Wraparound childcare policy 'failing due to lack of funding'

A report in The Guardian this morning informs us extended school services are failing to meet
after-school and holiday childcare needs.
Government ambitions for schools to provide wraparound childcare before and after lessons,
as well as after-school clubs and holiday activities, are falling short due to inadequate
funding, according to new research seen exclusively by the Guardian.

A report by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and the Family and Childcare Trust says
extended school services are popular with schools and families and can improve children’s
outcomes, but current provision is failing to meet parents’ demands for after-school and holiday
childcare.

Almost two fifths (39%) of schools surveyed for the report said parents wanted holiday provision,
but only 29% of schools were able to offer it. For after-school childcare, provided by just over
half of schools, the shortfall was 11 percentage points and was particularly acute in primary
schools.

The report, published on Wednesday, calls on the government to provide a clear vision to
encourage schools to extend their services and provide dedicated funding to pay for it. “Without
this, existing services risk withering on the vine, becoming increasingly reliant on parental
contributions and therefore inaccessible to the most deprived children,” it warns.


Do we need more childcare in schools
The term extended schools refers to services offered through a school to pupils and the wider
community, including sports, arts and homework clubs, as well as wraparound and holiday childcare.

The aim is to enable children – particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds – to broaden
their interests through extra-curricular activities and simultaneously free up their parents to
work, reducing the risk of child poverty.

The research found that children from deprived families use the out-of-school services as much
as their better off peers in the vast majority of schools, but in a small but significant minority
, poorer families use them less – possibly because they cannot afford the parental contributions
most schools require.

Of those surveyed, 84% of head teachers said their extended services were used by a mix of more
and less advantaged families, but 10% said their services were used disproportionately by
better-off families even though the services are usually part-funded by the pupil premium, which
is additional money for schools to raise attainment among disadvantaged pupils.

Three quarters of schools that took part in the survey said they would like to expand the numbers
using their extended services and the range of services offered and a third wanted to expand
their hours.

Two thirds of schools, however, said they could not expand because of a lack of funding,
47% were constrained by limited space and 54% had problems with staffing.
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