Childcare is for Children

The Childcare Strategy for Wales

Childcare – Needs and ProvisionTallinn

26th – 27th February 2007

Welsh Assembly Government Core Aims for Children

Based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child:

• A flying start in life• Access to learning• Good health and protection from abuse• Access to play, sport and culture• Children are listened to and their culture respected• Safe home and community• Not disadvantaged by poverty

Government and Childcare

• Childcare is part of the modern welfare state

• Childcare is for children

• Childcare removes barriers to work

• Childcare gives families choices

Childcare Regulation

• Safeguarding the welfare of children

• Promoting the quality of provision

• Assembly Government sets standards – qualifications, ratio of staff to children, size of room, toilets, healthy eating etc.

• Care Standards Inspectorate for Wales registers, inspects and enforces provision for children up to the age of 8 (over 2 hours a day)

Types of Registered Childcare

• Childminder – self employed in their own home

• Day Nursery – usually private businesses, care for children 0-5 for whole day Monday to Friday

• Crèche – occasional care while parents are on same premises

• Nursery class or school – all children aged 3 and 4 have right to free part-time education. Can be in state school or voluntary group

Types of Registered Childcare

• Out of school club – either side of school day. Can be run by voluntary committee, a school or private business

• Sessional care – a pre-school playgroup or a holiday play scheme. Can be voluntary or local authority

• Open access play – supervised play where children up to 14/15 are free to come and go. Usually local authority

Profitability

• Childminders usually obtain adequate income for their low overhead costs

• Full day care providers are usually profitable businesses

• But• Many out of school and sessional care settings are

run by voluntary management committees on a marginal basis

Registered Childcare Places since 1999

1999 2006

Childminder 14044 11592

Crèche 1386

Full Day Care 9894 18083

Sessional Day Care

25067 17408

Out of School Care

5598 19242

Total 54603 67711

Places per population: 2005

Childminder 10614

Full Day Care 15290

Sessional Day Care 18069

Pupils Under 5 52061

Population 0-4 155005

Full-time places as a proportion of population

56%

Registrations and

de-registrations in 2005-6 Comparison 04-05 & 05-06, numbers of settings

All Wales total 05-06

Childminders Total number of registrations 416

Total number of deregistrations 241

Full day care Total number of registrations 47

Total number of deregistrations 22

Sessional care Total number of registrations 58

Total number of deregistrations 71

Out of school care Total number of registrations 79

Total number of deregistrations 51

Crèches Total number of registrations 12

Total number of deregistrations 8

Support for Childcare

• Assembly Government grant – share of £56 million given to local partnerships

• Partnerships distribute to start up and sustain local childcare settings

• European Social Fund through Genesis Wales and Kids’ Clubs Project

• Childcare element of Working Tax Credit – up to 80% of cost

What Parents Used

• 47% use informal care (grandparents etc)

• 38% use formal care

• Out of school care most common formal care – 10% used

Why do parents use?

• 40% for economic activities

• 25% for education

• 17% for both

How much does it cost?

• Average weekly cost of childcare an early years provision is £14.17 (median, including subsidies)

• Average hourly cost is £0.72 (median, including subsidies

• 29% of lowest income think that affordability is good, compared with 47% of highest income

• 10% of those not working cite cost of childcare as a factor

What do Parents know?

• 32% who pay for childcare are not aware of childcare element of working tax credit

• 49% would like more information on childcare in their area

• 58% rate the quality of provision as being fairly or very good

Childcare Strategy

• Child’s development is first priority• Maintain regulation but reduce administrative

burden and make child’s experience central• Consult on registration of early years and childcare

workers• Review provision and regulation of 8-14 settings• Commission research into perceptions and take of

childcare by ethnic minority parents• Increase awareness of childcare information

services and childcare element of Working Tax Credit

Integrate Service Delivery

• Develop opportunities to share location

– Community-focused schools - resources for the whole community

– Integrated centres - bases for networks of service provision

Childcare Act 2006

• Duty on local authorities to assess need and secure adequate childcare, with regard to:– Parents receiving working tax credit– Parents with disabled children– Parents requiring Welsh language childcare

• Duty to provide information services

• To be implemented from 2008 and incorporated in Children and Young People’s Plan

Flying Start

• Implementation of principle of early preventative intervention

• Based on international evidence of the effectiveness of high quality early years services.

• Interventions must be intensive, high quality, well evaluated and delivered by trained staff

Flying Start

• Funding targeted at 16,000 in 0-3 age group.

• Free part time good quality childcare for 2 year olds.

• Parenting support programmes• Language and play schemes• Additional health visiting

• Based on nominated primary school catchment areas

Play Policy Implementation Plan

• Duty to co-operate in addressing play needs in Children Act Planning Guidance

• Big Lottery Fund - £20 million programme for play, healthy eating and exercise, of which around £13 million will be directed to play

• Develop standards for play, involving children

• Balance risks against benefits of play in standards for childminding and daycare

• Handbook for parents on quality play

Foundation Phase 1

The Foundation Phase will provide, for children aged 3 to 7:

• An appropriate, holistic, flexible curriculum to cater for children’s needs.

• Learning by doing through directed play and active involvement.

• Focus on speaking and listening.• Children involved in planning and reviewing their

work.• Emphasis on skills development.

Foundation Phase 2

Aims:

• To raise children’s standards

• Enhance positive attitudes to learning

• Address their developing needs

• Enable them to benefit from educational

opportunities later on.

Childcare Workforce

• Quality workforce the bedrock of quality care

• Qualifications required at level 2 (equivalent to school exams at age 16) or level 3 (equivalent to school exams at age 18)

• Not all settings yet meet qualification targets for, which will be statutory in April 2008

• White female workforce on or close to minimum wage

• Large number of voluntary management committees as employers

Childcare Workforce

• Vision of fully professional workforce – need to raise status

• Need to attract more people in total, including men and ethnic minorities

• Care Council for Wales is developing a strategy

• Childcare, early years and play workers and primary school classroom assistants are one workforce

• Media recruitment and training campaign in 2007

Conclusions

• Much progress but much still to do

• Challenges:– Raise status, pay and skill level of workforce– Increase numbers and diversify workforce– Address viability of provision, particularly in

disadvantaged areas– Increase business skills of management

committees– Find European funds to replace Genesis and

Kids’ Club Project