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SECTION TWO - REASONS FOR USE OF CHILDCARE AND MOTIVATING FACTORS
INTRODUCTION
2.1 Section Two investigates parental motivation in the choice of childcare provision and identifies differences between particular groups of parents including those using different types of childcare and those in different income groups.
THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN CHILDCARE DECISIONS
All Respondents
2.2 Overall, the single most important factor in decisions about childcare provision is trust, with just under a third (31%) of respondents overall stating this was most important to their decisions. The next most important was cost, which was cited as the number one consideration half as frequently as trust; this was said by 16% of respondents. No other single factor was cited by more than one in ten parents, and 17% of parents overall did not state what the main factor in their decisions was.
Figure 2.1 - The most important factor in childcare decisions
Source: 2006 Quantitative Survey
Base = 1304 (all respondents)
2.3 There is little variation across most of the factors, that were cited as most important, when comparing those that use childcare in a typical week and those that do not. Trust, however is cited more often by those using childcare (37% compared to just 26% of those not using childcare). Those not using childcare were much more likely to be unable to state one main factor that was most important in making childcare decisions. Almost a third (29%) of respondents not using childcare did not state a main factor, compared to just 1% of those who use childcare in a typical week.
By Type of Provision Used
2.4 In order to establish whether the motivations of parents depend on the type of childcare accessed (formal, informal and not using childcare), an analysis of the main factors influencing childcare decisions was carried out.
2.5 Looking at the single most important factor in choosing current childcare arrangements, trust is cited proportionately more often by those using an informal provider (42%) than by other groups (30% of those whose main provider is a formal provider and 31% of those who do not use childcare), showing that trust is by far the most important driver in choosing informal childcare arrangements. Interestingly, the proportion of parents citing cost as the main driver was similar across all types of provision (ranging from 16-17%).
2.6 While the total proportion of respondents reporting that reputation/recommendation and location were their first considerations was low overall, those using a formal provider as their main provider were more than twice as likely to state this compared to those using an informal provider (11% compared to 5% cited reputation/recommendation and 9% compared to 4% highlighted location respectively).
2.7 Less than 1% of those using a formal main provider did not state what the most important factor in their decisions was, compared to 12% whose main provider is informal and 29% of those who do not use childcare, demonstrating that the use of formal childcare appears to be driven by a very conscious choice.
Figure 2.2 - The most important factor in childcare decisions, by type of main provider
Source: 2006 Quantitative Survey
Base: 1304 (all respondents). Provider information is drawn from a variable that covers those who use childcare in a typical week and those who use it infrequently (642 respondents) and those who never use childcare (662 respondents).
By Household Income
2.8 Trust is of high importance to respondents in all income groups, with no group varying by more than +/- 5% of the mean response and nearly a third (31%) of all respondents saying this. Just over a quarter (28%) of households with an income under £25,000 cite cost as the key driver. For those households with the lowest incomes (under £9,500 a year) cost was the single most common response (28%), just slightly more common than trust (26%). The overall importance of cost declines as household income rise above £25,000.
2.9 Reliability is most important to households in higher income groups and, as household income increases, the likelihood of respondents providing details of the factors of importance in their decisions declines (18% of those with household income over £50,000 did not state a factor compared to 4% of those with household income under £9,500). A summary of all responses on first factor of importance in the childcare decisions, broken down by income ranges, is shown in Table 2.1.
Table 2.1 - The most important factor in the childcare decisions, by household income
| Under £9,500 | £9,500 to £24,499 | £25,500 to £49,499 | £50,000 or over | All respondents |
|---|
Trust | 26% | 35% | 30% | 29% | 31% |
|---|
Cost | 28% | 28% | 17% | 5% | 16% |
|---|
Reputation/ recommendation | 8% | 7% | 10% | 13% | 7% |
|---|
Location | 7% | 4% | 5% | 8% | 6% |
|---|
Convenience | 8% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 5% |
|---|
Reliability | 4% | 2% | 5% | 10% | 4% |
|---|
Qualifications/ training of staff | 3% | 2% | 5% | 5% | 3% |
|---|
Social opportunities for child | 3% | 5% | 1% | 3% | 3% |
|---|
Availability of a place for my child | 4% | 2% | 4% | 3% | 3% |
|---|
Other | 0% | 2% | 3% | 1% | 3% |
|---|
Educational opportunities for child | 3% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
|---|
Availability of subsidies | 3% | 2% | 1% | 0% | 1% |
|---|
No other options available | 0% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% |
|---|
None stated | 4% | 6% | 13% | 18% | 17% |
|---|
Total | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
|---|
Base:
Under £9,500 = 101
£9,500 to £24,499 = 253
£25,500 to £49,499 = 341
£50,000 or over = 79
All respondents (including 530 who did not disclose their income) = 1304
2.10 Table 2.2 below shows the weekly cost of childcare by weekly household income. The table shows that there are very few parents facing high costs for childcare who have a low income of under £221 per week (2%). It is also interesting to note that relatively high proportions of all income groups do not pay anything for childcare. However, this is likely to be attributable to the receipt of free childcare (and little other childcare) for low income parents and the use of informal or no childcare for higher income parents. There is a correlation between income and cost of formal childcare.
Table 2.2 - Weekly cost of childcare by weekly household income
| Weekly household income |
|---|
Up to £221 | £222 - £480 | £481 - £769 | £770 or more |
|---|
Weekly cost for formal and informal childcare | £0 | 69% | 45% | 53% | 49% |
|---|
£1 - £40 | 19% | 34% | 29% | 29% |
|---|
£41 - £75 | 11% | 11% | 12% | 10% |
|---|
£76 - £400 | 2% | 11% | 6% | 12% |
|---|
Weekly cost for formal childcare | £0 | 56% | 21% | 30% | 26% |
|---|
£1 - £40 | 24% | 42% | 42% | 42% |
|---|
£41 - £75 | 16% | 17% | 20% | 13% |
|---|
£76 - £400 | 4% | 19% | 8% | 19% |
|---|
Weekly cost for informal childcare | £0 | 75% | 86% | 89% | 85% |
|---|
£1 - £40 | 20% | 11% | 9% | 9% |
|---|
£41 - £75 | 5% | 3% | 0% | 6% |
|---|
£76 - £400 | 0% | 0% | 2% | 0% |
|---|
Base: 351 (all respondents providing information on their weekly income and disclosing childcare costs);
201 (all respondents providing information on their weekly income, disclosing childcare costs and using formal provision in a typical week as their main provider); and 135 (all respondents providing information on their weekly income, disclosing childcare costs and using informal provision in a typical week as their main provider).
Note to the table: these breakdowns by income band and cost of childcare result in small bases and should therefore be considered indicative only.
2.11 The data clearly indicates that for parents' choices and motivations, cost only becomes a key consideration in the lower income groups, whereas trust is of key importance to all parents. This is reinforced when looking at the top three and all factors taken into consideration by parents as set out below.
THE TOP THREE CONSIDERATIONS
2.12 Overall, looking at the top three considerations in the childcare decisions, trust is by far the most important. More than half (54%) of all respondents said that this was one of the three most important factors when making a childcare decision. As well as cost being important (38%), it is clear from this analysis that location (33%); reputation/recommendation (24%); reliability (23%); and convenience (19%) were important considerations in a notable proportion of parents' decisions. This is summarised in Figure 2.3 (below).
Figure 2.3 - The three most important factors in the childcare decisions
Source: 2006 Quantitative Survey
Base = 1304 (all respondents)
2.13 Again, looking at second and third most important factors influencing the childcare decisions by type of provider shows that those not using childcare are much more likely to be unable to state the main factors in their decisions. When asked to identify the second and third most important factors, around 20% of those not using childcare did not state a reason compared to less than 1% of those using childcare.
ALL CONSIDERATIONS OF IMPORTANCE
2.14 Looking at indications from respondents of all factors of importance, trust was an important factor in more than two-thirds (67%) of all respondents' childcare decisions, with location and cost an important consideration for more than half of all respondents (58% and 56% respectively). When considering all factors of importance, cost moves from being the second most commonly cited consideration (when only looking at the single most important and top three factors of importance) to being third after location. Where cost is a factor it is likely to be very important, whereas location is a secondary consideration. A quarter of respondents said that location was of some importance in their decisions about childcare provider, in addition to the 33% who said it was one of their top three considerations. A summary of all considerations of importance is shown in Figure 2.4 (below).
2.15 This demonstrates that cost of childcare is a key factor, but not the critical factor in childcare choice. Sensitivity to cost also varies by parental income, as highlighted in Table 2.1, with cost being cited as the most important consideration for those on the lowest level of income (below £9,500 per annum). It also seems to be a key consideration for those respondents on less than £25,000 per annum, but the proportions mentioning it as the most important consideration drop significantly in the higher income groups. Cost is only a minor consideration for those earning more than £50,000 per annum. As also highlighted in Figure 2.2, sensitivity to cost does not appear to be related to type of childcare provision (formal or informal).
Figure 2.4 - All factors of importance in the childcare decisions
Source: 2006 Quantitative Survey
Base = 1304 (all respondents).
PROFILES FOR DIFFERENT GROUPS OF PARENTS
2.16 There are, however, some important differences in factors of importance between different household types. Figure 2.5 below shows the ranking of the most important factors in choosing childcare for two-parent families ( i.e. families where the respondent parent is married or cohabiting) and one-parent families ( i.e. families where the respondent parent is single, widowed, divorced or separated). Between the two groups of families, there is little difference when ranking the most important factors when choosing childcare arrangements, with the exception of cost. Cost is rated as one of the three most important factors to consider by 47% of single parent families, compared to only 34% of two-parent families. This highlights that lone parents are more sensitive to price than those in two-parent families, and probably reflects their lower income (of those that answered the question, 79% of lone parents had income less than £15,500 per annum as opposed to just 10% of two-parent families). It may also reflect the fact that some two-parent families have more flexibility in providing informal childcare ( i.e. one of them looking after their child for some/all of the time).
Figure 2.5 - Factors rated as the three most important factors when choosing childcare arrangements by household type
Source: 2006 Quantitative Survey
Base: = 991 (two-parent families) and 313 (one-parent families)
2.17 Figure 2.6 below focuses only on parents choosing formal childcare arrangements. The figure shows that trust and location of provision are both more important than cost for this group of parents. Generally, differences between factors of importance in childcare decisions by household type are less pronounced among those using formal provision than in the sample generally. Trust, however, was cited as one of the three main factors by proportionately more two-parent families (59% compared to 45% of one-parent families) and reputation of the provider was also more important to two-parent families (35% of two-parent households placed this in their top three, compared to just 26% of one-parent households). In terms of cost, the similarity in responses between one-parent and two-parent households (in both cases around 40% of respondents stated that this was one of the three main factors of importance in the childcare decisions). Comparing this with the sample as a whole (see Figure 2.5) indicates that cost is more of an issue for one-parent families not using formal provision than for two-parent families in the same situation, possibly because one-parent families are less able or willing to access formal provision on the grounds of cost. In terms of formal provision, the main differentiator between one- and two-parent family types is not cost, but factors such as trust and reputation. This analysis should be treated as indicative given the relatively low sample of one-parent families using formal care as their main provision (see note to table).
Figure 2.6 - Factors rated as the three most important factors when choosing childcare arrangements - respondents accessing formal childcare as main provider in typical week by household type
Source: 2006 Quantitative Survey
Base: 257 (2-parent families using formal provision) and 78 (1-parent families using formal provision).
Note: the answer 'there was no other option' has not been reported due to a very low number of observations. Findings for 1-parent families are premised on a small base of 78 parents and should be treated with caution.
2.18 Figure 2.7 below shows that cost is slightly more important in households where there are not two working adults. Again, this is probably related to income - two salaries may mean that households can afford to be less cost-sensitive. Even in workless households, cost remains a secondary consideration to trust, and, for households with two working parents, location is cited in the top three considerations as frequently as cost. Simply having the availability of a place is relatively more important to workless households than the other household types (21% versus 11% and 10%). Households with at least one parent working seem to place more importance on location, reputation and convenience of supplier. Again, we should treat these results as indicative given the small sample sizes in some of the bases.
Figure 2.7 - Factors rated among the three most important factors when choosing childcare arrangements - respondents accessing formal childcare as main provider in typical week by labour market status
Source: 2006 Quantitative Survey
Base: 10 (no parents working); 45 (one parent in employment); 218 (two parents in employment and accessing formal childcare in typical week).
Note: the answer 'there was no other option' has not been reported due to a very low number of observations. This refers to parents living in the household surveyed, and the respondent's partner (whether or not the child's natural parent) is included whilst a natural parent living in another household is not included. The bases for households with only one or no parents working are small and results should be treated with caution.
2.19 Another key variable to impact on choice of most important factor would appear to be number of children. As can be seen from Table 2.3, trust is the main concern for all family sizes, but cost becomes a markedly greater concern when the household has three or more children, whereas the importance of trust falls with the number of children. It is also interesting to note that other factors, such as location and reputation become more important, as the number of children in the family increases, whereas convenience falls. However, the sample base for those with three children or more is small and these results should be seen as illustrative (and worthy of additional testing in subsequent research) rather than representative.
Table 2.3 - The single most important factor when choosing childcare arrangements - those accessing childcare in typical week by number of children in household
| 1 child | 2 children | 3 or more children |
|---|
Cost | 17% | 16% | 23% |
|---|
Trust | 38% | 37% | 30% |
|---|
Location | 6% | 8% | 10% |
|---|
Reputation | 4% | 9% | 10% |
|---|
Availability of subsidies | 2% | 2% | 2% |
|---|
Social opportunities | 3% | 5% | 3% |
|---|
Convenience | 12% | 9% | 5% |
|---|
Reliability | 7% | 3% | 8% |
|---|
Training | 2% | 1% | 5% |
|---|
Availability of places | 3% | 4% | 3% |
|---|
Educational opportunities for child | 2% | 1% | 2% |
|---|
Base: 250 (respondents using childcare in a typical week with one child); 236 (respondents using childcare in a typical week with two children) and 61 (respondents using childcare in a typical week with three or more children)
Source: 2006 quantitative survey
Note: The base relating to households with three or more children is small and the figures relating to this should be considered illustrative rather than representative
QUALITATIVE INDICATIONS OF PARENTAL MOTIVATIONS
2.20 The qualitative research reinforces the survey findings, showing that childcare decisions are complex and multi-faceted and does not appear to be simply related to whether the parent needs to, or is able to, undertake paid work as might have been assumed. For a minority of the parents interviewed, the decision of whether to access any childcare at all does have a simple relationship with paid work - it is considered to be crucial for the household's income that both parents in couple households or the parent in lone parent households have to work.
2.21 The qualitative research shows that cost (whether actual or perceived), understandably appears to be of particular relevance to lone parents, lower income working parents and those with more than two children. There appears to be a mix of actual and perceived issues relating to cost, as there was a mix of parents who had looked into different childcare options and decided that it is unaffordable and parents who have assumed that their income would not be sufficient to cover childcare. There was a commonly held view across the majority of the parents interviewed in the qualitative research that the cost of formal childcare is too high.
2.22 The strong views that many parents have on the role of parents in bringing up children were discussed in Section One, and, for a small number of the parents interviewed it is simply a matter of feeling that no-one other than themselves would be in a position to provide the care required by their children and expected by the parents. This experience appears to be particularly the case for parents with a disabled child or with a child who has Special Educational Needs ( SEN), but also for those parents who have a child with perhaps more minor issues for which medication is required or particular personality traits.
2.23 The qualitative interviews found examples of situations where the children are in childcare, although one or both parents are not in paid work, with the key reason being for the child's personal, social and educational development. For those not using childcare for employment purposes and without extended families, a key reason is to get the child accustomed to being with other people, and being away from their mother. This did not appear to be linked specifically to income. Thus, these parents want their child to mix with other children, learn to share toys, and be stimulated by different environments and activities.
2.24 Those parents with larger families in particular see the cost of formal childcare as prohibitive. Even where there are mixtures of younger and older children with older children only requiring out of school care, the costs involved are outwith the reach of many larger families. An additional issue facing parents with higher numbers of children in terms of accessing both formal and informal care is the difficulty in finding providers willing to look after 4 or 5 children. As would be expected, logistical difficulties appear more pronounced for larger families with the need for particularly complex packages of childcare being required.
2.25 Key findings in this section:
- Trust is by far the most important factor in the childcare decisions. More than half (54%) of respondents placed it in the top 3 of factors they considered.
- Cost is also an important factor, especially for low-income households and those with more than two children, with over a third (38%) of all parents placing it in their top three considerations. Location, while rarely the first consideration, is an important secondary factor.
- In-depth qualitative interviews indicated that the majority of parents spoken to 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 have to spend less on childcare, with very few paying high costs.
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