5.5m boost for holiday childcare and activities
Joe Lepper
Friday, March 26, 2010
The government has announced 5.5m of funding to improve summer holiday childcare and activities for five- to 14-year-olds.
The money will be used to fund 19 pilots to test out ways to better manage and promote activities during the school summer holidays.
The 19 areas selected are: Darlington; Redcar & Cleveland; Stockport; Warrington; Calderdale; Rotherham; Nottinghamshire; Northamptonshire; Shropshire; Telford; Walsall; Norfolk; Oxfordshire; Portsmouth; Bristol; Cornwall; Ealing; Lambeth, and Sutton.
The charity 4Children has been appointed to support councils in the pilot areas. The focus of the year-long pilots will be exploring ways to improve promotion and awareness of activities, increase take-up among parents and look at ensuring activities are better co-ordinated.
Children's minister Dawn Primarolo said: "We want to help parents balance work and family life during busy holiday periods. These 19 pilots will help us build on our commitment to provide more flexible, affordable childcare that families can enjoy this summer and throughout the year, wherever they live."
Paul Rogers, 4Children's director of national programmes, said: "There is a huge gap in provision in particular in rural areas and provision for disabled children, both specific schemes and mainstream ones.
"We also want to look at more all-day care. Parents don't want something that is just 10am to 2pm if they work all day."
