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Notices and Press Releases

Daycare Trust : Parents need more flexible and appropriate childcare

On the day of its conference on "Childcare and Child Poverty: Delivering Solutions," held in the Queen Elizabeth II Centre, Westminster on 13 June 2007, national childcare charity Daycare Trust released interim findings from its "Listening to Families" project, a three-year investigation of what families think of their childcare, funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES).

The consultation was conducted via questionnaires and focus groups, targeted at parents who, evidence has shown, typically use less childcare and are at greater risk of poverty. These included Black and Minority Ethnic groups, parents of disabled children and lone parents.

"When listening to parents we have found that most value childcare and the opportunities it provides them and their children," said Alison Garnham, Joint-Chief Executive of Daycare Trust. "For many parents, having the right childcare can have an immense impact on their families' quality of life - most importantly by allowing them to train, study and work; and providing educational, developmental and social opportunities for their children."

"For lone parents in particular, accessing the right childcare is crucial to their ability to work or train. Generally, parents who are currently using little or no childcare, are not doing so out of choice and, given the right childcare opportunity, would take it up."

Some of the findings were:

• Parents of disabled children were frustrated by the lack of suitable childcare available to their children, particularly those with severe and complex needs.
• Disadvantaged and Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) families require careful outreach work to persuade them to take the first steps into childcare.
• Childcare is often not available at the times when parents need it - with more flexible hours to adapt to individual working patterns and occasionally for a few hours in an emergency.
• Parents need an easily accessible, "official" source of childcare information, as well as help in making use of the information. A common suggestion was for more outreach work as a way to inform all parents about childcare choices.

A copy of the report, which also contains detailed policy recommendations, is available on request from Daycare Trust or to download from the Trust's website.