Councils report sharp fall in childcare availability

Coram Family and Childcare’s 21st Annual Survey reveals stark challenges faced by providers in England, Wales and Scotland.

Just over half of local authorities report having enough childcare places for children under two compared with almost three quarters last year, according to the report.

Some 59 per cent report having enough childcare available for parents working full time, down from 68 per cent last year.

• Analysis: Tackling free childcare decline

• Feature: Should ‘free’ childcare be for the most disadvantaged only?

Increasing gaps are also emerging for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), according to the report, with just one in five councils having enough childcare with SEND provision, down from a quarter in 2021. 

Disadvantaged families have also been hit by a nine per cent drop in the availability of places for the two-year-old free entitlement and a three per cent drop in the 15-hour entitlement for children aged three and four.

The report warns that the take-up of funded childcare places for disadvantaged families has “plummeted” by as much as 40 per cent across both age groups.

“The free entitlements have been shown to narrow the attainment gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their more affluent peers, but the impact of the pandemic and the drop in uptake means that this gap is beginning to widen again, reversing years of progress,” the report states.

Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds of local authorities have seen childcare providers raise their prices and a third of councils reported seeing an increase in permanent closures of childcare settings compared with last year.

Coram Family and Childcare is calling on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to use tomorrow’s (23 March) Spring Statement to invest in childcare and support parents hit by rising childcare costs and a lack of availability of places.

Other recommendations included in the report include:

• Local authorities and Mayors to extend eligibility of 30 hours provision locally - at a minimum to parents in training, education, to single parents and families with no recourse to public funds.

• Increase the maximum amount of childcare costs paid under Universal Credit and guaranteeing support for upfront childcare costs.

• Double the early years premium to boost outcomes for the most disadvantaged children.

• Ensure the National Tutoring Programme is reaching primary schools – with a wrap around childcare offer to boost take up.

• Re-allocate underspend from Tax-Free Childcare to other parts of the childcare system.

• Extend the 30-hour free entitlement to all three- and four-year-olds in England and Wales.

Ellen Broomé, managing director of Coram Family and Childcare, said: “High quality childcare is key social infrastructure, it helps parents work and narrows the gap between poorer children and their more affluent peers. 

“With families’ bills skyrocketing, as the Chancellor stands up to present his Budget, we urge him to make sure that childcare and children’s life chances are at the very heart of his announcements.”

Providers have backed calls for Sunak to include support for early years providers in his statement.

Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: “We now have a situation where costs for parents are rising, the availability of places is falling sharply and we are losing qualified professionals from the sector at an alarming rate – and yet, ministers continue to insist that all is fine. 

"The government needs to stop sticking its head in the sand and start investing in our vital sector, before the damage done becomes irreversible."

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association, said: “The Chancellor really must provide more support for parents with their childcare costs and for providers to deliver high quality care in his Spring Statement tomorrow. With rising living costs, this has now become critical.

“We are very concerned about the reduction in capacity generally, but this is most serious in deprived areas and for children with special educational needs and disabilities. These children have the most to gain from high quality early education and care but are the most likely to be unable to access it due to a lack of places or affordability. 

“There is a real risk that if we continue along this trajectory we will have a generation of lost learners and that is just not acceptable. All children deserve to have the best start in life and reach their full potential and this starts with getting early years right.”