Childcare Information Services: Lines of enquiry

Information services are battling a lack of awareness of their existence. Annette Rawstrone reports

When faced with the daunting task of choosing childcare, there's one solution for many parents - to phone a friend. Despite all Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships (EYDCP) being obliged to operate a Childcare Information Service (CIS), the majority of parents are still not accessing the facility, or are unaware of its existence.

Respondents to a small-scale research project by Foluke Ajayi and Viv Moriarty at the Institute of Education, University of London, most frequently consulted other parents, family, friends and neighbours when they needed childcare. Despite saying they were concerned about different settings' reputations, few of the parents had used the booklets and directories made available by their local authority and preferred to rely on informal sources of information. Sara Willis, lead officer for Southwark EYDCP, is not surprised by the findings. She says, 'As a parent I would say that people are more likely to visit a childminder or nursery if they know someone else who has been there. Parents want reassurance, someone to say what it is like and check it out to know the story behind the facade. People still prefer to go with someone's recommendation - which is not necessarily the best way to choose childcare, especially as the situation could have changed since they were there.'