Brent Is Failing In Its Childcare Duties

Thanks to everyone for forwarding the replies you've got back from the councillors - we're definitely getting noticed! Looks like we're all getting a standard reply now. We'll post a detailed response to the points they make soon, but one of their arguments is that they don't have a duty to keep Hopscotch since its not Brent run.

However, they do in fact have a statutory duty, under the 2006 childrencare act, to ensure sufficient childcare for working parents. The act says that local authorities must take the strategic lead in their local childcare market, planning, supporting and commissioning childcare by working with local private, voluntary and independent sector providers to meet local need.

This includes doing a regular assessment of childcare provision and the most recent was done in 2011. You can read the full report here - and it makes a pretty damning assessment.

Lucy has gone through the document and picked out the most important parts. This gives us lots of vital ammunition to point out to Brent that the future of Hopscotch isn't only our concern - it's theirs too.

Brent Childcare Efficiency Assessment (Feb 2011): Key points

All local authorities are required to complete a Childcare Sufficiency Assessment (CSA) every three years which assesses the supply of, and demand for, childcare in the local authority and identifies any gaps in provision. The most recent one for Brent council was completed in Feb 2011. It is available on the Brent Council web site. Work that led up to the report included collecting data on existing childcare facilities and conducting surveys and focus groups with parents.

“Under the Childcare Act 2006 local authorities have a statutory duty to secure

sufficient childcare for the needs of working parents/carers in their area for

children up to 1 September after they turn 14 years..”

The situation in Brent

• Brent has a high and increasing birth rate relative to the national average and to the London average.
• 30% of families who already use childcare predicted their need for childcare will increase in future (compared to 10% who said it would decrease.)
• 38% of Brent families surveyed need childcare between 8am and 6pm
• 25.8% of parents surveyed reported they were unable to find childcare within the hours they required

The situation in the area surrounding Hopscotch

In the report, 'Kilburn' means Kilburn, Brondesbury Park, Mapesbury and Queen's Park.

All points below were true at the time of publication (Feb 2011.)

• There are 3, 253 nought to four year- olds in Kilburn.
• Compared to other Brent localities, families in Kilburn require the most hours of childcare (average = 28.1 per week)
• Kilburn has no childcare places at playgroup or pre-school (Kingsbury and Wembley have more than 100.)
• It has the lowest number of childminder places in the borough (120 compared to 222 in Willesden.)
• It has the lowest number of vacancies in the borough at both childminders and nurseries
• In 2011 there were only 12 part- time nursery vacancies for 2- 5 year- olds and only two for children over 3 (full time nursery vacancies not reported.)
• In a survey, Kilburn families were the least satisfied in the borough with availability, choice and ease of obtaining childcare
• 54% of Kilburn parents disagreed with the statement: 'there is plenty of childcare available.'
• The report concludes that:

“there may be a lack of choice of childcare (in Kilburn) compared to other localities”

and that

“The availability of childcare may be more of an acute problem faced by families in Kilburn than it is for families in the rest of Brent.”