EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Introduction and Background
DTZ, in conjunction with Research Resource and Dudleston Harkins Social Research, were commissioned to undertake research into Parents' Access to and Demand for Childcare Survey ( PADCS) (2006) on behalf of the Scottish Executive Education Department, Children, Young People and Social Care Group. The overarching aim of this research is to provide a detailed assessment of issues relating to parents' perceptions of access to, and demand for, childcare and to compare and contrast these, where possible, with the results of 2000 and 2004 surveys.
A mixed methodological approach was used involving 1304 face-to-face quantitative interviews and 60 face-to-face qualitative interviews. The Scottish Household Survey ( SHS) dataset was used as the sample frame for the survey. The methodology used in the 2006 study differs from the previous PADCS in that we agreed, following the pilot, that it was important to talk to parents not using childcare in addition to those using childcare. The advantage of the methodology used in the current study is that it allowed a much more accurate assessment of true demand and drivers for childcare use and gives a more robust method for applying the findings to the general population, as the views of parents who do not use childcare are represented as well as those of parents who do use childcare.
Key findings from the research are outlined below.
Usage and Non-Usage of Childcare
- 42% of parents interviewed use childcare in a typical week, rising to 49% when occasional use is also considered.
- Just under half of respondents (43%) who have regular provision patterns use no more than 10 hours of childcare in a typical week, across all providers.
- Childcare use varies by the age range of the child, with the highest levels of use for younger children, with this dropping off as children get older, giving a relatively low average childcare use for the whole study sample 1.
Pre-school Education
- By far the most common providers of pre-school education are nurseries (56%) and nursery classes in schools (21%).
Reasons for Use of Childcare and Motivating Factors
- Trust is by far the most important factor in the childcare decision. More than half (54%) of respondents placed it in the top three of the factors they considered.
- Cost is also an important factor, especially for low income households and those with more than two children. Location, while rarely the first consideration, is an important secondary factor.
- In-depth qualitative interviews indicate that the majority of parents consulted felt that the cost of formal childcare was too high, particularly those with larger families.
- Households on lower incomes (less than £221 per week) tend to spend less on childcare.
Childcare Preferences
- A family member is the ideal provider for 28% of respondents.
- Out of School Clubs, childminders and nursery/crèche are the most commonly preferred type of formal provision.
- Only 7% of all respondents who do not use their ideal arrangements said it is because they cannot afford it.
- In a typical week, childcare is most commonly used Monday to Friday. Weekend use is a small proportion of overall childcare use.
Parents' Opinions and Knowledge of Information Sources and Changes in Childcare Arrangements
- Very few parents experience problems accessing new arrangements when changes are needed.
- When information on childcare provision is needed, the most common source is word of mouth, but many parents draw on more than one source.
- The Childcare Information Service has been used by only 2% of respondents in the last year.
Gaps in Provision and Constraints
- Approximately two in five respondents did not feel they had a real choice in their decision on whether to work. Childcare was a factor for 56% of these respondents.
- Most respondents say that they are happy with their decisions both on whether to work (88%) and whether to train or study (89%).
- A reduction in working hours in order to provide childcare is more common in two-parent households than in one parent households.
Costs of Childcare
- Around half (51%) of those using childcare do no pay anything for it.
- Economically inactive parents are more likely to receive free childcare than those in employment.
- Over a third (36%) of single parent families claim that the childcare benefits they receive are vital to their ability to access childcare.