearly about this issue, in particular all of you who wrote to your MP. We are also grateful to Lisa Nandy who introduced the debate, Tracy Brabin who was instrumental in the campaign, and all the other MPs who spoke and helped to put pressure on the Government.

It is vital that fostered children are not discriminated against and the reversal of this decision will ensure that for this particular issue they are being treated in the same way as their peers.