CYP Now - Poorest families 'not accessing funded childcare'

'Major reforms' of the funded childcare entitlement system are needed to benefit disadvantaged children, experts have urged, as latest analysis finds that two thirds of poorer families are missing out.

Childminders relying on parent fees risk closure, the IFS warns. Picture: Adobe Stock

The decline in childminders over the past decade is a major factor in a shortage of childcare places in some poorer areas. Picture: AdobeStock

A number of recommendations for ensuring deprived and rural areas are not left behind as the offer is expanded, are detailed in a joint report published today (9 December) by charity Save the Children and thinktank the Institute for Public Policy Research.

Its analysis of official data from the Department for Work and Pensions finds that among the poorest fifth of parents with young children, just one third (36%) use formal childcare, compared with double that (73%) of the highest earning households.

The report, ‘The childcare challenge: How can the new government deliver a real early education and childcare guarantee?’, is published alongside an interactive map based on data from the Office for National Statistics, which charts the rate of accessibility of early education and childcare by English local authority area.

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