The Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2011, our second public consultation about childcare provision in Shropshire, is complete and available as a link on this page.
The findings are based on feedback from over 2500 Shropshire residents including parents, employers, young people, parents of disabled children, ethnic minority groups, childcare providers and professional agencies.
7 priorities have been developed to improve childcare to better meet the identified needs of families in the county. The priorities are:
- Work with local communities to develop sustainable childcare in specific geographic areas of the county where significant gaps in provision have been identified. This includes rural areas and the south of the county.
- Develop reliable out of school and holiday childcare across the county to meet the needs of older children, young people and disabled children.
- Support and extend the Inclusion Network to improve local access to quality childcare for disabled children/additional needs.
- Work with existing providers to reduce vacancies and encourage providers to diversify in order to secure the long term sustainability of childcare. This includes greater flexibility in opening times and the range of services on offer such as out of school care for older children, evening, overnight and weekend care.
- Target specific groups such as young parents, ethnic minorities and employers to raise awareness of the financial support available to make childcare more affordable.
- Tailor information on childcare to meet the needs of parents. This includes vulnerable and minority groups in particular who find access to information on childcare a particular issue.
- Target support to drive up quality in satisfactory and unsatisfactory settings to improve access to quality childcare for all. This is particularly important in reducing the gap in outcomes for vulnerable and disadvantaged children.
The Childcare Act 2006
Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006 gives local authorities a duty to manage the childcare market to secure sufficient childcare (where reasonably practicable) to meet the needs of parents in their area, in order to enable them to work or undertake education or training leading to work. Section 11 of the act places the responsibility on authorities to undertake a childcare sufficiency assessment every three years. This assessment is then annually updated to show any changes that occur during the intervening years and any progress that is being made.
Publications
Copies of the full 2011 Childcare Sufficiency Assessment Childcare Sufficiency Assessment Executive Summary and action plan are available as attachments on this page. You can also request a copy from the Early Years Education & Childcare Team by calling 01743 254400.