NEW APPROACH TO CHILDCARE URGENTLY NEEDED TO TACKLE DISADVANTAGE, WARN CHARITIES

Two leading charities, the Bevan Foundation and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, have called on the Welsh Government to change its approach to childcare to better tackle disadvantage.

The average cost for a full-time nursery spot for a child under two is £13,049.

70 per cent of Welsh parents with their youngest child under the age of 10 think that the cost of childcare is unaffordable.

Children missing out on funded childcare due to difficulties in accessing childcare.

High costs and access challenges are undermining the ability of the Welsh childcare system to tackle poverty and disadvantage, a new report by the Bevan Foundation and Joseph Rowntree Foundation has found. Childcare costs are prohibitively expensive for many families across Wales. With the average full time nursery spot for a child under two costing £13,049 a year, it is little wonder that 70 per cent of Welsh parents with their youngest child under 10 under think that the cost of childcare is unaffordable.

Dr Steffan Evans, Head of Policy (Poverty) at the Bevan Foundation said:

“The cost of childcare is locking many Welsh parents out of work and denying children access to the opportunities provided by good quality childcare. Whilst it is positive to see that the Welsh Government are taking steps to address this by expanding funded childcare to two-year-olds, the fact that there are no plans in place to support parents with younger children is a major concern. The Welsh Government must go further and work with the childcare sector to ensure no child misses out.”

Even where funded childcare is available, parents struggle to access it. The Welsh Government provides support to families with their childcare costs through three programmes. Not all settings are able to deliver these, however, meaning that parents often have to make plans to move their child from one place to another, disrupting their working day. This problem is made worse by the lack of available childcare spaces, a problem that is especially pronounced for parents living in rural areas, or for parents who work nights or weekends.

These weaknesses are having a direct impact on children all over Wales. Louise Woodruff, Senior Policy Adviser at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said:

“Childcare can be a key tool in tackling disadvantage, both by helping families to increase earnings and by improving outcomes for disadvantaged children. This potential is not currently being achieved, with children from disadvantaged backgrounds starting school behind their peers and parents struggling to afford childcare.”

The Bevan Foundation and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation did find that there are a number of strengths with the childcare system in Wales, not least its dedicated and well-trained workforce. Steffan Evans has called on the Welsh Government to build upon these solid foundations to deliver a system that works for all children and that strikes a balance between providing children with early education and supporting parents to return to work. He said:

“The Welsh Government’s new Child Poverty Strategy recognises the role that childcare plays in addressing poverty. That is why we are calling on the Welsh Government to develop a radical, new childcare offer that provides funded, good quality, part-time care to all children from the end of maternity leave until they start school. This offer should be available for all parents irrespective of their work status, with additional hours available on a sliding scale of fees for parents who want them.

The time has come for the Welsh Government to take deliver on the pledge in its Child Poverty Strategy to ‘work across government to find affordable solutions to childcare’.

Tackling_disadvantage_through_childcare Coram JRF 2023