New wide-ranging childcare report published for Wales
The Welsh Senedd has published a comprehensive report: Their Future: Our Priority? as a follow up inquiry into childcare provision in Wales.
The report is a result of extensive interviews and evidence sessions and is a follow up to the Equality and Social Justice Committee’s January 2022 report: Minding the future – the childcare barrier facing working parents.
As well as gathering evidence from a range of stakeholders from across Wales, it also looked at best practice in Scandinavia, Canada, Estonia and across the UK.
NDNA Cymru’s Sarah Coates and NDNA Scotland’s Jane Malcolm contributed oral evidence to the Senedd. It also referred to a recent report by Naomi Eisenstadt and Professor Kathy Sylva who is on NDNA’s Policy Advisory Board calling for the establishment of children’s campuses combining early childhood education and care with wider family support to increase parental capabilities and enhance children’s learning
Sarah said that the main concern was: “… just how complex it is at the moment for parents and providers. We’ve got so many different funded approaches, and approaches that we have across Wales, it’s very complex to understand.”
Sarah also discussed the funding and how the Childcare Offer for Wales rate which had not increased in three years was having a huge impact on providers’ sustainability.
Jane told the inquiry that payment of the Real Living Wage “was a good thing”. However, her written evidence says that inadequate additional funding had caused: “… significant issues for funded providers as £12 per hour often takes practitioners up to the same level of wage as more senior practitioners. The extra funding from the Scottish Government will not be enough to make up the shortfalls.”
Jane also spoke about practitioners having to register with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).
Recommendations made include simplifying the system, increasing take-up, improving pay and conditions for the workforce, address the risk of funded childcare schemes widening inequalities, supporting children with additional needs and support sector sustainability.
- Wales
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