National Wraparound Childcare Programme - Parent/Carer Survey 2024

Activity closed.

Background

In the 2023 Spring Budget, the government announced that it will provide up to £289 million of start-up funding over two academic years to support local authorities and providers in England to introduce or expand childcare provision on either side of the school day, which parents of primary school-aged children will be able to pay to access.  

This National Wraparound Childcare Programme will only focus on primary school-aged children from reception to year 6, Monday to Friday during term time. The expectation is that wraparound childcare will be available between 8am to 6pm, so that parents are able to work a full day with travel time, unless local data shows that there is a demand for different hours, for example reflecting local labour market patterns. 

Wraparound childcare, for example: breakfast club or after-school club, can be provided by a school, a private, voluntary or independent provider or a registered childminder, but does not include school run activities, such as a sports club, or arts club.

West Berkshire Council has been allocated funding from the Department for Education to support the expansion of our programme to meet demand. We recognise that childcare needs for families are not limited to the school day.

Why we want your views

To help us expand the wraparound childcare programme to be able to meet current and future demand, we'd like to hear from parents/carers of primary school age children, but also from those with children aged 0 to 5 years who may wish to access breakfast or after school care in the future.

By understanding where, when and how often childcare is needed before and after the school day, we can design our programme to better support parents/carers and children. If you don't use the current services, we'd like to know what barriers, if any, are stopping you using the service.

We are also surveying schools and other providers to gauge the current supply of childcare across the district.

How to take part

To take part, please complete our survey by midnight on Sunday, 24 March. It should take about five minutes.

If you have any questions about the survey, please email nationalwraparoundcare@westberks.gov.uk

For general enquiries about early years and childcare, including information on what financial help is available, please visit our webpage.

What happens next

All the feedback we receive will help us plan our programme so that we spend the funding in the areas where it is most needed.