Hello
It's just been announced that there's going to be a parliamentary inquiry into childcare for disabled children.
It's being organised by long-standing friends of Mumsnet (and supporters of This Is My Child) Every Disabled Child Matters and Contact A Family, together with the Family and Childcare Trust, and Working Families. The inquiry will be co-chaired by Robert Buckland MP, who is another This Is My Child supporter.
We know that lots of MNers who have disabled children say that they struggle to find affordable, appropriate childcare - and that this can sometimes mean that parents aren't able to return to paid work, or to work that is commensurate with their qualifications and experience. Obviously this is a problem with childcare for all children, but it seems to be particularly acute for parents of children with additional needs. According to the inquiry's consultation document (downloadable Word PDF), 66% of parents paid more for childcare for a disabled child than their non-disabled child; families report paying up to £20 per hour for childcare for a disabled child; only 39% of parents of disabled children agreed that providers could cater for their child’s condition in their area; and only 28% of local authorities in England say they have enough childcare for disabled children.
We'd like to submit an official Mumsnet response to the Inquiry based on your thoughts - so if you can let us know what you think about any or all of the following questions, please do so on this thread (or email us at [email protected] if you'd prefer to keep it anonymous). (If you'd rather - or in addition - submit your own personal response, there's an online survey you can take here.)
CONSULTATION QUESTIONS (please see the consultation document (downloadable Word PDF) for further context and background):
- Why is childcare for a disabled child often more expensive and what can be done to reduce the costs of providing childcare for this group of children?
- To what extent does the current system of support with childcare costs help parents with disabled children to meet the additional costs of childcare?
- If there was to be financial support to meet the additional costs of providing childcare for disabled children, how could this be most effectively delivered? What do you think are the pros and cons of offering extra support either directly to parents or the providers, or via local authorities?
- What are the barriers to extending access to suitable childcare for disabled children and what can be done to address them?
Do you agree that families with disabled children and young people experience fewer early years and childcare options compared to other families? If so, why is this and what can be done to address this?
- Are the reasons the same/different for older disabled children (eg 14 plus)
- Are they the same/different for disabled children from BME communities?
- Are they the same/different for disabled children living in rural areas
- Are they the same/ different for children with complex health/medical needs?
- What are the different challenges in extending access for disabled children for:
• pre-school childcare providers;
• wraparound school or holiday childcare providers;
• providers of childcare for older children;and
• others, i.e. children’s centres?
- What is the role the following bodies or organisations should play in improving the availability of childcare for disabled children and what is needed to enable them to fulfil this role?
• National and devolved government
• Local authorities and their health partners
• Early years providers, including childminders
• Schools (mainstream and special)
- What can be done to ensure that inclusive childcare becomes the norm for disabled children going into the future?
- What are the reasons childcare offered for disabled children can be lacking in quality and what do you think needs to be done to improve this?
- Are there particular groups of disabled children who are better or less well served by current childcare provision?
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To what extent is the childcare workforce equipped to provide high quality care for disabled children? What role do the following people/ organisations have in improving the standard of childcare for disabled children?
• National and devolved government
• Local authorities
• Early years providers, including childminders and individual staff
• Schools
• Ofsted
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What more do you think needs to be done to improve the information provision to ensure that families are aware of the provision available in their area?
If we could have your thoughts by Monday June 2 (to give us a week to collate responses) that would be great.
Thank you,
MNHQ