Councils face challenges in offering parents wraparound childcare – charity

Councils face significant challenges in making sure parents can access childcare that meets their needs before and after school, a study suggests.

A report by the Coram Family and Childcare charity – commissioned by the Local Government Association – highlighted “persistent shortages in sufficiency” of wraparound childcare for families with primary-aged children.

It comes after the Government set out its ambition for all parents of primary-aged children in England to be able to access care in school between 8am-6pm by September 2026.

In his spring budget last year, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced £289 million of “start-up” funding to help schools and local authorities expand wraparound childcare for working parents.

The charity’s research, which carried out interviews with parents, local authorities and sector experts, said making sure there is sufficient wraparound childcare available will be a challenge in some areas.

Childcare providers raised concerns about the difficulty of finding staff who were willing to work an hour in the morning and from 3.30pm-6pm.

There were also concerns about how the expansion of wraparound childcare could affect quality as the regulations around school age children are “less prescriptive than for pre-school children”.

“While there are pressures around recruitment and retention right across the childcare sector, for wraparound childcare this could create particular risks around whether it is possible to get the right people with the right skills to fulfil the role,” the report said.

Some interviewees suggested the Government’s funding for just term-time childcare for primary school pupils was a “missed opportunity” and would not meet working parents’ needs in school holidays.

The report said: “Many felt that the pressures were currently greater during the holidays rather than term-time and that, by not supporting holiday childcare, the intervention was unlikely to achieve its aim of supporting parents to work.”

Parents working atypical hours, those who had long commutes, and single parents reported difficulty in finding childcare to match their needs.

It added: “Parents did not think that provision was always flexible enough to reflect their working lives.

“They felt providers could be too rigid around needing to book sessions far in advance, there were not always sufficient places, and the hours could be too limited.”

Many interviewees were also concerned about the sufficiency of wraparound childcare for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The report said: “There were particular concerns from parents about whether there was enough childcare for children with SEND and that the funding available for them was often inadequate.”

It added: “Both parents and stakeholder experts felt that children with SEND were particularly poorly served by the current wraparound childcare market.”

Ellen Broome, head of Coram Family and Childcare, said: “We know that wraparound childcare is vital for giving parents greater flexibility to work and providing important opportunities for children to learn, develop and have fun outside of school.

“Yet it has long been the Cinderella service of childcare provision, lacking adequate funding or policy recognition.

“We have arrived at a crucial time for this service. Today’s report sheds light on what we must do to ensure that all families benefit from this renewed focus and investment.

“To make the most of this vital opportunity, the Government’s expansion must pay close attention to what parents need.”

Louise Gittins, chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said: “This report sheds useful light on the challenges facing local authorities, parents and providers in meeting existing and expected demand as part of the wraparound expansion.

“Local authorities work hard to ensure that this is a success and want to continue to work closely with central government to make improvements to the programme.

“However, they are under significant pressures and are having to target their teams in areas that need immediate focus, meaning some local areas have not been able to prioritise wraparound care.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “This government is rolling out the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever, including £289 million so that every local authority can deliver wraparound care from 8am to 6pm for all working parents of primary school children who need it by 2026.

“Local authorities will have the flexibility to use funding in the way that best meets their local needs, including to support children with SEND, and comes on top of a £100 million capital funding boost for more early years and wrapround places.

“We will also shortly be announcing a new national recruitment campaign to support recruitment across providers of early years and wraparound care.”