From 23rd February to the 21st April
we ran a National Childcare Survey. We had good level of respondents from
across the country but the general message was the same – there is not enough
adequate, affordable and flexible childcare out there! Here are some of the main statistics we
gained from the results:
- 82% of respondents needs access to regular childcare
- The greatest need for childcare is for children aged 2-5
- Family members came out top for who parents rely on for childcare at 46% followed by nurseries at 43%
- For those parents which work ‘irregular’ hours (outside Mon-Fri 9-5) a massive 71% said there was not sufficient childcare to meet their needs
One of the most striking comments which we feel reflects the
general message from the results was:
“The cost is over-whelming. I have had
to reduce my hours to 2 days a week to make it worthwhile after paying
childcare (my Mum looks after the 2 pre-schoolers 1 of the days) and that is on
a professional salary. I would love to work more but it is just not viable -
for a day's work I receive around £100 after tax and NI. My childcare cost for
1 day for 3 children are £96. And that is competitive, not the top end
nurseries. My childcare bill each month (for 2 days/wk work with family help)
is more than my mortgage”
These are a selection of other comments we received, when we
asked for any other comments the respondents had about childcare issues in
general:
“Child care is too expensive,
generally. Holiday clubs especially and specifically summer holidays. Even two parent families working standard 4-5
wk annual leave per annum jobs do not have enough time off to cover all the
school holidays. Without family support we have no choice but to pay out up to
4 weeks during summer holiday, at approx cost of £120 pw in addition to nursery
fees of £150 pw, it makes family life so pressurised”
“More affordable childcare and more
local choice also more breakfast and afterschool clubs”
“The amount of childcare available in
my area is great. My problem is that I struggle to afford to pay for it as I am
a self-employed person who has set up a business in the last year and not
taking a wage, there is no support for people like me, my hours are irregular
and I often end up paying for childcare that I didn't need as you have to have
specific days when your child attends and if they don't attend you still have
to pay for it, I have been lucky enough to have got my daughter in a nursery
who have allowed me to have half a day as her regular session so the worst case
for me is paying for half a day that I don't need. I wish there was more
support for people like me who was made redundant, could not get another job
and so set up my own business but not able to take a wage yet, maybe half price
childcare or a loan to pay for childcare which you can pay back when you are
taking a wage, my problems in paying for childcare has hindered the development
of my business, I really don't want to sponge but I really wish there was more
help”
“I have so far found nothing suitable in
the area for my ASD son and childcare for my 9yr old daughter costs too much”
“I am a childcare business consultant
and agree childcare must develop and become far more flexible to meet the needs
of parents. I know there are issues that need to be addressed, staffing etc.
Some providers are setting up nurseries offering flexible services including 7
day week care and allowing parents to access their free entitlement over the
weekend if that suits their working pattern”
“Childcare can be prohibitively
expensive - we are lucky as we both work yet it still costs as much as the
mortgage, but I want to be able to work... waiting times for good quality
childcare can be in excess of 18 mths in our area”
The main thing we can draw from our
findings that it is cost and flexibility that seem to be the foremost issues
whether your child be a pre-schooler or in school. Unfortunately, there is no
quick fix solution but our aim is to take on board all the comments made and
move forward with projects to try and deal with the issues raised.
We would like to say a huge thank you
to everyone who took the time to complete the survey and if you have any
further comments about childcare issues please get in touch.
