Free childcare has a price for quarter of families, says report

Free childcare has a price for quarter of families, says report

More than a quarter of families are being charged for nursery places that are supposed to be free for three- and four-year-olds, according to a report today which highlights the continuing struggle that parents face to find suitable childcare.

The study by the Daycare Trust, analysing 10 years of childcare policy under Labour, reveals key gaps in the free entitlement to part-time early years education, which was meant to be universally available in England by 2004.

Figures from the government's parents' survey show 28% of families whose children were using all or even only some of the 12½ hours a week free entitlement were still paying a fee for it, the report reveals. Researchers found parents paid, for example, if they wanted the care over two days to suit work requirements rather than five short sessions, which many parents cannot match with working hours.

Meanwhile, some parents are being asked to pay up to £100 a term for "extras" such as lunch and trips, in a move many see as a backdoor fee now that the government has banned the levying of top-up charges to subsidise the free entitlement.

Nurseries argue they cannot provide the quality of care and education required on the public funding they receive, and some say they may no longer be viable now they cannot charge top-up fees. Funding is set by councils and varies, but can range from £7.66 a child for each 2½ hour session in some areas to £8.32 in.....continued below

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others.

The childcare minister, Beverley Hughes, last night argued that the funding - totalling £3bn a year for the free entitlement - was sufficient, and warned nurseries that top-up fees could put off the poorest families from accessing free care and create a two-tier early education system.

The evidence that charges are still being levied nevertheless raises a question mark over government claims that universal part-time free early years education was achieved for all four-year-olds in England in 1998 and three-year-olds in 2003.

The report, published with the National Centre for Social Research, also finds that while take-up of the free entitlement has been widespread it is the poorest families, whose children may most benefit from high quality early years education, who are still missing out. A tenth of those in non-working or low-income families are failing to get the free places.

The study says that despite controversy on fees the big expansion of early years education has generally worked well, but working parents still face significant barriers. In 10 years the government has deliberately shifted childcare from a private matter to a government investment programme, but parents still face high costs and options that do not fit in with the hours they work, according to the report.

Daycare Trust joint chief executive Emma Knights said: "The pattern of childcare use for working parents has barely changed in 10 years. The continuing cost barriers faced by parents raise questions about the market's ability to respond to parents' diverse needs, particularly for care at atypical hours, during school holidays and flexible care."

As well as cost barriers, the report identified "a mismatch between supply and demand", with parents patching together formal and informal childcare to cover their working hours.