childcare is for children the childcare strategy for wales childcare – needs and provision tallinn...
TRANSCRIPT
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