Torbay Childcare Sufficiency Assessment - Torbay Council

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1.0 INTRODUCTION The Childcare Act 2006 expands the role that local authorities must take in delivering the government’s commitment to give every child the best start in life and to give parents greater choice in balancing work and family life. This Act places duties on local authorities to improve outcomes for children and young people and reduce the inequalities between them. Local authorities are tasked with ensuring there is sufficient childcare for working parents and those wishing to return to work or undertake training / education to enable them to return to work. They are also required to provide information to parents about childcare and the wide range of services which are available and may be of benefit to them. 2
1.0 INTRODUCTION Under the Childcare Act 2006, Torbay Council has to take a vital role as strategic leaders in the local childcare market. Together with the providers from the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector, Torbay must work towards creating a strong, sustainable and diverse childcare market which will meet the needs of parents. From April 2008, Torbay has a duty to secure sufficient childcare in the area. In preparation for this the council was required to undertake a detailed sufficiency assessment of the supply of local childcare and the demand for it. Aims and Objectives The purpose of this report is to provide a detailed assessment of childcare sufficiency regarding the supply of childcare against the parental demand for it. This assessment is the first step in enabling Torbay to secure sufficient provision and meet our duties under Section 11 of the Childcare Act 2006. The assessment is required to be a measurement of the nature and extent of both the need for, and supply of, childcare within the local authority area (and sub-authority area). It will help Torbay identify where there are gaps in the market and in consultation with parents, communities and employers, plan how to support the market to address these gaps. This duty to assess childcare must take into consideration the supply of and demand for formal childcare which may be registered, unregistered, or approved and which meets the needs of working parents or those wishing to return to work. This assessment must also take account of the early years provision for 3 and 4 year olds which local authorities must secure, free of charge. This assessment will be a comprehensive and robust analysis of the local childcare market which will enable Torbay Council to confidently plan the action needed to secure sufficient childcare and to take a lead role in facilitating the local childcare market. Sufficient childcare is defined in Section 6 of The Childcare Act 2006 as 3 “sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in [the local authority’s] area who require childcare in order to enable them to: a) Take up or remain in work b) Undertake education or training which could reasonably be expected to assist them to obtain work. In determining whether provision of childcare is sufficient Torbay Council: a) Must have regard to the needs of parents in their area for i) the provision of childcare in respect of which the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit is payable, and ii) the provision of childcare which is suitable for disabled children b) May have regard to any childcare which they expect to be available outside their area.” Outline of this Assessment This assessment has followed a series of steps in its preparation: a) Assessing the supply of childcare in each sub-local authority area, taking into account the following: ■ The number of childcare places available for children up to and including the age of 14 (and up to 17 for disabled children) ■ The number of places available for which parents would be able to use the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit ■ The number of free entitlement places available for 3 and 4 year olds ■ The times at which childcare is available, the maximum length of time that childcare providers will care for children in a day and their flexibility in catering for irregular patterns across the day, the week and the year ■ The number and nature of places available for children who need special care due to a disability or special educational need ■ The number of vacant places ■ The range of session lengths offered by childcare providers, and
Page 1 and 2: March 2008 Torbay Childcare Suffici
Page 3: CONTENTS 1. 1 Introduction ........
Page 7 and 8: 5 METHODOLOGY 2.0 This assessment o
Page 9 and 10: 2.0 METHODOLOGY Consultation The co
Page 11 and 12: 9 3.0 DEMOGRAPHICS There are a numb
Page 13 and 14: 3.0 DEMOGRAPHICS Figure 8 Distribut
Page 15 and 16: 3.0 DEMOGRAPHICS Population Forecas
Page 17 and 18: 3.0 DEMOGRAPHICS Housing Developmen
Page 19 and 20: 4.0 ECONOMIC ACTIVITY Working Patte
Page 21 and 22: 4.0 ECONOMIC ACTIVITY Average earni
Page 23 and 24: EARLY YEARS EDUCATION 5.0 21 This c
Page 25 and 26: 5.0 EARLY YEARS EDUCATION Figure 26
Page 27 and 28: 5.0 EARLY YEARS EDUCATION “ The S
Page 29 and 30: 6.0 CHILDCARE SUPPLY Number Of Chil
Page 31 and 32: 6.0 CHILDCARE SUPPLY the numbers of
Page 33 and 34: 6.0 CHILDCARE SUPPLY 31 Figure 39 D
Page 35 and 36: 6.0 CHILDCARE SUPPLY Figure 41 Numb
Page 37 and 38: 6.0 CHILDCARE SUPPLY are run throug
Page 39 and 40: 6.0 CHILDCARE SUPPLY Comparisons wi
Page 41 and 42: 7.0 CHILDCARE DEMAND Figure 51 Rate
Page 43 and 44: 7.0 CHILDCARE DEMAND Doesn’t “
Page 45 and 46: 7.0 CHILDCARE DEMAND Figure 56 Main
Page 47 and 48: 7.0 CHILDCARE DEMAND a week. Nurser
Page 49 and 50: 7.0 CHILDCARE DEMAND Figure 61 Pare
Page 51 and 52: 7.0 CHILDCARE DEMAND Our observatio
Page 53 and 54: 51 8.0 MATCHING SUPPLY TO DEMAND Th
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8.0 MATCHING SUPPLY TO DEMAND 53 Fi
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8.0 MATCHING SUPPLY TO DEMAND Type
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9.0 SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS 57 Acro
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Acknowledgements The Early Years an
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Torbay Childcare Sufficiency Assessment - Torbay Council

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