More families struggling to find and pay for places
The Department for Education (DfE) has published its latest statistics Childcare and early years survey of parents 2023 showing that more families say there are not enough places locally
In total, 37% of families with children aged up to four years old said not enough places were available, up from 28% in 2021 and the highest in ten years
In addition, 34% reported having difficulty meeting their childcare costs. This has risen by 10% since 2021 when it was 24%. Only 21% of parents of children aged five to 14 said they struggled to meet costs.
Where childcare places are available, they have significant impact on parents and families. Without the current 30 hour offer for three and four-year-olds, 41% of parents would have to work fewer hours and 8% would not be in employment at all.
Survey data suggests that changes in maternal work patterns will only be achieved once the funded hours move from 15 to 30 per week. In 2014, before the implementation of 30 hours funded early education and care places for three and four-year olds, 34% of mothers weren’t working, 30% worked full-time and 35% worked part-time.
By 2023 this had moved to 28% not working (-6%), 39% working full-time (+9%) and 33% working part-time (-2%).
| 2014 | 2018 | 2021 | 2023 | |
| Not working | 34 | 30 | 29 | 28 |
| Working full time | 30 | 34 | 37 | 39 |
| Working part time (1-15 hours) | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Working part time (16-29 hours) | 29 | 30 | 28 | 28 |
NDNA’s Chief Executive Purnima Tanuku OBE said: “The parent survey run by the DfE has underlined the concerns providers have been raising for months. That there are not enough staff or providers to meet demand. We have seen an almost 10% jump in the number of families saying there are not enough places locally in the past two years alone.
“With historic underfunding and a workforce crisis there needs to be urgent action to support the sector to be ready for the next phases of the expansion. That means money ear-marked for the early years actually reaching the front line and more support to retain and recruit the qualified staff settings need.
“The survey also shows that it is only when 30 hours’ of funded early education and care is delivered that you see the real benefits for working families being unlocked. If the Government wants to achieve economic growth and remove the barriers for opportunity, that we know high quality early education and care can, we need to see urgent plans and the investment to deliver them.”
The survey report also showed that the numbers of children in formal early education and care settings has remained constant in the last ten years at around 62 – 65% (excepting a blip during Covid pandemic).
The report from 2023 also shows that use of informal childcare through family and friends has fallen from around 32 – 24% before Covid to 28% last year.
Significant numbers of parents- 44% of those with pre-school aged children – were not aware of the new entitlements.
- England
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