Childcare Use, Childcare Entitlement Expansion 2024 and the Home Learning Environment

Expansion of childcare entitlements 2024

At the time of interview, almost three quarters (72%) of parents with children aged 0-4 were aware of the new childcare entitlements for children aged 9 months to 2 years with working parents. These changes, rolling out in stages from April 2024, would enable parents to receive up to 30 hours of funded childcare weekly. Parents with children aged 0-4 from higher (ABC1) socio-economic groupings were more likely to be aware of the upcoming childcare entitlement expansion compared to those from lower (C2DE) socio-economic groupings (75% versus 68%), and similarly, part-time workers (80%) when compared with those in full time employment (70%) and unemployed (65%).

More than two thirds (68%) of parents with children who would be 2 in April 2024, and were aware of the planned expansion of childcare entitlements, thought they would be eligible to access this support for their child. Of those eligible parents, the majority (81%) were planning to take up this new childcare entitlement for their child in April 2024, while 12% said no, and 7% were unsure). The majority (92%) would seek to secure a place at nursery or pre-school.

All parents of children aged between 2 and 3 in April 2024 who were planning to take up the new childcare entitlement for their child were asked whether, in the absence of the new childcare entitlement, they would be planning to use formal childcare for their child. Nearly two thirds (61%) of parents said they would have used the same amount of formal childcare, while just over a quarter (28%) indicated they would have used fewer hours of formal childcare. It is important to note that the sample size was small (n=77) and caution is advised when interpreting these findings.

The main barriers, for parents aware of the planned expansion of childcare entitlements, to taking up the entitlement include not knowing whether they would be eligible (27%) and lack of understanding how to apply (19%).

Childcare use

Almost two thirds of parents of children aged 0-4 (63%) reported using formal childcare providers, and around half (47%) were using informal childcare. The most frequently used formal childcare was a nursery or pre-school, with 44% of parents using these settings. Among parents of children aged 0-4 using formal childcare at the time of interview, 62% would have used additional hours of formal childcare if these hours were available.

At the time of interview, almost two thirds (64%) of parents with 2-4 year olds received funded hours of childcare. Around half (52%) of parents reported that their child received all of their funded hours under the 15 hours scheme. Regarding informal provision, over a third (38%) of parents relied on grandparents assisting with childcare, and this was the most frequently used form of support.  

In comparison to parents of children aged 0-4, those with children aged 5-11 (30%) reported using a breakfast or afterschool club (i.e. immediately before or after the school day) or out-of-school clubs or activities (i.e. those which took place in the evenings or weekends such as sports, arts, scouts or other enrichment groups) (27%). Informal childcare, in the form of support from grandparents, was also used by a third (33%) of parents surveyed.

The most common reasons for using formal childcare among all parents, at the time of data collection, include the interviewed parent being at work (53%), their partner being at work (34%), because children were eligible to receive funded childcare (29%), and so that children could mix with other children (26%). Parents of children aged 5-11 (57%) were more likely than those with children aged 12-14 (44%) to say they were at work. Compared with parents of children aged 5-14, parents with children aged 0-4 were more inclined to use formal childcare because their child(ren) were eligible for funded childcare (37% versus 17%), wanted their child(ren) to mix with others (35% versus 13%), and wanted their child(ren) to begin or continue with their education (23% versus 9%).

In contrast, parents not using formal childcare indicated that this was mainly because they had never had to do so (26%), as childcare available was too expensive (16%), because they could continue to work from home and look after their child (13%), or they could change their working times to fit around looking after their child (13%).

Parents of children aged 5-14 were more likely to have changed their working hours to fit around their childcare (15%), compared to those with children aged 0-4 years-old (9%). However, the parents of children aged 0-4 were less inclined to use formal childcare provisions due to the available services being too expensive (23%) than the parents with children aged 5-14 (11%).

Over the 12 months following interview, more than three quarters (78%) of parents with children aged 0-4 planned to use or continue to use formal childcare. Parents with children aged 0-4 were more likely to opt for term-time childcare only (42%) than parents with children aged 5-14 (22%) and year-round care (34% versus 22%). However, parents with children aged 5-14 were more likely to say they did not anticipate utilising any formal childcare compared to those with children 0-4 (43% versus 12%).

Cost of childcare

Almost half of all parents (47%) stated that the cost of provision was the main factor that has stopped them from accessing or using the childcare that they would like to use for their child. More affordable childcare was also stated as the most common change to provision that would help parents meet their childcare needs (36%) – 43% for parents of children aged 0-4.

More than three quarters (79%) of parents who used formal childcare made use of available financial help (e.g. Tax-Free Childcare, Tax Credits, Childcare Vouchers, childcare element of Universal Credit) to cover their childcare costs.

Of those parents who required formal childcare during term time over the 12 months following interview, around a third of parents planned to use their own family finances (35%), 29% will use Tax-Free Childcare, and almost a fifth (18%) expect to use the Childcare element of Universal Credit. Almost half (47%) of parents with children aged 0-4 said they will use the funded hours of childcare scheme for 2-4 year olds. Just over a quarter of parents (28%) said that their childcare provider doesn’t accept TFC payments. This was more common for children aged 5-14.

Barriers to accessing or using formal childcare.

Around a third of parents with children aged 0-4 (32%) agreed they had problems finding formal childcare for their child that is flexible enough to fit their needs, which is similar to the proportion who disagreed (31%). Nearly one in ten parents (7%) had been unable to find a place for their child at a childcare provider since Sept 2023. Just over a third of all parents (34%) thought that there are not enough places at the childcare providers in their local area (37% for parents of children aged 0-4) compared with 42% who thought there were about the right number of places (44% for parents with children aged 0-4).

Less than one in ten parents with children aged 0-4 said that their childcare provision had been disrupted due to the provider offering less flexibility in the days and times their child can attend (8%) and their childcare provider had reduced the number of available days or hours they could choose to access childcare (7%).

The cost of provision was the main factor preventing parents accessing or using the childcare that they would like to use for their child (57%), followed by the availability of provisions (48%), opening hours of provisions (45%), quality of childcare (45%), safety considerations (44%), and location of childcare provider (41%). Of the parents who indicated the cost of provision was the barrier to accessing or using formal childcare, almost a third (32%) were influenced by this a great deal, and a quarter (25%) a fair amount.

Home Learning Environment (parents of children 0-4):

The majority of parents with children aged 0-4 years read to their child at least once a day (66%) and more than half (54%) helped their child to learn the alphabet at least once a day, at the time of interview. Over half of these parents also helped their child learn numbers or to count (56%) and helped their child to learn poems and songs (58%) and took their child outdoors to get fresh air at least once a day (58%). More than half of parents played pretend games at least once a day with their child (55%), however, fewer (33%) have painted and drawn with their child.  

More than two thirds of parents believed they were equipped with the skills to help their child reach their full potential (70%), and agreed they found it easy to think of learning and play activities to do with their child (67%). In contrast, two in five (42%) struggled to fit learning and play activities with their child into daily routines, primarily due to work-related factors.

One in five parents with children aged 0-4 (19%) agreed that it was the responsibility of schools/childcare providers, rather than parents, to help children aged 5 and under to learn to speak/hold conversations.

Childminders

Around a quarter (26%) of parents who did not use a childminder for their child aged 0-4 said that they found the service too expensive or wanted their child to socialise with other children. A similar proportion of parents did not consider using a childminder (24%), while 15% expressed a preference for group-based or larger childcare settings.

Around one in ten expressed concerns about health and safety (11%) and the same proportion of parents did not know anyone who would be able to recommend a childminder (11%). In addition, parents felt childminders lack the necessary convenience or flexibility (10%) or were unsure about the kind of training and professional development childminders must undertake (9%), could not find any suitable childminders in the area (9%), or believed that childminders offer a lower standard of care compared to other childcare services (9%).

Technical note:

Interviews were conducted between 31st October and 10th November 2023. Data were weighted to match the population profile of parents of children aged 0-4 and 5-14 in England by region and social grade. Data between waves are not directly comparable due to changes made to the questionnaire and sample composition between survey waves.