Falling parental incomes and rising operational costs could threaten out-of-school services in the future, according to new research.
The 4Children national survey of out-of-school childcare providers, the first to be conducted since local spending cuts, found that while the majority of providers are not reliant on funding from their local authority or school, most fear that recent falls in family incomes will threaten the sustainability of services in the coming year.
When asked what they were most concerned about, 66 per cent of providers cited falling family incomes and parents’ ability to pay, with some claiming that parents are changing their work patterns and letting younger children walk home alone to avoid paying childcare and after-school club fees.
4Children is now calling on central and local government to encourage more parents to access the financial support available to them via the childcare element of the tax credit system. The charity is also urging the government to ensure that sufficient support is provided to meet childcare costs when the Universal Credit is introduced in the future.
Another major worry for providers, highlighted by the survey, is the rise in operational costs, with 50 per cent citing this as one of their main concerns.
According to 4Children, changes in local charging policy and the move of schools to Academy status, have, in some cases, resulted in unprecedented increases in running costs for childcare providers, such as being charged rent to use school buildings out of school hours for the first-time, and the rise in staff and food costs.
In reaction to this, the charity is cautioning local authorities and schools against passing on inflated costs to struggling childcare schemes whose services are already seriously at risk.
Other concerns cited by providers in the survey included a reduced priority for out-of-school activities (29 per cent) and reductions in funding (19 per cent).
Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, said, ‘The good news is that out of school childcare has not suffered from local budget cuts as much as some may have feared – in large part due to the fact that so few were in receipt of public funds in the first place. However, this research should sound alarm bells over the risk that falling parental incomes combined with soaring operational costs are presenting to providers.
‘Out of school childcare provides crucial support to hundreds of thousands of parents and important opportunities for older children. We urge local authorities and schools to think twice before hiking up running costs, such as rent, and carefully consider the wider impact on parents who rely on out of school childcare to allow them to work.’
http://www.4children.org.uk/
When asked what they were most concerned about, 66 per cent of providers cited falling family incomes and parents’ ability to pay, with some claiming that parents are changing their work patterns and letting younger children walk home alone to avoid paying childcare and after-school club fees.
4Children is now calling on central and local government to encourage more parents to access the financial support available to them via the childcare element of the tax credit system. The charity is also urging the government to ensure that sufficient support is provided to meet childcare costs when the Universal Credit is introduced in the future.
Another major worry for providers, highlighted by the survey, is the rise in operational costs, with 50 per cent citing this as one of their main concerns.
According to 4Children, changes in local charging policy and the move of schools to Academy status, have, in some cases, resulted in unprecedented increases in running costs for childcare providers, such as being charged rent to use school buildings out of school hours for the first-time, and the rise in staff and food costs.
In reaction to this, the charity is cautioning local authorities and schools against passing on inflated costs to struggling childcare schemes whose services are already seriously at risk.
Other concerns cited by providers in the survey included a reduced priority for out-of-school activities (29 per cent) and reductions in funding (19 per cent).
Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, said, ‘The good news is that out of school childcare has not suffered from local budget cuts as much as some may have feared – in large part due to the fact that so few were in receipt of public funds in the first place. However, this research should sound alarm bells over the risk that falling parental incomes combined with soaring operational costs are presenting to providers. ‘Out of school childcare provides crucial support to hundreds of thousands of parents and important opportunities for older children. We urge local authorities and schools to think twice before hiking up running costs, such as rent, and carefully consider the wider impact on parents who rely on out of school childcare to allow them to work.’
http://www.4children.org.uk/
