Tower Hamlets has approved the final round of grants in a programme intended to widen before- and after-school childcare across the borough, with 913 new wraparound places now created through its six phases.
The Cabinet agreed the Phase 6 funding allocations at its meeting on 23 September. The awards are intended for delivery during the autumn term of the 2026-27 school year and bring the current programme’s allocation process to a close.
For many families, the detail that matters is not just that another council paper has been approved. Wraparound care is the provision that helps bridge the time before school starts and after the normal school day ends. It can be especially important for parents and carers trying to fit work, training or other commitments around school hours.
The borough’s programme has supported three broad types of expansion. New places can be created where there has previously been no provision. Existing services can extend their opening hours where they do not yet cover the full expected day. Places can also be added where a service already operates, but demand is greater than its capacity.
The expectation behind the programme is that primary-school-aged children should be able to access registered term-time childcare locally between 8am and 6pm. That does not mean every setting will work in exactly the same way, or that every place will be free. Individual providers set their own arrangements, while families may be able to seek help with costs according to their circumstances.
What the Cabinet has approved is the sixth and final set of allocations for the existing scheme. The council says the programme has created 913 additional places across Tower Hamlets from Phase 1 through to Phase 6. It has used grants to help existing services expand and to establish new provision where there is a need.
The latest round followed an application process rather than an automatic payment to every provider. Seven applications were considered for Phase 6. Six funding recommendations went forward, while one was not recommended because of its cost per place and because it did not show a sustainable business case. The names and detailed financial arrangements of individual applicants have not been published, so the Cabinet could protect commercially sensitive information.
That scrutiny matters because a childcare place is only useful if it remains available. A service that opens briefly and then closes can leave families back at the starting point, often with little time to rearrange work or collection plans. The grants are therefore designed to support providers that can show how their offer will operate and continue, rather than simply covering the ordinary running costs of an unchanged service.
The funding has been part of a wider national childcare drive and is ringfenced for this purpose. Across all six phases, the council says it has awarded just over £1 million in grants to local providers. The programme has a larger maximum funding allocation, and any money left unspent is due to be retained for the next school-aged childcare programme rather than diverted elsewhere.
The move also places an emphasis on inclusion. Providers are expected to consider accessibility, safety and the different needs of children using their services. They are expected to make reasonable adjustments for disabled children where needed. That does not resolve every practical challenge for families looking for specialist support, but it is part of the framework under which the grants have been assessed.
For parents and carers, the immediate question will be what is available near their child’s school and whether it covers the hours they need. The newest awards are aimed at the autumn term, while the council’s wider programme is now moving into its next stage. The approval gives Tower Hamlets a completed six-phase record of expansion, but the real test will be whether those additional places remain practical, local and dependable for the families who need them.
