More families are turning to grandparents and using informal childcare than nurseries and childminders, according to the survey by the National Centre for Social Research, which surveyed more than 7,000 parents of nought to 14-year-olds about their use of childcare in the past year.
The rise in the use of formal childcare, identified in the previous survey from 2004, has not continued. But take-up of formal childcare was highest among three- and four-year-olds, at 85 per cent.
The survey highlights that affordability remains an issue for many parents, with the take-up lower than average among low-income families, lone parents and ethnic minority groups.
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