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SECTION FOUR - PARENTS' OPINIONS AND KNOWLEDGE OF INFORMATION SOURCES AND CHANGES IN CHILDCARE ARRANGEMENTS
INTRODUCTION
4.1 Section Four looks at parents' opinions and knowledge of information sources. Parents' opinions about various aspects of their current childcare arrangements (such as convenience, quality and cost) and what their priorities are in terms of future childcare requirements are explored. The section attempts to ascertain:
- how much parents know about local childcare services,
- where they source information about childcare providers and
- where more information is needed.
It also looks specifically at parents' use, and awareness, of local Childcare Information Services.
CHANGES TO CHILDCARE ARRANGEMENTS
Changes in the Last Year
4.2 One in ten parents (10%) had changed their childcare arrangements in the last year and the vast majority of these (82%) were able to access the alternative arrangements that they needed. More than half (58%) said it had not been as difficult as they expected to make new arrangements and just over a third (36%) said it had been as expensive as they expected to make new arrangements.
Planned, Permanent, Significant Changes in the Last Six Months
4.3 Seven percent of parents had made a permanent significant change to their childcare arrangements. Of these, more than a third (37%) had changed provider; just under a third (30%) had increased the number of days, hours or both when they use childcare; and just over a third (34%) had decreased the number of days, hours or both when they use childcare. The single most common reason for these changes was a work-related change of one or both parents (23% of those making a change).
4.4 Just under one in ten of those respondents who had made a permanent significant change in the last six months said that it was due to the child starting school and a similar proportion again (10%) cited other changes related to natural progressions as children grow up ( e.g. starting nursery, or the child being old enough to not need the same intensity of childcare provision). A small proportion (8%) were unhappy with their previous provider but very few said that it was because previous provision was too expensive.
Planned, Temporary, Significant Changes in the Last Six Months
4.5 Just 4% of parents had made a temporary significant change to their childcare arrangements in the last six months. The largest single change was to increase the total number of hours that provision was accessed (with no change to the number of days) - more than half (52%) of respondents said that their change was of this nature. Few respondents (9%) had made reductions either in the number of hours, days or both that they used childcare. The majority of temporary changes were made in response to school holidays (57%)
INFORMATION SOURCES
Sources of Information Used in the Last Year
4.6 Around three quarters (76%) of respondents had not looked for any childcare information in the last year. Of those that had looked for information 20, the most common source cited was word of mouth (50%), followed by the local authority (22%), the Internet (14%), Childcare Information Services (10%) and direct from the provider(s) (10%).
4.7 The qualitative research supports this finding with the main sources of information reported as being other parents, the local authority, health professionals and the Internet. Information from other parents, which tended to be shared informally, was seen as very valuable. A small number of parents referred to local newspapers but this was not so common. Those parents choosing formal childcare options tend to conduct some research into a number of different providers before making a decision. Word of mouth and local knowledge seems particularly common in rural areas and smaller communities.
4.8 Potentially, these results might indicate that a number of parents hear about a provider through word of mouth and then supplement this information with other information sources.
Use and Awareness of local Childcare Information Services ( ChIS)21
4.9 A small proportion of respondents said that they had had used ChIS in the last year. Just under a quarter of these (23%) said that there was information they were looking for but they were unable to find it using ChIS but most did not elaborate on the nature of this.
4.10 Those who had used ChIS in the last year were asked about the ease of finding up-to-date, accurate and complete information through the service. In each category, most respondents said it was neither easy nor difficult, however a large proportion said that up-to-date information was difficult to obtain from this source (19%).
Table 4.1 - Ease of obtaining information from ChIS
| Easy | Neither easy nor difficult | Difficult |
|---|
Up-to-date | 39% | 42% | 19% |
|---|
Accurate | 42% | 52% | 6% |
|---|
Complete | 39% | 52% | 10% |
|---|
Base = 31
4.11 Of those respondents who had not used Childcare Information Services in the last year, around a third (34%) had heard of the service, but only around 16% of those who had heard of it had ever used the Childcare Information Service. Nearly two thirds of all respondents (66%) had never heard of (or used) the Childcare Information Service.
Gaps in Information Available
4.12 The qualitative research indicates that those parents with children with Special Education Needs ( SEN) or a disability tend to use more specialist sources of information in order to access childcare that was suitable for their child's (and often their own respite) needs. For example, the Autism Society provides some information and there are some specialist babysitting agencies (though this can be quite costly for parents). Other parents in this situation said that they would contact the hospital treating their child for information about suitable childcare. Some parents with SEN children who were interviewed feel that there is a real lack of information about childcare suitable for their child's needs, and it appears that specialist bodies better serve some conditions than others, and parents of children with conditions not well represented by voluntary organisations may need additional help and information from local authority social services.
4.13 When parents were asked about potential improvements to information provision about childcare, many of the comments related to the information provided by local authorities about childminders. The majority of parents requesting information from the local authority about Registered Childminders had found it relatively straightforward and had been provided with a list, however, they generally did not feel that the information was comprehensive enough.
4.14 Another general area about which parents would like to know more is what checks and tests are undertaken in order for someone to become registered as a childminder. There appears to be a general assumption among the parents interviewed who use childminders that a certain level of checks had been undertaken but a lack of clarity about what this actually entailed.
4.15 Key findings in this section:
- Very few parents experience problems accessing new arrangements when changes are needed.
- When information on childcare provision is needed, the most common source is word of mouth, but many parents will draw on more than one source.
- The Childcare Information Service has been used by only 2% of respondents in the last year.
- Gaps in information on information on childcare for children with SEN were highlighted.
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