Engagement report – parental childcare sufficiency project

Overview

Executive summary

• this is a statutory, annual survey of current and potential childcare users. This year it was open for four weeks
• it was very widely promoted to:
  • news outlets and partners
  • social media
  • staff
  • the public and councillors (who were also invited to share the information locally)
• the survey has received 1,164 responses, 1,106 of which use, want to use or intend to use childcare in Lincolnshire
• of the 1,106 respondents, 178 had children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND)
• most respondents, 67.4%, felt they had sufficient childcare to meet their current needs
• the vast majority of those who felt they needed more childcare required afterschool club places or holiday clubs
• the availability of childcare was the most prohibitive factor for parents accessing childcare, followed by cost
• the most frequently made comment related to a lack of availability of childcare followed by wraparound care

Introduction

The local authority has a duty to secure sufficient childcare to meet the demands of parents who work or wish to study or train (Childcare Act 2006).

The early years and childcare team have undertaken a parental survey as part of the statutory annual Childcare Sufficiency Assessment 2024.

The parental survey was published on Let’s talk Lincolnshire for parents and carers of children under 19 years of age to provide their views and experience of childcare in Lincolnshire.

The aim was to find out if the needs for childcare are being met across Lincolnshire. The service wanted to know if parents can access the childcare provision they need and when and where they need it. The information will help the team to plan new services that will benefit parents and children.

The page included useful links for help with:

• childcare costs
• information on the Lincolnshire family service directory which supports the Local Offer, Lincolnshire's family hubs and the start for life programme. It provides information on useful local organisations and activities.

Additionally, there was a survey on SNAP to childcare providers to gather information about their services.

The results from both surveys will formulate a report which will be shared with our directorate leadership team (DLT) in June 2024. Additionally, the results will feed into the childcare delivery plan 2025 to 2026, which will be shared with DLT for approval in June.

Stakeholders

Public – anyone who uses or is planning to use childcare services in Lincolnshire.

Methodology

A survey was open to the public on the homepage of Let’s talk Lincolnshire for four weeks from 16 April to 14 May 2024. The dates of this survey ran alongside a survey that was being completed by childcare providers.

Promotion was carried out via various methods:

• news releases were sent out to local media outlets
• social media messages were sent out on the following pages:
  • Lincolnshire County Council
  • Children’s Centres
  • Maternity Hub
  • 0 to 18 Children Health
• an article was put in the town and parish council newsletter
• email newsletters sent to the following, asking that they share the survey with their parents:
  • childcare settings
  • schools
  • children’s clubs
  • childcare groups
  • DWP contact
  • Let’s talk Lincolnshire registered participants
  • Lincolnshire Council for Voluntary Youth Services
  • Children’s Links
  • the LCC ethnic minority and traveller education team
  • YMCA Lincolnshire
  • LCVS, VCS
  • Shine network
  • local health and wellbeing networks
• messages were sent through the internal communications newsletter to all staff
• email message to all councillors, asking them to help raise awareness of the survey and circulate the page link to their networks

Findings and conclusions

Findings

The project page had 3,908 page visitors. Of that number:

• 1,714 people clicked for further information
• 1,158 of them completed 1,164 surveys

This is a 30% visitor to respondent conversion rate, which is positive. Most respondents used an email link they had received directly (883) or came from social media (220). This reflects the way the survey was promoted.

Of the 1,164 respondents, 1,106 (94.9%) did use childcare services and 58 (5.1%) did not use or intend to use any childcare services in Lincolnshire.

• the highest number of responses (208) came from parents and carers living in South Kesteven
• 207 from those in North Kesteven
• 191 in East Lindsey
• 153 in West Lindsey
• 120 responses from South Holland
• 109 from the City of Lincoln
• the lowest (60) number of responses came from parents and carers in Boston
• there were also 58 postcodes that could not be matched to a district

• most of the parents and carers responding (646) had children aged 4 to 11 primary school age and the parents of children aged 16 to 18 years old (12) were the least represented
• when asked if their child had special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) - 178 (16.1%) parents and carers said yes
• of these 178 parents and carers, 60 (34.3%) felt that the needs of their child or children with additional needs were not fully met and this was a barrier to accessing childcare provision. 30 (16.9%) said that a childcare provider had refused a place based on their child’s additional needs
• in response to the question ‘Have you been able to access all the childcare that you need?’ 745 respondents (67.4%) felt they didn’t need any extra childcare and 361 (32.6%) wanted extra childcare
• those 361 respondents were then asked what extra childcare they would like. The highest requests were for afterschool clubs and holiday clubs. With 152 and 154 requests, respectively. Breakfast club was next with 106 requests followed by:
  • day nursery places (99)
  • access to a childminder (84)
  • school nursery place (44)
  • preschool or playgroup (40)
  • home childcare or nanny (25) (respondents could tick more than one option)
• when asked about how they find information about childcare in their area, the majority (728) said that they use the internet, followed by 674 using word of mouth. Only 73 responses stated that they use noticeboards
• availability of places locally (163) was the main barrier highlighted by respondents to accessing the current childcare provision. Followed by places not being available at the times or the days needed (159) and cost (142)
• when analysing SEND comments, almost all (92.6%, 50) provided a negative response, two respondents (3.7%) provided a neutral response and two (3.7%) provided a mixed response
• the most frequently made comment related to a lack of any services for children with SEND (25, almost half), followed by a lack of support and wraparound care (10 each)
• a lack of local or any provision, funding for very minimal hours, mental health services or buildings and services that are equipped to accept children with specific needs were all highlighted. Alongside more training for staff, prohibitive costs, and the impact on parental and children’s wellbeing
• when asked if they were using government support to pay for their childcare, 699 (63.3%) said they were, 406 (36.7%) replied that they weren’t. Those that weren’t had a mix of reasons, amongst them lack of availability
• of the 406 that replied, 256 (63.2%) said they were not eligible, 78 (19.3%) were not aware of the benefits and 60 (14.8%) had other reasons for not claiming this benefit
• for the majority, 929 (84%) the main reason they access childcare is to be able to work. For 118 (10.7%) it was mainly to give their child opportunities to socialise with other children, 20 (1.8%) said the main reason for accessing it was to be able to study
• respondents were asked how they would currently describe the cost of childcare they are using, 630 (57%) described it as expensive or high-cost, 405 (36.6%) described it as reasonable or affordable and 53 (4.8%) as inexpensive or low-cost. 18 didn’t answer
• when asked if they had any further comments on childcare in Lincolnshire there were 164 comments about the lack of availability in some areas. There were comments about issues due to specific nurseries closing. The next area of concern was wraparound care (123), either where it wasn’t available or where provision is not available early enough and late enough to enable parents to work full-time. This was closely followed by comments about cost

Conclusions and next steps

• this survey was published at the same time as a childcare sufficiency survey, gathering data from all current childcare providers in Lincolnshire
• analysis is now underway to interpret all feedback received from both the parent and the provider surveys
• an internal report will be written and presented to our directorate leadership team and councillors, with recommendations. Following approval it will be available on our support for childcare providers page
• the childcare delivery strategy will be updated. The strategy outlines the next steps that ensure the local authority meets their statutory duties to secure sufficient childcare to meet the demands of parents that work, study or train

Appendices

Appendix 1 - parental childcare survey 2024

Please only complete this survey if you use, want to use or intend to use childcare.

The findings will be published in autumn 2024 and can be found on our support for childcare providers page.

We only use the information you provide for the purposes of analysing the childcare sufficiency need in Lincolnshire. We will only ask you to provide the minimum amount of information we need in order to do this. Your information is only shared where necessary and where the law allows it. 

We will only keep your information for as long as is necessary, and in line with our retention schedules.

Your responses to this survey are intended to be anonymous. When completing open text responses, remember not to include personal or sensitive information.

1. Do you currently use, want to use or intend to use childcare in Lincolnshire? Tick only one option. Mandatory question.

2. Please provide your full postcode. We need your full postcode so that we can identify the areas that have insufficient childcare. This information will not be used to identify you. Mandatory question. 
 

3. What age ranges are the children that access, want or need to access childcare?  Please tick all that apply. Mandatory question.

4. If you answered under 2 or 2 years to the previous question, are you aware of the expanded funded offer for working parents of 2-year-olds and under 2’s to be implemented from April 2024? Tick only one option. Mandatory question.

5. Are you eligible for the new 2-year-old funding for working parents?

5.1. Have you been able to get a code to access your entitlement?

5.1.1. What has stopped you from getting a code? Please specify below.
 

6. Have you been able to access all the childcare that you need? Tick only one option. Mandatory question.

6.1. What childcare do you need that you are unable to access? Please tick all that apply. Mandatory question.

If other, please specify below.

6.2. Are any of the following preventing you from accessing childcare? Please tick all that apply. Mandatory question.

If other, please specifty below.

7. What is the main reason you access childcare? Tick one option only. Mandatory question.

If other, please specify below.

8. Is one or more of your children considered to have a special educational need or delays in meeting their developmental milestones? Tick only one option. Mandatory question.

8.1. Do you feel the childcare that your child or children access meets their additional needs? Tick only one option. Mandatory question.

8.1.1. Can you briefly tell us why?
 

8.2. Has a childcare provider refused a place based on your child’s additional needs? Tick only one option. Mandatory question.

8.2.1. Can you briefly tell us why?
 

The government’s early years childcare offer is:

• all 3 and 4-year-old children are entitled to 15 hours per week of funded childcare
• eligible working parents of 3 and 4-year-olds can access an additional 15 hours per week of funded childcare
• eligible 2-year-olds of working parents and eligible disadvantaged families can access 15 hours per week of funded childcare
• this can be delivered over 38 weeks of the year or stretched over more weeks, so you have less hours per week over more weeks

9. Are you being offered your full entitlement by your setting? Tick one option.

9.1. What is your child accessing each week? Tick one option.

10. How does your child access the funded hours? Tick one option

11. Government support can help you with your childcare costs. This can include Tax free childcare and the childcare element of universal credit. 

Are you using government support to pay for your childcare? Tick only one option.

11.1. What is the reason you are not accessing Government support? Tick only one option.

If other, please specify below.

12. How do you find information about childcare in your area? Please tick all that apply.

If other, please specify below.

13. How would you currently describe the cost of childcare you are using? Tick one option only.

14. If you would like to make any further comments on childcare in Lincolnshire, please use the box below.
 

Thank you very much for completing this survey.