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Response to DfE Childcare and Early Years Survey 2015
03 March 2016It is welcome news that there has been an increase in the number of parents rating the quality of their local childcare provision highly, but this report shows a worrying lack of progress in the use of formal childcare in more deprived areas.
“High quality childcare is vital for children in their early years and can have a significant impact on their future prospects. News that less than half (49%)[1] of children in the most deprived areas receive formal childcare, compared to 65% of their counterparts in the least deprived areas, is a social mobility issue.
“There has been no improvement in these rates since 2013 -if we are to close the attainment gap which is already obvious when children start school, increasing quality childcare usage in deprived areas must be a priority.
Lower income families are already less likely to receive government funded 15 hours of early education[2] - we need to see renewed efforts to ensure the new 30 hours entitlement focuses on improving take-up of quality childcare in more deprived parts of the country.
All figures taken from the Department for Education’s Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents: 2014 to 2015
[1] Use of childcare, by area deprivation: 49% usage of formal childcare in the most deprived areas versus 65% in the least deprived areas Table C2.7 p.292
[2] Receipt of the entitlement to government funded early education shows variation by family annual income. Among families earning below £10,000 per year receipt of the entitlement was 80%, and this rose throughout the income scale to 94% among those earning £45,000 or more Table C2.19 in Appendix C p.300