Scottish parents are paying 2% more for childcare for the under-twos than they were one year ago, according to the country’s most comprehensive annual survey of childcare costs, published today.
Coram Family and Childcare’s 20th annual Childcare Survey finds that parents in Scotland are now paying an average of £111.26 per week, or almost £5,800 per year, for a part-time nursery place.
Even where parents can afford childcare, some will struggle to find it.
In Scotland, though the majority of childcare categories have shown an increase in availability between 2019 and 2020, only 27% of local authorities have enough childcare for parents working full-time – significantly lower than in England (56%).
In September 2017 in England, free childcare was extended for three and four year olds with working parents to 30 hours per week during term time. Free childcare in Scotland will now also be extended to 1,140 hours per year (30 hours per week for 38 weeks per year) for all children, not just those with working parents.
The entitlement will be available from August 2020. Local authorities are broadly optimistic about this extension, with over two-thirds (69%) of local authorities expecting it to have a positive impact on the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers.
Claire Harding, Head of Coram Family and Childcare, said: “Good childcare is essential: it enables parents to work and boosts children’s learning. But for far too many families in the UK, it just isn’t working.
“Recent government investment is welcome, but many families still face crippling costs, especially in the period from the end of parental leave to when a child turns three. There are seven different types of childcare support depending on families’ individual circumstances, and many parents find it difficult just to find out what’s available to them.
“Investing in childcare supports is good for us all because it helps parents to work now, and boosts children’s learning and skills for our future. We’re calling on Government to reform and simplify the childcare system so every parent is better off working after paying for childcare, and every child has access to childcare which supports their learning and development.”
The Childcare Survey 2020 sets out actions that Scottish, Welsh and UK governments can take to help parents find affordable childcare:
- Reform Universal Credit so it doesn’t lock parents out of work: increasing the maximum amount of childcare costs paid under Universal Credit and moving to upfront payments for childcare
- Regularly review the funding rate for free early years entitlements to make sure that they meet the cost of delivering high quality childcare
- Double the early years pupil premium, to boost outcomes for the most disadvantaged children
- Reallocate any underspend against the budget for Tax-Free Childcare to other parts of the childcare system – and focus this on the most disadvantaged children.
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