Childcare Implementation Project: making and shaping the market - resources
Click to read further background information about making and shaping the market.
The resources and examples below have been produced by local authorities participating in the Childcare Implementation Project. They have been grouped around the four key tasks involved in making and managing the childcare market:
- Assessing parental demand for childcare
- Mapping supply of childcare providers
- Analysing gaps and identifying where supply is not matching demand
- Delivering sufficiency
The slides below describe this four-stage process in more detail. Accompanying these slides is a paper from Rochdale Metropolitan District Council which describes their experience of this process, alongside a set of documents from Sheffield on their approach to market assessment.
Facilitating
the Childcare Market - Presentation
Childcare
Market Assessment - Sheffield City Council
Facilitating
the Childcare Market - Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Coucil
Assessing
Demand and Delivering Efficiency - Rochdale Metropolitan Borough
Council
Assessing parental demand for childcare
The resources below include presentations, childcare demand questionnaires, a paper on surveying employer demand and a draft strategy for a local children's information service.
Presentations
A series of presentations on making and managing the market were given by local authorities to the National Conference on Implementing the Childcare Strategy on 6 March 2006. They explain how Barnet, Rochdale and Southampton have tackled the assessment of the need for childcare in their areas.
Assessing
Childcare Needs - Barnet Borough Council
Lessons Learnt
on Childcare Demand - London Borough of Camden
Childcare
Needs Assessment: Engaging with Employers - Rochdale Metropolitan
Borough Council
Early
Years Development and Childcare Partnership - Southampton City Council
Childcare demand questionnaires
Local authorities including, West Berkshire, Barnet, Camden, Rochdale and Southampton have produced childcare questionnaires to help assess parental demand for childcare.
Childcare
Demand Questionnaire - London Borough of Camden
Parent
and Carer Questionnaire - Northumberland County Council
Survey tracking current and potential demand for a range of childcare
provision. It also assesses satisfaction with existing services.
Parental
Childcare Demand Questionnaire - Rochdale Metropolitan Borough
Council
Parental
Consultation Project - Sheffield City Council
This document explains how Sheffield City Council assessed parental demand for
childcare in one part of the city.
Childcare
Survey - Southampton City Council
Includes a survey and details of how Southampton conducted a telephone survey
of 1,000 households across the city.
What
do you think of your childcare? - West Berkshire Council
Includes promotional material that was used to support the questionnaire.
Specification
for Parental Demand Survey - West Berkshire
Need
Analysis Tender - London Borough of Camden
An example of a tender document for undertaking analysis of childcare
need.
Surveying employer demand
Talking to employers and employees in the workplace can also provide useful information about the patterns of childcare that may be necessary, and the times when it is most needed.
Surveying
Employer Demand - Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council
Rochdale have worked with employers in the local area to assess
demand.
Working
with Employers - Rochdale Borough Council
Describes how Rochdale has employed an employment links coordinator to work
closely with employers and match demand to childcare places.
Employer
Demand for Childcare - Northumberland County Council
Survey looking at the size of the workforce, the availability of childcare
support and flexible working practices.
Working
with employers - Sheffield City Council
Sheffield City Council describe the Creating More Balance initiative in South
Yorkshire which provides information, advice and guidance to employers on
work-life balance issues, including childcare.
Business
Survey - Southampton City Council
Meanwhile Southampton explores the level and type of childcare and flexible
working offered by businesses in the city.
Mapping supply of childcare providers
Information from Ofsted registration will provide basic data on the pattern of childcare providers in an area. But authorities are also finding it useful to survey providers to get a better understanding of their services and how they might be able to adapt their provision. Geographical based information systems can help to plot the location of providers relative to where households with children are living and working.
Early
Years and Childcare Mapping - Gloucestershire County Council
This document describes how Gloucestershire County Council are using
geographical information systems to map early years and childcare
providers.
Survey
of Group Providers - Northumberland County Council
This provider survey identifies current childcare provision. It assesses the
potential for future provision, for greater flexibility and the barriers to
further development.
Survey
of Childminders - Northumberland County Council
This survey assesses childminders' current and future training and
development needs.
Analysing gaps and identifying where supply is not matching demand
After mapping supply, the logical next step is to match the information about demand with information on the supply of childcare, developing a picture of where the gaps are, but not just on a geographical basis. It may become clear, for example, that there are gaps in the provision of childcare for children in a specific age range; or at particular times of the day; or during particular periods of the year. The gaps analysis will also identify those households who have the greatest difficulty in affording childcare.
Childcare
Demand and Mapping - London Borough of Camden
This document provides an in depth analysis of parental demand for childcare
and gaps in provision in Camden.
Gaps
in the Provision of Childcare - Southampton City Council
This analysis looks at the gap between provision and demand for childcare in
seven areas, which will help to inform the development of children's
centres.
Understanding
the childcare gap - West Berkshire County Council
Two documents from West Berkshire, describing how they have done a gaps
analysis based on their survey of parental demand and an audit of childcare
provision.
Delivering sufficiency
Local authorities have a lot of expertise and experience in creating and
supporting childcare places. Work on assessing demand and supply will enable
them to use these skills in a more strategic and targeted fashion.
Financial support
Camden has undertaken a number of initiatives to support sufficiency.
The four documents below describe the Childcare Support Fund and a tax credit
take up campaign, both of which help to make childcare more affordable in the
borough.
Childcare
Support Fund - Breaking through the Childcare Barrier to Employment -
London Borough of Camden
Describes how the Camden Childcare Support Fund helps to
make childcare more affordable in the borough.
Evaluation
of Childcare Support Fund - London Borough of Camden
This evaluation looks at the childcare support fund, which provides advice
and financial support for people accessing childcare in Camden.
Toolkits
for Setting up a Childcare Support Fund and Assessing the Costs of
Childcare
These documents provide toolkits for setting up a childcare support fund and
for assessing the costs of childcare.
The
Benefits Take-Up Project in Euston - London Borough of Camden
An evaluation of a take-up project for tax credits in the Sure Start area in
Euston.
Welfare
Benefits Advice
Camden's presentation to the national conference on November
2006.
Working with Job Centre Plus
A number of local authorities are working closely with Job Centre Plus
to improve childcare support for people who are going into work and
training.
Memorandum
of Understanding between Children's Centres and Job Centre Plus -
Gloucestershire City Council
This document is a memorandum of understanding between Gloucestershire
children's centres and Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Swindon District
Jobcentre Plus. It outlines how Job Centre Plus and children's centres are
working together to help parents into training and work.
Statement
of Working Agreement between Job Centre Plus and Early Years and Childcare
- West Berkshire County Council
Working
with Job Centre Plus - Blackburn with Darwen Council
Supporting providers to meet supply
Funding
Streams to stimulate providers to meet identified gaps in supply - Rochdale
Metropolitan Borough Council
Rochdale has provided details of how it is stimulating the supply of childcare
to meet specific gaps in provision such as childminder grants, extended hours
grants, and out of school start up grants.
Childcare
Affordability Programme - London Development Agency (LDA)
The LDA is offering financial support to childcare providers in
London for subsidised full daycare places, flexible childcare and
innovative pilots to help children with special needs or parents entering
training. While this scheme is only available in London, it provides a useful
model about ways of matching supply to demand that could be replicated in other
parts of the country.
Further information on the Childcare
Affordability Programme is available on the LDA website.
Children's information services
A number of local authorities have taken innovative approaches to maximising the information they obtain from their Children's Information Service to understand parent's needs.
Increasing the effectiveness and the take-up of the Children's Information Service can help to match parents with the childcare support that they need more effectively. It will also help to increase take-up of tax credits.
Information
Strategy - KITES Family Information - East Sussex County Council
East Sussex has submitted a draft strategy for local children's information
services
Increasing
the Take-Up of the Children's Information Service - Southampton City
Council
Southampton City Council is maximising awareness of the Children's
Information Service.
Children's
Information Service Presentation - Southampton City Council
Children's
Information Service Information Hub Approach - Northumberland County
Council
Understanding
the Demand for and Suppuly of Childcare - Presentation - Northumberland
County Council
This page was last updated on 04 June 2008
