Informal childcare is 'biggest competition to professional providers'

Market intelligence provider Laing & Buisson has revealed the latest trends in the childcare market ahead of the full publication of its annual Children's Nurseries — UK Market Report 2011 in July.

Revealed at the National Day Nurseries Association annual conference, figures collected from a survey of providers in March show that the supply of places has increased by 60 per cent since 2002 while demand for places or occupancy has grown just 38 per cent. Statistics also show that the weekly price of childcare has not increased in real terms.

But Philip Blackburn, an economist at Laing & Buisson, told the conference that in future, informal childcare would pose the biggest competition to providers.

"Informal childcare is already a giant sector," he said. "Statistics show that already half of households use family and friends for childcare and more than a third use grandparents. The average use of informal childcare is around 10 hours a week."

He said that while occupancy rates at nurseries are expected to rise, more flexible working practices will contribute to a higher numbers of parents relying on family and friends.

"More flexible working practices mean parents and grandparents are going to be able to provide more childcare themselves," he said. "I'm also seeing evidence that more parents believe that informal childcare options can be a better experience for their children."