The Childcare Working Group Interim Report

I am pleased to introduce the Interim Report of the Childcare Working Group, chaired by Brian Gibbons.

The work of this Group builds on the Childcare Action Plan that the Assembly Government published in 2002.   We have implemented that plan.  We worked with the New Opportunities Fund to create more than 24,000 new out of school childcare places.   We introduced the Cymorth grant scheme, so that childcare is supported within an innovative programme looking at the needs of children in the round, especially in our disadvantaged areas.   We have increased Cymorth funding this year to more than £42 million.   We are seeing new Children’s Information Services created in every local authority, and we are working with WEFO to make the most of the opportunity provided by European Social Funds.

The Action Plan also commissioned original research into the particular needs of childcare businesses.    On receiving that research, the Assembly Government decided to review progress and support further implementation of the Childcare Action Plan through the creation of the Childcare Working Group. That Working Group has now submitted its interim report, and I am launching a public consultation upon it.   The consultation will continue until the end of September.

The Group’s Interim Report provides a summary of the work of the Group to date.   The Group has discussed a wide range of issues, both social and economic,  relevant to childcare.    The Group recognises that we must keep children at the centre of our thinking in making childcare policy, with all action rooted in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.  They received a presentation on regulation from the Care Standards Inspectorate for Wales, and also contributions from ELWa, Jobcentre Plus and the Welsh Development Agency.

We have engaged the Daycare Trust to draft the Group’s reports and keep us informed of emerging good practice.    The resulting report sets out the key issues affecting childcare in Wales as identified by the members. Within each of the key areas identified, questions are incorporated for consultation. This provides an opportunity for all those involved with childcare in any way to share their views and contribute towards the Group’s final report.

I am impressed with the breadth of this report and congratulate Dr Gibbons for taking the Childcare Plan forward in this way.  The report invites the public to take a fresh look at how we underpin quality within childcare, and whether we are using regulation in the right way and with the right balance.

It asks important strategic questions about the balance between support to parents through tax credits, and support to the childcare market from the Assembly.

The report highlights the challenges we face in supporting the childcare workforce, improving skills, recruitment and retention, and the differing roles of local partnerships and ELWa.

The report also discusses the part childcare plays in economic regeneration and helping parents access work and training.   At the same time it asks how economic agencies can better support childcare businesses.

Finally, I would point to the important links the report draws out between our Education programmes and childcare.    Our schools are a tremendous resource and we must make sure that the opportunity provided for childcare by my colleague Jane Davidson’s Community Focussed Schools Programme is fully taken up.

The Childcare Working Group will be receiving oral evidence at the Group’s meetings in the Autumn, and will be offering relevant Assembly Committees the opportunity to discuss this interim report.

The Group must submit its final report to the Assembly Government by the end of December.  Following the receipt of the final report, there will be a chance for a debate in plenary session before the Assembly Government publishes its response and forward strategy.

The Assembly Government sees the interim report and public consultation as an important move forward in developing a childcare strategy.    It is an example of policy making which brings together a wide range of Ministerial portfolios, Assembly sponsored bodies, local government and voluntary sector partners.  I hope that many organisations and individuals will take this chance to give us their views.   In that way we can ensure that our children and families get the best childcare in the right place in the future.