RESEARCH Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey Sessional Day Care Providers

Transcription

1 RESEARCH 2005 Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey Sessional Day Care Providers Sam Clemens, Robert Kinnaird and Anna Ullman BMRB Social Research Research Report RR762

2 Research Report No Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey Sessional Day Care Providers Sam Clemens, Robert Kinnaird and Anna Ullman BMRB Social Research The views expressed in this report are the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department for Education and Skills. Crown Copyright 2006 ISBN

3 Table of Contents 1 Summary and conclusions Introduction Characteristics of provision Places and children Characteristics of staff Training Qualifications of staff Recruitment and retention Income and expenditure Conclusions Introduction The Ten Year Strategy for childcare Objectives of the research The Survey Survey Design Structure of the report Notes on reading the report Characteristics of Provision Number of providers Ownership How long operating Written business plan Places and Children

4 4.1 Number of places Types of care offered Number of children attending Ages Black or minority ethnic groups (BME) Special educational needs (SEN) Vacancies Term time care Holiday time care Breaking even Expansion Characteristics of Staff Number of staff Paid staff Unpaid staff Agency staff Age Gender Disability Ethnicity Working hours Pay levels Other work Training Views of current level of training

5 6.2 Training plans and budgets Funding Training provision and type of training provided Qualifications of Staff Definitions of Qualifications Levels Current qualifications held Senior Managers Supervisory staff Other staff Qualifications being worked towards Qualifications required of senior managers NVQ Assessors Incentives provided for staff working towards a childcare qualification Recruitment and Retention Levels of recruitment Senior Managers Supervisory staff Other paid childcare staff Length of Service Annual staff losses Staff turnover Recruitment Methods Recruitment Difficulties Types of staff that provider had difficulty recruiting

6 8.6.2 Difficulties encountered Current vacancies Length of time it takes to fill vacancies Income and Expenditure Introduction Expenditure and outgoings Costs of premises Insurance costs Cost of toys, books and other items for children Cost of business rates Cost of food Cost of other consumables Cost of professional fees Cost of transport Other costs Staff costs Annual expenditure Income Fees charged Income from Local Authority Income from other sources Total income Profitability of sessional day care providers Providers operating at a loss Tax credits and childcare vouchers Awareness of tax credit issues

7 9.5.2 Fees paid by parent s employers Technical appendix Design Pilot Sample design Sessional Full day care Out of school care Childminders Main survey Response rates Weighting and grossing Actual and effective sample sizes Data analysis Pay data Edits Survey materials Changes to the National Qualification Framework since

8 Copyright: reports and any other material associated with a survey are normally intended for use within a client s organisation and its associate organisations such as advertising agents. Should a client intend wider circulation of the results then the client must agree the form and content with BMRB, and must acknowledge BMRB as the source of the information. 6

9 1 Summary and conclusions 1.1 Introduction The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned BMRB to undertake four surveys to collect information about childcare providers and the childcare workforce. This report outlines the findings for sessional providers (facilities that provide day care for children under 8 for less than a continuous period of four hours a day) and is based on interviews with the senior manager at 1,007 sessional providers sampled from the Ofsted database. Findings from the 2005 survey have been compared with those from similar surveys conducted in 2003 and where appropriate Data have been weighted and grossed to provide national estimates. 1.2 Characteristics of provision The total number of sessional providers has decreased from 11,892 in 2003 to 9,966 in 2005, continuing the trend seen since During the same time, there has been an increase in the number of full day care providers, so it is possible that some of the sessional providers now provide full day care (care for more than 4 hours per day). Settings are not evenly distributed across England the South East accounts for a fifth (21 per cent) of all settings, while the West Midlands accounts for just nine per cent. The rate of decline has also varied, with the West Midlands seeing the greatest percentage decrease in numbers since 2003 (22 per cent), and London and the South East the smallest percentage decrease (12 per cent). Six in ten sessional providers are managed by some form of voluntary or community group and a third are managed by private sector organisations. Nine in ten sessional providers have been operating for five years or more. Those set up on a for-profit basis were more likely to be relatively new (30 per cent had been in operation for less than 5 years). Four-fifths of sessional providers had either covered their costs or made a profit in the last financial year. Three-quarters of sessional providers were set up on a not-for-profit basis. 1.3 Places and children The total number of Ofsted registered places available in sessional providers is 265,400. This is a decrease of 59,900 places since 2003, which is due to the decrease in the number of providers. Those providers still operating as sessional providers are 1

10 offering the same number of places, on average, as they did in 2003 (26.6 places and 27.4 places respectively). The total number of children attending sessional care in 2005 was 390,000. This is 79,000 fewer children than attended in Again, this decrease is in line with the decline in the number of providers. Those providers still operating as sessional providers have, on average, the same number of children attending (39.5) as in 2003 (39.6). Nearly all (95 per cent) of the children attending are pre-school children aged 2-4 years old. Children of black or minority ethnic origin made up 10 per cent of all children attending. Five per cent of all children enrolled were defined by the providers as having special educational needs. At the time of the survey, there were 29,800 vacant places in sessional providers an average of three places per provider. Vacancies were more common in less densely populated areas, in smaller providers and in the West Midlands. London based settings were least likely to have vacancies. 1.4 Characteristics of staff The overall number of paid staff working in sessional settings was 59,800, a decrease of 9,800 since The proportion of staff who are defined as supervisory staff has increased since 2003, suggesting that the workforce is becoming better qualified and more professional. There are also large numbers of unpaid staff working within sessional day care settings in total, 17,300, made up of 11,950 volunteers and 5,350 students on placement. The average hours worked by paid childcare staff had increased slightly since 2003 to 18 hours a week, with nine in ten of the sessional workforce working part time (less than 30 hours a week). Pay levels for childcare staff have increased across all grades of staff. The average hourly pay is 6.20, an increase of 15 per cent since Senior managers earned, on average, 7.50 an hour (this is also a 15 per cent increase compared to 2003). (In the same time period the average hourly pay for all employees in the UK increased by 10 per cent). 1.5 Training Over eight in ten senior managers felt that the amount of training received by their staff was about right, but around one in seven (13 per cent) thought they had received too little. 2

11 The proportion of sessional providers with a training plan has increased since 2003 to 61 per cent. Two-fifths have a specific training budget. Funding for training most commonly came from the Local Authority or Sure Start. 1.6 Qualifications of staff The overall trend is that since 2003 a larger proportion of all types of sessional childcare staff have higher level qualifications. Three-quarters have some kind of qualification relevant to working with children or young people (up from 65 per cent in 2003), and nearly all of these have a least a Level 2 qualification. Over half of the childcare staff have at least a Level 3 qualification. Almost nine in ten senior managers have at least a Level 3 qualification, up nine percentage points from Nearly one in ten (8 per cent) have a Level 6 qualification or above. Three quarters of supervisory staff have at least a Level 3 qualification; while two fifths of other childcare staff have a least a Level 2 qualification. A quarter of childcare staff are currently working towards a relevant qualification, and most providers were supportive of this (allowing time off or funding such training). 1.7 Recruitment and retention Overall, 11,700 childcare staff were recruited in the last year. The recruitment rate was 21 per cent, which was almost identical to Less than half of the providers had lost at least one member of staff in the last year, which was a slight decrease on The turnover rate in 2005 was 12 per cent, similar to 2003 (14 per cent). Employment growth in 2005 was nine per cent, again similar to 2003 (eight per cent). Many of those who left took other jobs in the childcare and early years sector (40 per cent). Word of mouth and adverts in the local press were, as in 2003, the most commonly used recruitment methods. The most notable changes since 2003 were the growth in the use of the internet (up from two per cent to 19 per cent) and use of the national press (up from one per cent to 15 per cent). Three in ten sessional providers who had tried to recruit in the last year had had a fair amount or a great deal of difficulty. Around one in seven (13 per cent) providers were actively trying to recruit at the time of the survey, and had vacancies for around 1,700 1staff in total. 1 Estimate weighted to provide figure across all sessional providers in England. 3

12 1.8 Income and expenditure Many providers were unable to say how much they spent on various categories of expenditure, or how much money they received from various sources. Thus, the figures provided should be treated with caution. Among those providing a figure, the largest item of expenditure was staff costs, which accounted for around 74 per cent of total expenditure (on average). The overall average expenditure for sessional providers was 34,700 a year. (This is a very rough figure, based on sometimes small numbers of providers). Nearly all sessional providers spent money on insurance and on toys and books etc for the children. Very few paid business rates or spent any money on transport. In terms of income, sessional providers relied heavily on Local Authorities. On average, 58 per cent of their income came from this source, while 35 per cent came from fees and eight per cent from other sources such as fund-raising or Sure Start. Average income per year was around 26,600. (This is a very rough figure, based on sometimes small numbers of providers). Three in ten sessional providers had made a profit or surplus in the last financial year, and 49 per cent had covered their costs. These figures were similar to 2003 (with perhaps a slight upward trend in the proportion making a profit), but there had been an increase in the number of providers reporting operating at a loss (15 per cent in 2005 compared with 11 per cent in 2003). Two fifths of the loss-making providers said that the loss was due to a one off circumstance and was unlikely to be repeated. A small proportion of all providers (three per cent) felt that they could not keep operating at a loss for more than another 12 months before they would have to close. 1.9 Conclusions The provision of sessional day care is in decline. Fewer providers are registered to provide this type of care, and fewer children are making use of it. This is most likely to be due to a shift towards full day care provision, with sessional providers shifting into the full day care sector and providing care for more than four hours per day. Those providers that are still operating as sessional providers have a similar number of children per setting as in 2003, and there is a slight upward trend in the proportion making a profit. The vast majority of sessional providers are managing to break even or make money. However, there is also a slight increase in those operating at a loss. Staff working in sessional providers are better qualified than they were two years ago, and settings now have a greater proportion of supervisory staff than in

13 2 Introduction 2.1 The Ten Year Strategy for childcare The Government s Ten Year Strategy for early years and childcare, published in December 2004, outlined a number of key principles and objectives: Choice and Flexibility - greater choice for parents in how they balance their work commitments and family life; Availability flexible, affordable, high quality childcare for all families with children aged up to 14 who need it; Quality - high quality provision delivered by a skilled early years and childcare workforce; and Affordability families to be able to afford flexible, high quality childcare that is appropriate for their needs. The Government s vision is to ensure that every child gets the best start in life, and to give parents more choice about how to balance work and family life. By 2010, all 3 and 4 year olds will be entitled to 15 hours a week of free high quality care, for 38 weeks a year and there will be an out of school childcare place available for all children aged 3-14 from the hours of 8am-6pm every weekday. This will be accompanied by a package of measures to help address the issue of affordability of childcare, including increases in the childcare costs that can be claimed through Working Tax Credit and measures to help parents balance work and family life, including the extension of paid maternity leave. To support this, and to help improve the quality of childcare, there is to be a radical reform of the workforce. This will include measures to strengthen professional leadership in all full day care settings, improve the qualifications and status of early years and childcare workers and provide training opportunities for childminders and other home-based carers. A Transformation Fund of 250m over the period April 2006 to August 2008 will support investment to raise the quality of the early years workforce without undermining efforts to improve affordability. 2.2 Objectives of the research The Department for Education and Skills needs robust information on the key characteristics of childcare provision in the early years and childcare sector, as well as information on its workforce and the costs of childcare that is available. 5

14 The DfES carried out surveys amongst childcare and early years providers in 1998, 2001 and The 2005 Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey is a modified version of the 2003 Childcare and Early Years Workforce Survey, expanded in places to provide more information on recruitment and retention issues and the costs of childcare. The 2005 survey consists of 4 separate sample surveys aimed at collecting information from the following Ofsted registered settings: Full-day childcare: facilities that provide day care for children under 8 for a continuous period of four hours or more in any day in non-domestic premises (for example, day nurseries and children s centres). Sessional childcare: facilities that provide day care for children under 8 for a session which is less than a continuous period of 4 hours in any day in non-domestic premises, for example, playgroups. (There must be a break between sessions with no children in the care of the provider). Out-of-school childcare: after school clubs, breakfast clubs and holiday clubs that are registered with Ofsted. (This will not include out of school provision solely for children aged 8 and over, as this does not need to be registered) Childminders: those looking after one or more children aged under 8 for a total of more than two hours a day, for reward. (People who look after children wholly or mainly in the child s own home do not need to be registered with Ofsted). 2.3 The Survey The survey examines the key characteristics of childcare provision and its workforce: Provider characteristics (ownership, business performance, length of operation). Number of places and children attending (number of places, ages, ethnicity, opening hours). Staff characteristics (number of staff, demographics of paid staff, pay). Training (current level of training, training plans and budgets). Qualifications (qualifications held and working towards by paid staff). Recruitment and retention (level of recruitment, methods of recruitment, vacancies). 6

15 Income and expenditure (costs, fees, funding). 2.4 Survey Design This report is based on 1007 interviews conducted with senior managers 2 of sessional day care providers, or in small number of cases, an alternative senior member of staff. Other surveys were conducted with 1,171 senior managers of full day care providers, 1,039 senior managers of out of school provision and 1,132 childminders. The sample for each provider type was stratified by Ofsted region 3 to ensure a representative sample was interviewed in each region. This sample was then randomly divided into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B. In order to reduce the time it took to complete the interview, it was decided that the questionnaires would be divided into two sections. The first section included core questions to be asked of all respondents and the second section consisted of one of two modules (module A or B). Module A asked questions on costs and income and module B asked questions on training and recruitment. A copy of the questionnaire is included in the appendices to the overview report. The same questionnaire was used for all of the group settings, but a slightly different questionnaire was used for the childminder survey. Data are weighted by Ofsted region (as of March 2005) to ensure the figures are representative of sessional childcare providers throughout England. Interviews were conducted by telephone using CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) by The Operation Centre s 4 fully trained telephone interviewers in Hull. Interviews were carried out between 28 th June 2005 and 2 nd September No specific definition was provided for Senior Manager. Settings decided themselves who best fitted this description. Supervisors were defined as staff qualified to supervise a group of children on their own, whether or not they manage staff. 3 Ofsted divides England into eight regions: East of England, East Midlands, London, North East, Yorkshire & Humberside, North West England, South East England, South West England, West Midlands. 4 BMRB is part of the Kantar Group, the information and consultancy arm of WPP, BMRB s parent company. In addition to BMRB, other market research agencies in the Kantar Group include Research International and Millward Brown, as well as a number of smaller, specialist organisations. In April 2004 the support services of the Kantar companies were grouped to form a shared resource called The Operations Centre. The majority of BMRB s existing operational services, including field management, sampling and data processing continue to be based at BMRB s Head Office in Ealing but, while still wholly owned by WPP, the new operations centre is now a separate legal entity from BMRB. The Operations Centre continue to work to existing quality standards and BMRB continue to take responsibility for the quality of the work undertaken by their support services. 7

16 Full details of the methodology and analysis are included in the Technical Appendix to this report. 2.5 Structure of the report This report is one of five produced from the results of the 2005 Childcare and Early Years Providers survey the latest in a series of surveys going back to The other four reports cover: Full day care providers Out of school providers Childminders Overview report drawing together the findings from all four settings The remainder of this report is structured as follows: Chapter 3 Characteristics of provision and its development since 2001 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Number of places available and number and types of children enrolled Characteristics of staff Training Qualifications of staff Recruitment and retention Income and expenditure 2.6 Notes on reading the report In the tables, grossed up figures are provided along with percentages. These grossed up figures are based on the total number of sessional providers registered with Ofsted in March 2005, excluding the proportion found by the survey to be no longer eligible for the survey (e.g. closed down, no longer in business). These grossed up figures are not exact, and like the percentages reported are subject to confidence intervals. Grossed figures in this report have been rounded to the nearest

17 Where appropriate, comparisons are made between these findings and those of the previous childcare workforce surveys (mainly the 2003 survey conducted by MORI, but in some cases with the 2001 survey conducted by SQW and NOP). However, some caution must be applied, especially with regard to the 2001 findings, as different data sources were used to weight and gross the data. In 2001, data from the Children s Day Care Facilities Survey (March 2001) were used for weighting and grossing purposes. Both the 2003 and 2005 surveys used Ofsted data for weighting and grossing (which is a more reliable source). However, the sample for the childcare audiences in 2003 came from the Childcarelink database held by Opportunity Links, whereas the 2005 sample came from Ofsted. The 2003 sample did not have full details of all providers in all parts of the country and some work was done to obtain the necessary contact details on certain areas. Therefore, there needs to be some caution in comparing results from 2003 with those from 2005 due to differences in sampling. In the 2003 report, some analysis was carried out to look at providers in the 20 per cent most deprived wards. By 2005, there had been a change in the areas used to define the level of deprivation from wards to Super Output Areas (SOA). Therefore, this report looks at the 30 per cent most deprived areas. For comparative purposes, the 30% most deprived SOAs can be considered as roughly equivalent to the 20 per cent most deprived wards. There is also some analysis by the population density of an area. This is defined in the same way as in 2003: low density - less than 10 people per hectare; medium density - between people per hectare and high density - more than 25 people per hectare. The percentages in the tables do not always add to 100 per cent due to rounding, and, where percentages in the text differ to the sum of percentages in the tables, this too will be due to rounding. A * in a table signifies a value between 0 and 0.49, while a signifies a zero. Unless otherwise stated, figures referred to are weighted. 9

18 3 Characteristics of Provision This chapter discusses the characteristics of sessional day care providers in operation. It considers factors such as ownership, length of time providers have been operating and whether providers have business plans. 3.1 Number of providers The total number of sessional childcare providers was 9, This represents a continued decrease from 2001 when there were 14,000 providers and 2003 when there were 11,892. Chart 3.1 Number of sessional providers in operation 15,000 14,000 14,000 13,000 12,000 11,892 Sessional 11,000 10,000 9,966 9,000 8, Base: Ofsted figures 2001, March 2003, March 2005 The number of sessional day care providers is not evenly distributed across England. The South East alone accounts for the largest proportion of providers, with one fifth (21 per cent) of the total number, while the West Midlands had the smallest proportion with just nine per cent (See table 3.1). 5 This figure is based upon the March 2005 Ofsted figures for the total number of sessional day care providers registered, less the percentage that can be considered ineligible based on the fieldwork outcomes from the BMRB 2005 survey 2.29 per cent. Providers were classified ineligible if they said that they did not offer sessional provision, or if the setting had closed down or was no longer in business. 11

19 The rate of decline also varied across the regions. The highest percentage decrease was seen in West Midlands at 22 per cent and the lowest was London and the South East at 12 per cent (See table 3.1). Table 3.1 Number of providers by region Total 2005 Total 2003 Change in the number of providers from 2003 to 2005 % No. % No. % No. Region East Midlands 10% 958 9% 1,100-13% -142 East of England 15% 1,533 15% 1,800-15% -267 London 11% 1,054 10% 1,200-12% -146 NE & Yorkshire & Humberside 11% 1,054 11% 1,300-19% -246 North West 11% 1,054 11% 1,300-19% -246 South East 21% 2,108 20% 2,400-12% -292 South West 13% 1,342 14% 1,700-21% -358 West Midlands 9% 862 9% 1,100-22% -238 Base 2005: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 1,007, weighted and grossed 9966) Base 2003: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 11,892) Base 2001: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 868, weighted and grossed 14,000) Over two thirds (69 per cent) of providers were located in areas of high density. Low density areas accounted for 19 per cent and medium density areas just 13 per cent. A fifth (19 per cent) of all providers were based in the 30 per cent most deprived areas. 3.2 Ownership Providers were owned by a number of different groups. The majority (60 per cent) were managed by some form of voluntary or community group, although the proportion had decreased since 2003 when the percentage was 68 per cent. Just under a third of providers (30 per cent) were owned by private sector organisations. 12

20 Table 3.2 Ownership of provision Total 2005 Total 2003 Change from 2003 to 2005 Total 2001 % No. % No. % No. Voluntary sector (inc. church, charity, committee) Private sector (owner/manager or part of group chain) 60% 5,800 68% 8, % 7,700 30% 2,900 26% 3, % 3,900 Local Authority 7% 700 4% % 500 School/college 2% 200 2% % 590 Other 3% 300 4% % 1,900 Base 2005: All sessional day care providers (Module A) (unweighted 494, weighted and grossed 4,891) Base 2003: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 11,892) As with 2003, in the most deprived areas, local authorities were more likely to own or manage the setting, compared with the least deprived areas (17 per cent and four percent respectively). This may be a result of local authorities attempting to compensate for gaps in provision. Table 3.3 Ownership of provision by level of deprivation Total % most deprived areas 70% least deprived areas Unweighted base % No. % No. % No. Voluntary sector (inc. church, charity, committee) Private sector (owner/manager or part of group chain) 60% 5,800 51% 1,000 62% % 2,900 27% % 2400 Local Authority 7% % 300 4% 300 School/college 2% 200 3% 60 1% 100 Other 3% 300 4% 80 3% 300 Base: All sessional day care providers (Module A) (unweighted 494, weighted and grossed 4,891), 30 per cent most deprived areas (unweighted 96, weighted and grossed 957), 70 per cent least deprived areas (unweighted 398, weighted and grossed 3,934) 13

21 3.3 How long operating The overwhelming majority (87 per cent) of sessional day care providers have been operating for five years or more. This figure is slightly lower than in 2002 and 2003, when the proportion was 91 per cent. Providers located in the most deprived areas were more likely to have been operating for less than five years. Twenty two per cent of providers in the 30 per cent most deprived areas had been operating for less than five years, compared with just 11 per cent in the 70 per cent least deprived areas and 13 per cent overall. Organisations set up on a for-profit basis were also more likely to have been operating for less than five years. Nearly a third (30 per cent) of for-profit providers had been operating for less than five years, compared with 11 per cent of not-for-profit or charitable organisations. 3.4 Written business plan Nearly half of all sessional day care providers (47 per cent) reported that they had a written business plan, an increase from 2003 when the figure was 40 per cent. Perhaps unsurprisingly, for-profit providers were more likely to have a written business plan than not-for-profit /charity providers (63 per cent compared with 42 per cent respectively). Table 3.4 Whether provider has a written business plan Total 2005 Total 2003 Change from 2003 to 2005 Not-for-profit 2005 For-profit 2005 % No. % No. % No. % No. Yes 47% 4,600 40% 4, % 3,100 63% 1,500 No 44% 4,300 52% 6, % 3,400 35% 800 Don t know 9% 900 9% 1, % 800 2% 40 Base 2005: All sessional day care providers (Module A) (491), Non-profit making organisations (Module A) (unweighted 370, weighted and grossed 3,661), Profit-making organisations (Module A) (unweighted 119, weighted and grossed 1181) Base 2003: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 11,892) Of those who said they had a plan in place, 86 per cent said it had been updated in the last two years, a similar figure to Overall this represents 40 per cent of sessional day care providers that have a written business plan that had been updated in the last two years, compared with 34 per cent in

22 4 Places and Children This chapter discusses the number of Ofsted registered places available and the number of children attending sessional day care providers. It also provides data on the demographic make-up of the children attending in terms of age and ethnicity and special educational needs; the number of vacant places; opening hours and days and whether there is potential for expansion. 4.1 Number of places Providers register with Ofsted as sessional providers if they offer places to children under 8 for a session which is less than a continuous period of 4 hours in any day. Although such providers can offer two such sessions per day, there must be a break between sessions where no children are in the care of the provider. The estimated total number of registered Ofsted places in the sessional day care sector is 265,400. There has been a marked decrease from 2003 when the figure was 325, Chart 4.1 Number of registered places in sessional providers Sessional Base 2005: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 1,007, weighted and grossed 9966) Base 2003: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 11,892) 6 The question from 2001 is not comparable, and so comparisons with 2001 can not be made. 15

23 The average number of places per setting in 2005 was 26.6, which is similar to the figure in 2003 (27.4). Most sessional providers offered between 20 and 29 places (56 per cent), and one in five sessional providers (19 per cent) offered fewer than 20 places. A few sessional providers (five per cent) were quite large, offering 50 or more places. Not surprisingly, larger sessional providers were more common in high density areas (seven per cent offered 50 or more places compared to two per cent in less densely populated areas). 4.2 Types of care offered In addition to offering play group and pre-school places, a minority of sessional day care providers said that they offer other types of childcare places 7. The most common were private nursery school places (15 per cent), day nursery places (eight per cent), out of school club and holiday club places (both seven per cent). Table 4.1 Description of organisation Total 2005 % No. Play group or pre-school 93% 9,300 Private nursery school 15% 1,450 Day nursery 8% 800 Out of school club e.g. after school or breakfast club 7% 700 Holiday club 7% 700 Extended day playgroup 5% 500 Early excellence centre 3% 250 Children s centre 2% 200 Combined nursery centre 2% 150 Other answer 3% 300 Base: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 1,007, weighted and grossed 9,966) 7 No definitions were provided for each type of childcare. Providers were read out each in turn and asked if that described their organisation. It seems that some providers misunderstood the term Children s Centres as the numbers describing themselves as this was too high given that there were only around 400 or so designated Children s Centres in existence at the time of the survey. 16

24 4.3 Number of children attending The total number of children attending sessional day care across all providers was 390,000. This represents a continued decline in numbers from 589,400 children in 2001 and 469,000 in This decrease in numbers since 2003 (17 per cent) matches the decrease in the number of sessional day care providers operating (16 per cent). The average number of children attending per provider has remained the same since 2003 (39.45 and 39.61). These figures indicate that fewer parents are leaving children in sessional childcare places (which is probably linked to the increase in full day care provision), but the providers offering this type of care are still operating at a similar level (in terms of enrolments) as they were in Chart 4.2 Number of children attending sessional day care providers Sessional Base 2005: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 1,007, weighted and grossed 9,966) Base 2003: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 11,892) Base 2001: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 868, weighted and grossed 14,000) 17

25 4.4 Ages The overwhelming majority of children (95 per cent) attending sessional day care places were aged two to four. Only two per cent were aged under two years old, one per cent were aged five to seven and another one per cent were aged eight or over. Chart 4.3 Proportions of enrolled children by age group Under 2 2% 2 year olds 18% 3 year olds 46% 4 year olds 31% 5-7 year olds 1% 8 years or over 1% Base: All children (unweighted 38,234 in 1007 providers; weighted and grossed 373,400 in 9,966 providers) The number of 0-7 year olds attending sessional day care settings was 368,200. This accounts for 99 per cent of the total number of children attending (excluding those for whom ages were not provided). The average number of 0-7 years old attending per setting is In 2003 the average was This compares with an average number of places per setting of Three per cent of sessional day care providers reported having eight year olds and over attending their setting. Providers based in the 30 per cent most deprived were more likely to have eight year olds and over attending than those in less deprived areas (six per cent compared with two per cent). 18

26 4.5 Black or minority ethnic groups (BME) Overall, children of black or minority ethnic (BME) origin made up ten per cent of the children attending sessional day care providers. Data from the 2001 Census shows that although people of black or minority ethnic origin make up around nine per cent of England s population, among those aged 0-7 the proportion rises to 15 per cent. This suggests that there are fewer children of BME origin using sessional care than would be expected from their proportion in the population. In terms of the proportion of children of BME origin within providers, a third of providers (35 per cent) had no children of BME origin and a quarter (27 per cent) had less than five per cent, while a fifth (22 per cent) of providers had 11 per cent or more. As would be expected, there is a higher concentration of children of BME origin in London (33 per cent of children, on average, compared with the overall figure of ten per cent). The average was also higher in the 30 per cent most deprived areas (24 per cent) than the 70 per cent least deprived (seven per cent). This difference fits with the higher concentration of children of BME origin in London and other urban areas, where many of the 30 per cent most deprived areas are located. Table 4.2 Proportion of children of black or minority ethnic origin Total % most deprived areas 70% least deprived areas Unweighted base % No. % No. % No. None 35% 3,500 16% % 3, % 27% 2,700 20% % 2, % 14% 1,400 15% % 1,100 11% or more 22% 2,200 46% % 1,400 Don t know 1% 100 3% 50 1% 100 Mean (inc. zeros) 10% 24% 7% Base: All sessional providers (unweighted 1,007, weighted and grossed 9,966) 4.6 Special educational needs (SEN) Overall children that had special educational needs (SEN) made up five per cent of the total number of children attending sessional day care providers. 19

27 Two-fifths (41 per cent) of providers had no children with special education needs, a third (33 per cent) had between 1 and 5 per cent and one in ten (11 per cent) had 11 per cent or more of their children with SEN. In 2004, 17 per cent of children at maintained primary schools were assessed as having special educational needs (around two per cent with statements). This is much higher than the proportion in sessional care but sessional providers will be relying on their own judgement, as many pre-school children will not have been formally assessed, and even if they have been, the managers of sessional providers may not have access to this information. 4.7 Vacancies At the time the survey was conducted there were 29,800 vacant sessional places in England. Nearly half (46 per cent) of the providers had no vacant places, a third (33 per cent) had one to five vacant places and 18 per cent had six or more. On average, there were three vacant places per provider. Areas of high population density were less likely to have vacancies - 54 per cent in high density areas had no vacancies, compared with 31 per cent in medium population density areas and 29 per cent in low population density areas. Table 4.3 Number of vacant places on an average day Total Low density Medium density High density Unweighted base 1,007 % 192 % 128 % 687 % None or more * - - * Don t know Mean TOTAL NUMBER 29,800 7,900 4,000 17,900 Base: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 1,007, weighted and grossed 9,966) There were some differences by region in terms of vacancies. Providers in London were most likely to have no vacancies (54 per cent) and on average each London based setting had just 2 vacant places on an average day. Providers in the West 20

28 Midlands were most likely to have vacancies (37 per cent had none), and on average each provider had 5 vacant places on an average day. There were some differences by the size of the provider. The providers with the highest number of children enrolled were less likely to have vacancies than the ones with fewer children enrolled (61 per cent of providers with 50 or more children had no vacancies compared with 24 per cent of providers with fewer than 20 children). 4.8 Term time care As expected, practically all (99.6 per cent) sessional day care providers were open in term time. On average, they are open for 4.4 hours a day in term time. Larger providers tended to be open longer than smaller providers. Providers with 50 or more children enrolled were on average open for 5.7 hours a day compared with 3.5 hours for settings with just one to nineteen children enrolled. There is a similar increase in average number of hours open by the number of staff employed by a provider. Table 4.4 Number of hours open during a term time day Unweighted base 1007 Total 1 to 19 children % 161 % 20 to 29 children 227 % 30 to 39 children 221 % 40 to 49 children 156 % 50 or more children * or more Don t know Mean Base: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 1,007, weighted and grossed 9,966) 236 % The majority of providers (73 per cent) open in a term time were open for five days a week. Clearly this will mostly be the standard Monday to Friday week. One in ten providers (12 per cent) were open for four to four and half days. 4.9 Holiday time care Eight per cent of providers (800 sessional providers) were open during the school holidays. Providers open during the school holidays tended to be open for a greater 21

29 number of hours than in term time. The average number of hours open was seven (compared with four hours in term time). Sessional providers in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were more likely to be open during the school holidays as well as term time than those in less deprived areas (18 per cent compared with six per cent). Providers set up on a for-profit basis were also more likely to be open in the holidays then those set up on a not-for-profit basis (17 per cent compared with seven per cent). As with term time care, three quarters (77 per cent) of providers offered care for the standard five days a week. The number of providers interviewed offering care during school holidays is too small (82 providers) to allow any more detailed analysis Breaking even Providers were asked how many of their places needed to be taken up in order for them to break even. The average proportion reported was 74 per cent of places. A third (32 per cent) of sessional providers were unable to provide this figure. Chart 4.4 Proportion of places that need to be filled to break even None 2% 1%-25% 2% 26%-50% 12% 51%-75% 35% 76%-100% 50% Base: All sessional day care provider (Module A) able to answer (unweighted 336; weighted and grossed 3,329) As discussed in greater detail in chapter nine, 79 per cent of sessional providers had either made a profit or covered their costs in their last financial year. 22

30 4.11 Expansion Four fifths (79 per cent) of sessional day care providers said they could not expand in their current premises. Sixteen per cent of providers reported that they had expanded in the last 12 months. Of those providers who hadn t expanded in the last 12 months, 13 per cent said they planned to in the next 12 months (11 per cent of all providers). Table 4.5 Potential for expansion (increasing number of places) Total 2005 Unweighted base 494 % No. Able to expand in current premises 20% 1,900 Not able to expand in current premises 79% 7,800 Have expanded in last 12 months 16% 1,600 Have not expanded, but plan to expand in next 12 months 11% 1,100 Have not expanded and have no plans to 69% 6,800 Base: All sessional day care (Module A) (unweighted 494; weighted and grossed 4,891) Providers who had not expanded in the last 12 months and didn t plan to in the next 12 months were asked to give reasons as to why they didn t plan to expand. The most common reasons given were that they would need larger premises (45 per cent), they were already at their maximum capacity (41 per cent) and that there wasn t sufficient demand to for extra places (10 per cent). 23

31 Table 4.6 Reasons for not planning to expand in the next 12 months Total 2005 Would need larger premises 45 Already at maximum capacity 41 No sufficient demand for extra places 10 Too costly to expand 6 No need to expand/don t wish to expand 5 Premises not suitable 5 Regulations 4 Difficulties recruiting staff 4 Too much competition from other providers 2 Closing down 2 Not enough staff 1 Other answers 2 Don t know 1 Base: All sessional day care providers (Module A) who had not expanded in the last 12 months and didn t plan to in the next 12 months (unweighted 342, weighted and grossed 3,388) % 24

32 5 Characteristics of Staff This chapter looks at the number of paid and unpaid staff working within the sessional day care sector. It also focuses on the demographic profile of those working in the sector, their pay, the number of hours worked and whether they do any other paid work. 5.1 Number of staff Paid staff In 2005 there were 59,800 paid staff working within sessional day care settings. This is made up of 9,000 senior managers, 28,800 supervisory staff and 22,000 other paid childcare staff. These figures represent a continued decrease in the number of people working within sessional day care settings. In 2001 there were 79,800 paid staff and in 69,600 in 2003 (See chart 5.1). Chart 5.1 Number of paid staff working in sessional day care settings 80,000 79,800 69,600 Sessional 65,000 59,800 50, Base 2005: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 1,007, weighted and grossed 9966) Base 2003: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 11,892) Base 2001: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 868, weighted and grossed 14,000) The number of sessional day care providers is decreasing at a faster rate than the number of staff working within the sector. The number of providers has decreased by 16 per cent since 2003, while the number of paid staff has decreased by 14 per cent. This means there has been an increase in the number of paid staff per setting. This is 25

33 a pattern that has continued over at least the last four years. In 2001 there were 5.7 staff per setting, in 2003 there were 5.9, while in 2005 there were 6 paid staff per setting. As discussed earlier (Chapter 4.1), in general the average size of providers has remained the same. Therefore, the greater number of staff per setting means that there is now a greater ratio of staff per child. If the number of places is divided by the number of paid staff we can see that there has been a decrease, albeit slight, from 1 member of paid staff to 4.8 places in 2003 to 1 member of paid staff to 4.3 places in Table 5.1 Number of paid staff Total 2005 Total 2003 Change from 2003 to 2005 Total 2001 % No. % No. % No. % No. Numbers by grade of staff All paid staff 59,800 69,600-14% -9,800 79,800 Senior Managers 15% 9,000 17% 11,900-24% -2,900 13% 14,400 Supervisory staff 46% 28,800 41% 28,200 +2% +600 NA NA Other paid childcare staff 37% 22,000 42% 29,500-25% -7,500 NA NA Average number of staff All paid staff Senior Managers Supervisory staff NA Other paid childcare staff NA Base 2005: All paid staff in sessional providers (unweighted 6,043, weighted and grossed 59,800) Base 2003: All staff in sessional providers (unweighted 6,319, weighted and grossed 90,840) Base 2001: All staff in sessional day care providers (unweighted NA; weighted and grossed 11,687) The 2005 figures indicate that the workforce working within sessional day care is becoming more professional. Compared with the 2003 figures the number of senior managers and other paid staff has decreased by about a quarter, while the number of supervisory staff has remained the same. In 2003, supervisory staff made up 41 per cent of the overall paid childcare staff, while in 2005 the proportion had increased to nearly half at 48 per cent. In 2003 there was an average of 2.4 supervisory staff per 26

34 setting, while in 2005 there were 2.9. In all, the balance of qualified staff and unqualified staff is shifting towards qualified staff. Chart 5.2 Proportion of grades of staff 75% 50% 42% 48% Supervisory st af f 25% 41% 37% Other paid childcare st aff 17% 15% Seni or Managers 0% Base 2005: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 1,007, weighted and grossed 9,966) Base 2003: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 11,892) Unpaid staff As well as paid childcare staff there are a large number of unpaid staff working within sessional day care settings. In total, there were 11,950 volunteers and 5,350 students on placements, 17,300 altogether. This is a total of 77,100 paid and unpaid childcare staff working in sessional day care settings. This represents a decrease of 13,700 and a percentage decrease of 15 per cent since

35 Table 5.2 Number of unpaid staff Change from 2003 to Change from 2001 to 2005 Numbers by type of staff % No. % All paid staff and unpaid staff 77,100 90,800-15% -13, ,500-30% Unpaid staff Volunteers 11,950 15,200-21% - 3,250 23,200-48% Students on placements 5,350 6,100-11% ,400-16% Total unpaid staff 17,300 21,300-18% - 4,000 29,700-42% Base 2005: All staff in sessional providers (unweighted 7,699, weighted and grossed 77,100) Base 2003: All staff in sessional providers (unweighted 6,319, weighted and grossed 90,840) Base 2001: All staff in sessional day care providers (unweighted NA, weighted and grossed 11,687) 5.2 Agency staff Similarly to previous years only a small percentage (8 per cent) of sessional day care settings had used agency staff in the last 12 months. Providers in the 30 per cent most deprived areas are more likely to use agency staff (16 per cent) than those within the 70 per cent least deprived areas (6 per cent). This difference is most likely due to the fact that a number of these areas will be located in London, where providers find it harder to recruit new staff (see section 8.6) and therefore may make more use of agency staff. 5.3 Age The average age of the sessional day care workforce has increased slightly. As the proportion of staff falling within the 16-19, and age brackets has fallen, the and 50 or over groups have increased. 28

36 Table 5.3 Age of paid staff Total 2005 Total 2003 % No. % No. Change from 2003 to % 600 2% 1, % 2,400 5% 3, % 23,300 47% 32, % 22,150 33% 23, years and over 17% 10,150 13% 9, Base 2005: All paid childcare staff (unweighted 4,776, weighted and grossed 59,800) Base 2003: All paid childcare staff (unweighted 4,812, weighted and grossed 69,625) Senior managers tend to be older than supervisory staff and other paid childcare staff. A third (32 per cent) of senior managers were aged 50 or over, compared with 16 per cent of supervisory staff and 12 per cent of other paid childcare staff. Table 5.4 Age of paid staff by grade Senior Managers Supervisory Staff Other paid childcare staff Unweighted Base: 911 2,198 1,667 % No. % No. % No % 0 1% 300 3% % 100 5% 1,450 6% 1, % 2,350 36% 10,350 49% 10, % 3,600 41% 11,800 29% 6, years and over 32% 2,900 16% 4,600 12% 2,650 Base: All paid staff (4,776), Senior managers (unweighted 911, weighted and grossed 9,016), Supervisory staff (unweighted 2,198, weighted and grossed 28,800), Other paid childcare staff (unweighted 1,667, weighted and grossed 22,000) 5.4 Gender There has been a significant increase in the number of men working within the sessional day care sector. In 2003, men made up just 0.3 per cent of the total workforce, around 200 people. In 2005 the number had increased to 900, representing around one and half per cent of the workforce. 29

37 The settings based in the 70 per cent least deprived areas in the country were more likely to have no male staff (95 per cent) compared with the 30 per cent most deprived areas (89 per cent). 5.5 Disability There has also been a significant increase in the number of staff with a disability working within sessional day care settings. In 2003 there were only 600 members of paid staff with a disability, about one per cent of the entire paid workforce. In 2005 the number had increased to 1,700 people, representing nearly 3 per cent of the workforce. According to the 2005 Labour Force Survey (LFS), about ten per cent of the working population (and 11 per cent of the female working population) have a disability. 5.6 Ethnicity The number of people of black or minority ethnic (BME) origin working in sessional day care provision has increased. In 2003 there were 2,600 staff from a black or minority ethnic group, three per cent of the total staff. In 2005, the number had increased to 3,850, six per cent of the total sessional care staff. This increase is despite the overall decrease in numbers working with the sessional day care sector. One fifth (19 per cent) of providers now report that they have at least one person of BME origin working at their setting. In 2003, the equivalent figure was just 11 per cent. According to the 2005 Labour Force Survey, nine per cent of the UK working population are from a black or minority ethnic group. Thus, there is a lower than average proportion working in sessional care settings. This may be linked to the fact that children from black or minority ethnic group appear less likely to attend sessional day care settings than might be expected (see Chapter 3). Providers based in London are much more likely to employ a person from a black or minority ethnic group than anywhere else in the country. In London a quarter of all paid sessional day care staff were from a black or minority ethnic group, compared with the six per cent overall. London alone accounted for 41 per cent of all staff from a black or minority ethnic group. 30

38 Table 5.5 Proportion of male staff Proportion of staff with a disability Proportion of staff from a black or minority ethnic group Number of male staff, staff from a black or minority ethnic group and number of staff with a disability Total 2005 Total 2003 % No. % No. Change from 2003 to % % % 3% 1,700 1% % 6% 3,850 4% 2, % Base 2005: All staff in sessional providers (unweighted 6,043, weighted and grossed 59,800) Base 2003: All staff in sessional providers (unweighted 6,319, weighted and grossed 90,840) 5.7 Working hours As in previous years the overwhelming majority of the paid workforce are part-time. Nine in ten workers (88 per cent) work less than 30 hours a week. Just one in ten (11 per cent) work full time (30 hours or more). The average number of hours worked per week by all paid childcare staff was 18 hours, an increase from 17 hours from Consistent with previous years, senior managers worked the longest hours with an average week of 23 hours. A quarter (26 per cent) worked full time. This is an increase from 2003 when the average working week for a senior manager was 20 hours a week and just under one in five (18 per cent) worked full time. Supervisory staff on average worked an 18 hour week and just one in ten (ten per cent) worked full time. These figures are consistent with 2003 when the average working week was 17 hours and ten per cent worked full time. Other paid childcare staff tended to work the least number of hours with an average week of 13 hours and just four per cent working full time. 31

39 To put these figures in context we can compare them with the UK averages 8. In July to September 2005, the average number of hours worked for the working population was 32.1 hours and 26.5 hours for females. The UK average for part-time staff was 15.6 hours (15.7 hours for females). Compared to the overall average for all staff, sessional day care staff work much shorter hours, however compared to the average for parttime staff, they work slightly longer hours. Table 5.6 Average number of hours worked a week Average hours All staff 18 Senior manager 23 Supervisory staff 18 Other paid childcare staff 13 UK: All staff 32.1 UK: Females 26.5 UK: Part time 15.6 UK: Part time female 15.7 Base: All paid staff (4,776), Senior managers (unweighted 911, weighted and grossed 9,016), Supervisory staff (unweighted 2,198, weighted and grossed 21,756), Other paid childcare staff (unweighted 1,667, weighted and grossed 16,442) 5.8 Pay levels Pay levels for childcare staff have increased across the different staff groups. The average hourly rate of pay is now 6.20; in 2003 the equivalent figure was This represents a 15 per cent increase. The average hourly pay for senior managers is now 7.50 compared with 6.50 in This represents an increase of 15 per cent. Supervisory staff pay has increased at a similar rate. In 2003 the average was 5.60, while in 2005 it was 6.30 (a 13 per cent increase). 8 Labour Force Survey: Actual Hours Worked (SA) July to September

40 Other paid childcare staff saw a similar increase. Their average hourly pay increased from 4.80 in 2003 to 5.50 in 2005 (a 15 per cent increase). The hourly pay is considerably lower than the UK average. In summer , the average hourly wage for full time staff was 10.63; and 9.43 for females and 8.06 for part time staff. As in 2003, these figures show that average childcare wages are below the UK average. For the UK, since 2003 the average hourly wage has increased ten per cent from 9.66 to Overall for sessional day care staff, the average has increased 15 per cent from 5.40 to This shows that childcare wages are increasing at a higher rate than the average. Table 5.7 Average hourly pay 2005 Average pay 2003 Average pay Change from 2003 to 2005 % All staff % Senior manager % 1.00 Supervisory staff % Other paid childcare staff % UK: All staff % Base 2005: All paid staff (4,776), All senior managers (unweighted 911, weighted and grossed 9,016), Supervisory staff (unweighted 2,198, weighted and grossed 21,756), Other paid childcare staff (unweighted 1,667, weighted and grossed 16,442) Base 2003: All paid staff (unweighted 4,812, weighted and grossed 69,625) Rates of pay varied across the regions. For senior managers the average rate of pay was highest in London at 8.40 and lowest in the North West at Senior managers working in for-profit organisations also, on average, tended to earn more than those working in not-for-profit organisations, 8.30 compared with 7.20 respectively. 9 Labour Force Survey

41 Senior managers working in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were also more likely to earn more than those working in the 70 per cent least deprived areas, 8.10 compared with 7.40 respectively. These patterns of pay were replicated amongst supervisory and other paid childcare staff. There were also differences in pay by qualification level. As the table below shows, average hourly pay increased as qualification level increased. Of course, as senior staff tend to be both more highly paid and more highly qualified, this is not surprising. However, even within each type of staff those with higher qualifications had higher average earnings. Table 5.8 Average hourly pay by qualification level All staff Senior Supervisory Other staff manager staff Level * Level Level * Base 2005: All providing salary information (unweighted 4,417; weighted and grossed 44,253) *Caution: small base less than Other work A fifth (20 per cent) of the paid sessional day care workforce, around 11,700 people, do other work in addition to working for the provider sampled as part of the 2005 survey. For those providers who had more than one person doing other paid work, on average just over half (58 per cent) of those people did other work within the childcare sector. Eight per cent said that none of their staff who did other paid work worked in the education or childcare sector. 34

42 6 Training This chapter looks at views on the amount of training received by childcare staff, training plans, how providers fund training and the type of training provided. 6.1 Views of current level of training The majority (84 per cent) of senior managers said that they thought the amount of training received by their staff in the last year was sufficient; 13 per cent thought it was too little and two per cent thought they had received too much training. These results were very similar to the 2003 survey where 83% of senior managers said they were happy with the amount of training received. Table 6.1 Views of current level of training Total 2005 Total 2003 Change from 2003 to 2005 % No. % No. Too little 13% 1,300 14% 1,600-1 About right 84% 8,500 83% 9, Too much 2% 200 2% Base 2005: All sessional day care providers (Module B) (unweighted 513, weighted and grossed 5,075) Base 2003: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 11,892) 6.2 Training plans and budgets The proportion of sessional day care providers that have a written training plan had risen from 53 per cent in 2003 to 61 per cent in Smaller settings (1-9 children enrolled) were least likely to have a training plan (50 per cent) while the largest (50 + children enrolled) were more likely to (65 per cent). There was no difference between providers in more or less deprived areas. Just over four in ten (44 per cent) of sessional day care providers had a training budget. This figure is very similar to the result from the 2003 survey (43 per cent). Providers in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were more likely to have a specific training budget than those in less deprived areas (56 per cent compared with 42 per cent). 35

43 Table 6.2 Written Training Plan and specific training budget Total 2005 Total 2003 Change from 2003 to % most deprived areas 70% least deprived areas % No. % No. % % Have training plan 61% 6,100 53% 6, % 59% Don t have training plan 38% 3,900 46% 5, % 39% Don t know 2% 200 1% % 1% Have a training budget 44% 4,500 43% 5, % 42% Don t have training budget 53% 5,400 56% 6, % 56% Don t know 3% 300 2% % 3% Base 2005: All sessional day care providers (Module B) (unweighted 513, weighted and grossed 5,075) Base 2003: All sessional day care providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 11,892) 6.3 Funding The main source of funding for training was Government funding (combining Local Authority funding and Sure Start funding) 10. The vast majority (86 per cent) of providers received some form of Government funding. Providers also received funding from many other sources such as the Learning and Skills Council, the Pre-School Learning Alliance, European funding and Jobcentre Plus. However, only a very small number of providers received any funding from these organisations. 10 This was a new question added in 2005 questionnaire and hence there is no trend data. The actual amount spent in training was not asked in the 2005 survey. 36

44 Table 6.3 Funding sources for training Total 2005 % No. Government sources (EYDPC/Sure Start) 86% 8,800 Learning & Skills Council 7% 700 Pre-school Learning Alliance 4% 400 Local community 1% 100 European funding 1% 100 Jobcentre Plus 1% 100 No answer 11% 1,100 Other 4% 350 Don t know 2% 200 Base: All sessional day care providers (Module B) (unweighted 513, weighted and grossed 5,075) 6.4 Training provision and type of training provided Overall, 93 per cent of all sessional day care providers help staff to receive training that is not directly related to a specific childcare qualification. The four most common types of training provided by providers were: first aid training (65 per cent), childcare training including things like creative play (34 per cent), child protection (33 per cent) and SENCO/Special needs training (31 per cent). 37

45 Table 6.4 Type of training provided Total 2005 % No. First Aid 65% 6,100 Childcare training 34% 3,250 Child protection 33% 3,150 SENCO/Special needs training 31% 2,900 Health and safety training 25% 2,350 Food hygiene 24% 2,300 Early years training 11% 1,050 Management/business skills 9% 850 Behaviour management 8% 800 Training on the curriculum 6% 600 Local authority 5% 500 Equal opportunities 5% 450 Speech and language 5% 450 Base: All sessional day care providers (Module B) (unweighted 513, weighted and grossed 5,075) Only answers of 5% or more have been included in this table. 38

46 7 Qualifications of Staff This section looks at the relevant qualifications held by paid childcare staff working in sessional settings. The questionnaire was designed to pick up only qualifications that were relevant to working with young people and children. This chapter covers current qualifications held and qualifications that staff are working towards, qualifications required when recruiting senior managers, the proportion of senior managers that were NVQ assessors and whether providers offer time off and or financial help for those working towards a childcare qualification. 7.1 Definitions of Qualifications Levels The qualifications are grouped together in the levels that they have been accredited with by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Level 1 (foundation level) GCSE grade D-G, Foundation level GNVQ, Level 1 NVQ Level 2 (intermediate level) GCSE A*-C, Intermediate GNVQ, Level 2 NVQ Level 3 (Advanced level) A level, Vocational A level (Advanced GNVQ), Level 3 NVQ Level 4 Higher level qualifications, BTEC Higher Nationals, Level 4 NVQ (e.g. Level 4 Certificate in Early Years Practice) Level 5 Higher level qualifications, BTEC Higher Nationals, Level 5 NVQ (e.g. Early Years Foundation Degree) Level 6 Honours degree (e.g. Qualified Teacher Status) Level 7 Masters degree Level 8 Doctorate Respondents were asked for the highest qualification relating to childcare that the senior manager, supervisory staff or other paid childcare staff hold 11. There have been changes to the way that the levels are defined since the previous survey in 2002/3. Current Levels 4, 5 and 6 (as defined above) were previously all part of Level 4. Current Levels 7 and 8 were previously part of Level 5. Further information can be found in the Technical appendices to this report. 11 In the previous surveys, respondents were asked for the actual name and level of the qualification. In the 2005 survey respondents were only asked for the level of their highest qualification to reduce the burden on the respondent and to avoid the difficulties of coding the numerous childcare qualifications. 39

47 7.2 Current qualifications held The overall trend is for a larger proportion of all types of childcare staff to have higher level qualifications. Among all paid childcare staff, just over three-quarters (76 per cent) had some kind of qualification 12 relevant to working with children or young people and about one-fifth (19 per cent) had no relevant qualifications at all. This had increased from 65 per cent with a qualification in the previous survey. Similarly, the proportion of staff with no qualifications had decreased by 15 percentage points. Over half (55 per cent) of all childcare staff had at least a Level 3 qualification and about three-quarters (73 per cent) had at least a Level 2 qualification. Just three per cent held a graduate level qualification (Level 6 or above). Levels and types of qualifications varied greatly among different types of staff. Table 7.1 Level of qualification held by all paid staff 13 Total 2005 Total 2003 Change from 2003 to 2005 % No. % No. Level 1 3% 1,800 2% 1, Level 2 18% 10,750 16% 11, Level 3 48% 28,700 39% 27, Level 4/5 4% 2,400 Level 6 3% 1,800 4% 2, Level 7/8 1% 600 Other 3% 1,800 4% 2,500-1 Don t know 2% 1,200 1% No qualification 19% 11,350 34% 23, At least Level 2 73% 43,650 60% 41, At least Level 3 55% 32,900 44% 30, Base 2005: All paid childcare staff (unweighted 4,776; weighted and grossed 59,757) Base 2003: All paid childcare staff (unweighted 4,977; weighted and grossed 69,623) 12 Excluding overseas qualifications and qualifications that BMRB was unable to code into a level category. 13 In 2003 the National Qualifications Framework only went up to Level 5. However, it is possible to compare 2003 Levels 4/5 and above with current Level 4/5, 6 and 7/8.. 40

48 7.2.1 Senior Managers Nearly all senior managers (91 per cent) held some kind of childcare related qualification. The National Daycare Standards for under 8s childcare (sessional care) states that the manager should have at least a Level 3 qualification appropriate to the post. There is some flexibility with regards to this requirement; an action plan process can be agreed and the qualification requirements can be met over time if it is difficult to achieve immediately. There has been a steady trend towards a greater proportion of senior managers having at least a Level 3 qualification; the figure has increased from 67 per cent in 2001, 77 per cent in 2003 to almost nine in ten (86 per cent) senior managers in Eight per cent of senior managers held at least a Level 6 qualification. Table 7.2 Level of qualification held by senior managers Change from 2003 to % No. % No. % No. Level 1 1% 100 2% NA NA Level 2 3% 300 8% % 2,300 Level 3 69% 6,200 67% 7, % 8,100 Level 4/5 10% 900 Level 6 7% % 1, % 1,200 Level 7/8 1% 100 Other 4% 300 4% 500 +/-0 10% 1,400 No qualification 4% 400 9% 1, % 1,000 Don t know 1% At least Level 2 90% 8,100 85% 10, % 11,600 At least Level 3 86% 7,800 77% 9, % 9,300 Base 2005: All senior managers where qualification information obtained (unweighted 911, weighted and grossed 9,016) Base 2003: All senior managers (unweighted 850; weighted and grossed 9,964) Base 2001 All senior managers (unweighted 850; weighted and grossed 7,800) Supervisory staff Again nearly all supervisory staff (93 per cent) had some kind of qualification, an increase from 84 per cent in

49 The proportion of supervisory staff who have at least a Level 3 qualification has increased from 62 per cent in 2003 to three-quarters (74 per cent) in the 2005 survey. The minimum national standard for staff in charge of day to day activities in sessional day care settings is a Level 3 qualification. Although there is still some way to go before this target is achieved, there appears to have been a significant decrease in the number of employed supervisors with no relevant qualifications; this figure has gone down from 15 per cent in 2003 to only three per cent in Three per cent of supervisory staff held a Level 6 or above qualification. Table 7.3 Level of qualification held by supervisory staff 14 Total 2005 Total 2003 Change from 2003 to 2005 % No. % No. Level 1 2% 600 1% Level 2 17% 4,900 17% 4,800 +/-0 Level 3 67% 19,300 57% 16, Level 4/5 3% 850 Level 6 3% 850 5% 1, Level 7/8 *% 100 Other 2% 600 3% No qualification 3% % 4, Don t know 1% 300 1% At least Level 2 90% 25,900 79% 22, At least Level 3 74% 21,300 62% 17, Base 2005: All supervisory staff (unweighted 2,198, weighted and grossed 28,754) Base 2003: All supervisory staff (unweighted 1,967; weighted and grossed 28,129) Other staff Nearly half (49 per cent) of other paid childcare staff held some kind of childcare qualification, an increase from 37 per cent in Comparisons with 2001 are not possible, as the definitions of supervisory and other paid childcare staff had not been set at that point, and so qualification data is not available separately for these two groups of staff. 42

50 Two-fifths (40 per cent) of all other paid childcare staff have at least a Level 2 qualification. This is an increase of eight percentage points since the previous survey in This still falls short of the National Daycare Standards for sessional childcare which states that at least half of all other paid childcare staff should hold Level 2 qualifications. The proportion of other childcare staff with no relevant qualifications has decreased by 13 per cent from 62 per cent to 49 per cent. Other childcare staff working in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were more likely to have some kind of qualification, 53 per cent compared with 32 per cent in the 70 per cent least deprived areas. One per cent of other paid staff held a Level 6 or above qualification. Table 7.4 Level of qualification held by other paid childcare staff Total 2005 Total 2003 Change from 2003 to 2005 % No. % No. Level 1 7% 1,550 2% Level 2 26% 5,700 19% 5, Level 3 11% 2,400 11% 3,400 +/-0 Level 4/5 0% 100 1% Level 6 1% Level 7/8 1% Other 3% 650 4% 1,100-1 No qualification 49% 10,800 62% 18, Don t know 2% 450 1% At least Level 2 40% 8,800 32% 9, At least Level 3 13% 2,850 13% 3,700 +/-0 Base 2005: All other paid childcare staff (unweighted 1,667, weighted and grossed 16,442) Base 2003: All other paid childcare staff (unweighted 1,995, weighted and grossed 29,543) 7.3 Qualifications being worked towards Among childcare staff as a whole, one-quarter (25 per cent) were currently studying towards a childcare related qualification. This is a slight decrease from 2003 results, when 29 per cent were working towards a qualification. One possible explanation is that as a greater proportion of the childcare staff now have a relevant qualification the pool of childcare staff that needs to study has decreased. 43

51 Table 7.5 Qualifications worked towards by type of childcare staff All staff Senior Managers Supervisory staff Other paid staff Level 1 0% 1% 0% 1% 0% 0% 1% 1% Level 2 6% 8% 0% 2% 1% 4% 14% 14% Level 3 14% 17% 5% 14% 14% 16% 18% 19% Level 4 and 5 4% 8% 4% 0% Level 6 and above 1% Not studying for relevant qualification 2% 4% 5% 73% 71% 80% 77% 77% 76% 63% 63% Base: All senior managers (Module B) (unweighted 600; weighted and grossed 9016), All supervisory staff (Module B) (unweighted 1,653; weighted and grossed 28,754), All other paid staff (Module B) (unweighted 1,182; weighted and grossed 22006) 1% 2% 1% 1% 7.4 Qualifications required of senior managers Seven in ten (69 per cent) senior managers were required to hold certain relevant qualifications when recruited. This is a slight increase from the previous survey (64 per cent). Senior managers working in the 30% most deprived areas were more likely (75 per cent) to have been required to hold a relevant qualification. Of those senior managers who weren t required to hold a qualification when they started, 58 per cent were required to work towards a relevant qualification. 7.5 NVQ Assessors The 2005 survey asked whether the senior manager was an NVQ assessor. An NVQ assessor is responsible for assessing whether a candidate s work meets the required NVQ standards. In order to be an assessor they must hold the necessary qualifications and have experience of working in the sector. In this year s survey, eight per cent of the senior managers were NVQ assessors, a similar figure to 2003 (seven per cent). Senior managers working for a sessional care provider in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were more likely (13 per cent) to be NVQ assessors as were those working for for-profit organisations (13 per cent). 44

52 Table 7.6 Proportion of Senior Managers who are NVQ Assessors % most deprived areas 70% least deprived areas % No. % % % Yes 8% % 13% 7% No 92% 8,250 93% 87% 93% Base 2005: All senior managers (unweighted 911, weighted and grossed 9,016) Base 2003: All senior managers (unweighted 868, weighted and grossed 14,000) 7.6 Incentives provided for staff working towards a childcare qualification Eight in ten (80 per cent) of all sessional care providers employing childcare staff studying for a qualification allow them time off to work towards their qualification. A similar proportion (82 per cent) of the providers pay at least some of the costs associated with training for a childcare qualification. 45

53 8 Recruitment and Retention This chapter outlines the staffing issues for sessional day care providers. This is split into two sections: - Recruitment: levels of recruitment, recruitment methods, current vacancies and difficulties in recruiting - Staff retention: length of service, staff turnover and where leavers went 8.1 Levels of recruitment Overall, 11,700 childcare staff were recruited last year; this is a drop from 2003 when 14,000 staff were recruited and 2001 when 19,000 staff were recruited. The recruitment rate was 21 per cent which is almost identical to the 2003 survey results (22 per cent). The recruitment rate is calculated by dividing the total number of paid childcare staff by the total number currently employed plus those leaving their current employment minus those recruited Senior Managers About 750 senior managers were recruited in the past 12 months this is equivalent to a turnover of eight per cent. This is similar to the proportion in 2003 when 800 senior managers were recruited Supervisory staff About one third (35 per cent) of all sessional day care providers had recruited at least one supervisor in the last year. An average of 0.55 supervisory staff were recruited per setting, approximately 5,400 supervisors, a similar number to 2003 (5,300) Other paid childcare staff Just under half (46 per cent) of the sessional day care providers had recruited at least one other paid childcare staff in the last year. This is similar to the 2003 results, (40 per cent). On average 0.74 other childcare staff were recruited per setting, approximately 5,550 staff. 15 Please note that the recruitment rate includes churn within the sector as well as staff being recruited to the sector. 47

54 Although the proportion of different types of staff recruited are in line with the 2003 results, the absolute numbers of staff i.e. the grossed up totals have gone down. This can be explained by the decrease in overall number of sessional day care providers. (See chapter 3). Table 8.1 Number of staff recruited Change from 2003 to 2005 All paid staff 11,700 14,000-16% Senior managers % Supervisory staff 5,400 5,300 +2% Other paid childcare staff 5,550 7,900-30% Senior managers average Supervisory staff average Other paid childcare staff average Base: All sessional day care providers (Module B) (unweighted 513, weighted and grossed 5,075) 8.2 Length of Service The average length of service for all paid staff was five years and eight months. The average length of service was higher for senior managers at eight years and eight months, than supervisory staff at six years and other paid staff at four years. 8.3 Annual staff losses The number of providers who had at least one member of staff leave in the last 12 months decreased from 49 per cent in 2003 to 44 per cent in An average of 0.66 staff had left per organisation. This equates to approximately 6,700 staff leaving compared with 9,000 in While the number leaving in the last 12 months has fallen, the size of the industry has also decreased. However, the number leaving providers has fallen by 26 per cent, while the number of people working in the industry as a whole has fallen by only 14 per cent. Therefore there does appear to have been a real drop in the number of people leaving the sessional day care sector. Of those staff who had left in the last 12 months, it was believed that two in five (40 per cent) went to other jobs in the early years or childcare sector (around 2,700 individuals), which is similar to A quarter (27 per cent) went to jobs outside the early years and childcare sector (around 1,800 individuals). This is a slight increase since 2003, when 23 per cent left the childcare sector. 48

55 One in five (18 per cent) did not take up other employment (around 1,200 individuals). This is a sight decrease compared with 2003 when 22 per cent did not leave to go to another job. 8.4 Staff turnover Looking at the total number of employees being recruited and the number leaving the sector enables us to express the turnover for the sector and the rate of employment growth. The turnover rate for 2005 was 12 per cent, a similar figure to 2003 (14 per cent). 16 Overall, the employment growth was nine per cent, a similar figure to 2003 (eight per cent) Recruitment Methods The three most popular methods of recruiting staff were word of mouth, (81 per cent), advertising in the local press (69 per cent) and through parents of a child catered for (66 per cent). This was similar to the results in 2003 where these methods were ranked as the top three in the same order. The number of providers mentioning these ways of recruitment had all gone up by 7-9 per cent since the previous survey. The two most notable changes since the 2003 survey were that recruiting via the Internet had gone up from 2 per cent in 2003 to 19 per cent in 2005 and advertising in the national press had also become more popular (only one per cent mentioned this in 2003 compared to 15 per cent in this year s survey). 16 The turnover rate is calculated by dividing the total number leaving their employment by the total number currently employed, less the difference between those recruited and those leaving their current employment. It should be noted therefore that this turnover rate includes the churn within sector as well as staff leaving the sector. 17 The employment growth rate is calculated by dividing the net change in staff by the total currently employed less the difference between those recruited and those leaving their current employment. It should be noted therefore that this turnover rate includes the churn within sector as well as staff leaving the sector. 49

56 Table 8.2 Recruitment methods Change from 2003 to 2005 Word of mouth 81% 72% +9 Adverts in the local press 69% 62% +7 Through parents of child catered for 66% 58% +8 Ad hoc CVs/applications sent to you 41% 37% +4 LEA/Loc authority/council jobs bulletin 36% 29% +7 Jobcentre/New Deal Scheme 32% 31% +1 Colleges 32% 25% +7 Open days 21% 13% +8 Internet 19% 2% +17 National press 15% 1% +14 Public notice board 9% - - Recruitment fairs 7% 5% +2 Posters/Leaflets/newsletters 5% - - Other 7% 7% +/-0 Base: All sessional day care providers (Module B) (unweighted 513, weighted and grossed 5,075) Only answers of 5% or more have been included in this table. 8.6 Recruitment Difficulties About three in ten (30 per cent) sessional day care providers that had tried to recruit within the past 12 months, said that they had a fair amount or a great deal of difficulty recruiting. A further 15 per cent said they had not experienced much difficulty and the remaining 55 per cent claimed that they had not experienced any difficulties in recruiting staff. Settings in the London area were more likely to say that they had experienced a great deal or fair amount of difficulty in recruiting staff (41 per cent) and although this is based on a small sample size, it ties in with the more competitive labour market in this region. Generally the data is similar to the 2003 survey. However, the proportion of providers saying that they experienced a great deal of difficulty in recruiting has fallen by six per cent, suggesting it has become easier to recruit since

57 Table 8.3 Extent to which provider has experienced any difficulties in recruiting staff in the past 12 months Total 2005 Total 2003 Change from 2003 to 2005 Not at all 55% 54% +1 Not very much 15% 10% +5 A fair amount 19% 19% +/-0 A great deal 10% 16% -6 Base 2005: All sessional day care providers (Module B) who had tried to recruit within the past 12 months (unweighted 328; weighted and grossed 3245) Base 2003: All playgroups that had tried to recruit within the past 12 months (unweighted 570, weighted and grossed 7,992) Types of staff that provider had difficulty recruiting Sessional day care providers experienced difficulties with recruiting both supervisory staff (68 per cent) and other paid childcare staff (44 per cent). The other groups appeared to be less of a problem, but this is largely explained by the lower incidence of senior managers, supply staff and SEN Support staff. The sample size is less than 100 so these findings should be treated with caution. The results for this question are not directly comparable with the 2003 survey as the question was asked in a slightly different way, but overall, the findings from the 2003 study appear similar to the 2005 results. Table 8.4 Types of staff that provider have had difficulty in recruiting Change from 2003 to 2005 Senior Manager 20% - - Supervisory staff 68% 68% +/-0 Other paid staff 44% 51% -7 Supply staff 16% - - SEN Support staff 9% - - Base 2005: All sessional day care providers (Module B) that had any difficulties in recruiting staff within the past 12 months (unweighted 97; weighted and grossed 965) Base 2003: All playgroups that had any difficulties in recruiting staff within the past 12 months (unweighted 196; weighted and grossed 2,821) 51

58 8.6.2 Difficulties encountered The most common difficulty encountered by sessional day providers when attempting to recruit staff was lack of qualified applicants (48 per cent). Other difficulties included: too few applicants with the right experience (32 per cent), too few applicants (29 per cent) and candidates wanting different hours to those offered (24 per cent). This is again based on a sample size below 100 so the findings need to be interpreted with caution. Compared to the 2003 survey there appears to have been an increase in the proportion of settings encountering problems with finding qualified applicants and applicants with the right type of experience. The data indicates that not offering the right pay has become less of a problem. Table 8.5 Difficulties encountered when attempting to recruit staff in the last 12 months 2005 Total 2003 Change from 2003 to 2005 No qualified applicants 48% 37% +11 Too few applicants with the right experience 32% 21% +11 Too few applicants 29% 31% -2 Candidates wanting different hours 24% 20% +4 Provider couldn t afford wages 20% 31% -11 Quality of staff 7% - - Location 4% - - Other answer 8% 17% - Base 2005: All sessional day care providers (Module B) that had any difficulties in recruiting staff within the past 12 months (unweighted 97; weighted and grossed 965) Base 2003: All playgroups that had any difficulties in recruiting staff within the past 12 months (unweighted 196; weighted and grossed 2,821) 8.7 Current vacancies Overall, 13 per cent of the sessional day care providers were actively trying to recruit childcare staff. The table below shows the grossed up total number of vacancies that the providers are recruiting for. 52

59 Table 8.6 Number of vacancies that providers are actively recruiting for by type of staff 2005 (No.) Senior managers 200 Supervisory staff 650 Other childcare staff 850 Base: All sessional day care providers (Module B) (unweighted 513, weighted and grossed 5,075) 8.8 Length of time it takes to fill vacancies Respondents were asked to provide an estimate of how long it would take to fill any vacancy that they currently had. The number of providers answering these questions is too small to enable detailed analysis but generally the data indicates that the majority of vacancies would be filled within 6 months. Respondents who did not have any vacancies that they were trying to recruit for at the time of the 2005 survey, were asked how long it takes on average to fill a vacancy. Nearly half (45 per cent) said that vacancies were filled in less than a month and a third (33 per cent) said 1-2 months. Table 8.7 Length of time it takes on average to fill staff vacancies 2005 % No. Less than a month 45% 4, months 33% 2, months 9% months 3% 300 More than 6 months * 40 Don t know 10% 900 Base: All sessional day care providers (Module B) not currently trying to fill staff vacancies (unweighted 448, weighted and grossed 4,429) 53

60 9 Income and Expenditure 9.1 Introduction This chapter looks at the expenditure incurred by sessional day care providers, and their income. Expenditure and outgoings are broken down into various categories, which are addressed in turn. A summary table (Table 9.1) brings together all of these categories and shows total expenditure. Income is also broken down into a few categories. This chapter also covers the profitability of sessional providers, and for loss-making providers investigates how sustainable these losses are. Finally, the senior manager s knowledge of tax credits is assessed. 9.2 Expenditure and outgoings Many providers were unable to say how much was spent on various categories. When reporting on average spend, and the proportions not spending anything on a particular item, those who were unable to provide a figure have been removed from the base. The actual cost figures in the following chapters are therefore only based on those providing an answer Costs of premises Most (79 per cent) of the sessional day care providers rented the premises that they used to provide the service. One in ten (12 per cent) owned their premises, and a further 10 per cent occupied them in some other way, or did not know if they were owned or rented. A quarter of sessional providers (24 per cent) were unable to say how much their premises cost. In total, 21 per cent of sessional day care providers who provided a cost said that they did not pay anything for the use of their premises (16 per cent of all sessional providers). Sessional day care providers in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were more likely than those in less deprived areas to have cost-free use of premises (37 per cent compared to 16 per cent). Overall, excluding those paying nothing for their premises, the average annual cost for premises was 3,900, and the median cost was 2,700. Many sessional day care providers (59 per cent) were paying less than 5,000 (not including those paying nothing), while a few (two per cent) were paying over 15,000 a year. Average premises costs were highest in London ( 5,400) and tended to increase with the size of the provider ( 5,100 for providers offering 50 or more places). Providers set 55

61 up as profit making organisations tended to pay more for their premises than non-profit making organisations ( 5,700 compared to 3,400). Premises costs formed a large part of the expenditure of sessional day care providers, as these costs were substantially greater than any of the other costs mentioned (with the exception of staff costs). (See summary table 9.1) Insurance costs A fifth (21 per cent) of sessional providers could not say how much they spent on insurance. Of those who could provide a figure, four per cent paid nothing. The average amount spent by those who did pay for insurance was 700 per year, and the median amount was 250. This did not vary greatly by type of provider or location Cost of toys, books and other items for children A fifth (20 per cent) of sessional providers could not say how much they spent on such items, and this was more common among providers set up as profit-making organisations (27 per cent did not know compared to 18 per cent). Of those providing a cost, one per cent of the sessional day care providers said that they did not spend anything on toys, books or other items for the children they looked after. Most (66 per cent) said that they spent less than 1,000 per year on such items, but a few (four per cent) said that they spent over 4,000 a year. The average amount spent per year was 1,200, and the median amount was 650. Providers based in the 30 per cent most deprived areas seemed to spend more on toys than those in less deprived areas ( 1600 compared to 1100). Not surprisingly, the amount spent on toys increased as the number of places provided increased. Providers with 50 or more places had an average annual spend on toys and books of 1, Cost of business rates A quarter (25 per cent) of sessional providers did not know if they paid or did not know how much. Most sessional providers who provided a figure (90 per cent) said that they did not pay business rates, and this was more common among those set up on a non-profit making basis (92 per cent did not pay business rates compared with 83 per cent of for-profit organisations). Of those paying business rates, the average annual amount paid was 1,400, and the median amount was

62 9.2.5 Cost of food One in ten sessional providers (10 per cent) were unable to say how much they spent on food. Fourteen per cent of providers giving a figure said that they did not spend anything on food. Over half (56 per cent) spent less than 500 on food annually, while ten per cent spent over 1,000. On average, sessional day care providers who provided food paid 600 per year on food. The median amount spent was 400. The amount spent on food appeared to be higher among providers based in the 30 per cent most deprived areas ( 800 on average compared to 600 for providers in less deprived areas). Similar proportions in both types of area provided food. Again, unsurprisingly, food costs increased with the number of places. Average spend for providers with 50 or more places was Cost of other consumables Providers were asked how much they spent on other consumables (such as nappies, stationery, paint etc). A fifth (18 per cent) of sessional providers were unable to say. Twelve per cent of those providing a figure said that they did not pay for any other consumables. The average spend per year among those who did buy such consumables, and who provided a figure was 700, and the median spend was 400. This increased with the number of places, as would be expected Cost of professional fees A fifth (17 per cent) of sessional providers were unable to say if, or how much, they spent on professional fees. Of those providing a figure, most (61 per cent) did not pay any professional fees. This was more common among providers who were set up as charitable or non-profit making organisations (64 per cent did not pay such costs compared to 49 per cent of profit making organisations. Among those paying professional fees (for example to accountants or lawyers), the average annual cost was 500. The difference between large and small providers was less marked than for consumables, as would be expected. There was little difference between charitable/non-profit making organisations and other organisations. 57

63 9.2.8 Cost of transport Seven per cent of sessional providers could not provide a figure for their spend on transport. Most (80 per cent) of the providers giving a figure did not pay anything for transport. Average spend for those that did have transport costs was 600 per year, and median spend was Other costs Six per cent of providers could not say how much they spent on other costs. Sixty four per cent of providers who gave a figure did not pay for any other costs. Of those who did have other costs, the median annual spend was 1000, and the average annual append was (The average is much higher than the median, as a few providers appear to have included very high costs. It is possible that some providers have included staff wages costs under this heading). The sorts of costs included as other costs are costs associated with staff (e.g. recruitment, expenses, uniforms); utilities; maintenance; training; general administration (e.g. photocopying); trips and outings for the children; registration fees (covering Ofsted costs); advertising and general publicity; finance costs (e.g. bank charges, tax, loans subscriptions etc) Staff costs Staff numbers and their average levels of pay were covered in Chapter Five. This information can be used to produce a rough estimate of the average amount that a sessional provider will need to spend on staff costs. On average, a sessional provider will pay 25,800 per year in salaries 18. On top of this, the provider will have to pay Employer s National Insurance, which amounts to 11 per cent of the gross salaries which will be an extra 2,800. Thus, salary costs (without any additional benefits that might be provided) are, on average, 28,600 per year. 18 This is based on average hourly pay and weekly hours as discussed in Chapter 6. On average, a setting will employ 0.91 senior managers; 2.9 supervisory staff and 2.2 other paid staff. 92 per cent of settings are only open in term time (39 weeks per year) and 8 per cent are open all year (52 weeks). 58

64 Annual expenditure Table 9.1 Annual expenditure Base % paying nothing Av. Amount (exc. zeros) Median Amount (exc. zeros) Cost of premises % 3,900 2,700 Insurance 394 4% Toys, books etc 395 1% 1, Business rates % 1, Food % Other consumables % Professional fees % Transport % Other costs % 6, Staff ,800 TOTAL AVERAGE (inc. zeros) 34,700 Base: All sessional day care providers (Module A) (unweighted 494, weighted and grossed 4,891) 9.3 Income Fees charged Not surprisingly, most of the sessional day care providers (87 per cent) charge parents on a per session basis. One in ten (nine per cent) charge per week, and seven per cent charge per day. Sessional day care providers in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were less likely than those in less deprived areas to charge per session (71 per cent compared to 90 per cent) and were more likely to charge using other units of time (e.g. hourly, daily or weekly) or not to charge at all (8 per cent compared to two per cent). In most cases (75 per cent) the fees are standard and do not vary from child to child, and this did not vary by the level of deprivation. For the 24 per cent of sessional day care providers where the fees do vary, the most common reasons for variation are whether or not the parents get the local authority grant; the age of the child; the number of hours per week and the parents income. 59

65 Chart 9.1 Why fees vary Whether parents get LA grant 45% Age of child No. hours per week 38% 37% Parent's income No. siblings enrolled 28% 31% What fees cover 11% Other 4% Base: All sessional day care providers (Module A) where fees vary from child to child (unweighted 117, weighted and grossed 1,168) Over a third of sessional day care providers (36 per cent) were unable to provide a figure for their income from fees. One in twenty (five per cent) sessional day care providers said that they did not receive any income from fees. This was more common among providers in the 30 per cent most deprived areas (13 per cent compared to 3 per cent in the least deprived areas). Of those receiving some income from fees, the average amount per year was 9,900 and the median amount was 5,400. Sessional day care providers that were set up as for-profit organisations made more money from fees than not-for-profit organisations (an average of 18,900 per year compared with 6,900). Unsurprisingly, fee income increased with the number of places. 60

66 Table 9.2 Income from fees per year Total Unwtd base 494 % Non profit making 370 % Profit making No income , ,501-5, ,001-10, ,001-20, , Don t know MEAN INCOME (exc. zeros) 9,900 6,900 18,900 MEDIAN INCOME 5,400 5,000 7,500 Base: All sessional day care providers (Module A) (unweighted 494, weighted and grossed 4,891) 119 % Most of the sessional day care providers (79 per cent) had raised their fees in the last two years (54 per cent had done so in the last year). Providers in the least deprived 70 per cent of areas were more likely to have raised fees in the last two years than those in the most deprived areas (81 per cent compared to 67 per cent). Larger providers were also more likely to have raised fees in the last two years (83 per cent of those with 40 or more places compared to 76 per cent of those with fewer places) Income from Local Authority A fifth (21 per cent) of sessional day care providers could not say how much money they received from their Local Authority. Among those able to provide a figure, there was quite a range of answers. Fifteen per cent of providers said that they received no local authority or central government funding, and a further 21 per cent received 5000 or less per annum, while 11 per cent received over 30,000. On average, sessional day care providers who did get money from this source received 18,200 per year. There was little difference by the level of deprivation of the area, or by whether or not the provider was set up to make a profit. The average amount received increased with the size of the provider. 61

67 9.3.3 Income from other sources A quarter (25 per cent) of sessional day care providers said that they had no other sources of income apart from the fees and local authority income already mentioned. Two thirds (66 per cent) raised additional income through fundraising. One in ten (11 per cent) received money via Sure Start (and this was, as expected, much more common in the 30 per cent most deprived areas which are more likely to be covered by Sure Start). Not-for-profit organisations were far more likely to engage in fundraising than for-profit ones, and so were more likely to have another source of income (77 per cent undertook fundraising compared to 31 per cent of for-profit sessional day care providers; 55 per cent of for-profit organisations had no other sources of income, compared to only 16 per cent of not-for-profit organisations). In total, 31 per cent of sessional providers said that they had no income from other sources (either at all or recently). The average amount received from other sources by those providers who did have some income from these sources was 3,000 a year, with a median of 800. This ranged from 23 per cent who said that they had received less than 500 to five per cent who received over 5,000. Sessional day care providers in the 30 per cent most deprived areas had higher levels of income from other sources than those in less deprived areas (which may be due to Sure Start).. Table 9.3 Income from other sources per year Total 30% most deprived areas 64 % 70% least deprived areas 430 % Unwtd base 494 % No income , ,001-5, , Don t know MEAN INCOME (exc. zeros) 3,000 7,100 2,200 MEDIAN INCOME (exc. 0s) Base: All sessional day care providers (Module A) (unweighted 494, weighted and grossed 4,891) Total income The chart below shows average income from each source (including providers who had no income from a source) and the total average income. As the chart illustrates, for 62

68 sessional providers, the largest source of income was not fees, but local authority or central government funding. Chart 9.2 Average annual income (including those receiving nothing) Fees Local Authority Other 9,200 15,400 2,000 26,600 Base: All sessional day care providers (Module A) (unweighted 494, weighted and grossed 4,891) 9.4 Profitability of sessional day care providers Most (75 per cent) of the sessional day care providers are set up as charitable or nonprofit making organisations, which grosses up to 7,300 non-profit making sessional day care providers. There was little difference by the area where the provider was based. These organisations were asked about whether they made any surpluses or reserves in the last financial year, while the profit-making organisations were asked specifically about profits or losses. Overall, a third (30 per cent) of sessional day care providers reported they had made a profit (profit-making organisations) or a surplus (non-profit making organisations/charities). While the difference between 2003 is not statistically significant, when comparing the 2005 figure (30 per cent) with 2003 (28 per cent) and 2001 (25 per cent), it does seem to indicate a general upward trend. Obviously, this must be used with caution. The proportion of providers who reported covering their costs in the most recent financial year was 49 per cent, a decrease from 2003 when 56 per cent said the same. 63

69 However, while there seems to be a general increase in the number of providers reporting making a profit or surplus, there is also an increase in the number who report that they are operating at a loss, 15 per cent in 2005 and 11 per cent in Those based in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were less likely to be making a profit or surplus (15 per cent compared with 33 per cent), and more likely just to be covering costs (57 per cent compared with 47 per cent). There was no significant difference in the proportions actually making a loss. Larger providers, with more children enrolled also seemed more likely to be making a surplus or profit (37 per cent of providers with 40 more children enrolled made a profit or surplus compared to 25 per cent of providers with fewer than 40 children attending). This was also the case in Providers set up as profit making organisations were more likely than non-profit making providers to have made a profit (38 per cent compared to 27 per cent) and less likely to have just covered costs (39 per cent compared to 52 per cent). However, similar proportions of both types of provider had made losses in their most recent financial year. Table 9.4 Financial state of providers Total 2005 Total 2003 Change 2005/2003 Total % most deprived areas 70% least deprived areas Unwtd base % No. % No. % % % Made surplus or 30% 2,900 28% 3, % 15% 33% profit Covered costs 49% 4,800 56% 6, % 57% 47% Operated at a 15% 1,400 11% 1, % 17% 14% loss Don t know 6% 600 5% % 10% 5% Base: All sessional day care providers (Module A) (unweighted 494, weighted and grossed 4,891) Those providers making a surplus or profit were asked how much they had made in the last financial year. A quarter (26 per cent) were unable to provide this figure. The average profit made by those providing a figure was 5,000. There was some variation in this, but generally profit or surplus levels were fairly low. Half (50 per cent) had made 4000 or less, while three per cent had made more than 16,000. The numbers of providers making a profit or surplus were small (148) so it is difficult to look at differences in profit levels between different types of provider. 64

70 9.4.1 Providers operating at a loss In total, 1,400 sessional day care providers operated at a loss in the most recent financial year for which they had information. Two-fifths (43 per cent) of these said that this loss was due to one-off circumstances and was unlikely to be repeated in future years. However, in total, 540 sessional day care providers said that they had been operating at a loss for more than a year. Those operating at a loss that was not due to a one-off circumstance were asked what they were doing to try to reduce losses. Most (62 per cent) had increased their fundraising activities, and 55 per cent had raised fees for children. Half (47 per cent) were making efforts to take on more children, and a quarter (26 per cent) had cut the number of staff employed. A small proportion of providers (three per cent equating to 300 providers) felt that they could not keep operating at a loss for more than another 12 months before having to close. 9.5 Tax credits and childcare vouchers Awareness of tax credit issues In April 2005, there was an increase in the amount of childcare that could be claimed as part of the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit to 175 per week for one child. Most of the sessional providers (61 per cent) were unaware of this increase, although 38 per cent were aware of this change. Awareness did not seem to vary greatly by area or type of provider. Those that were aware of the change were asked if the change had led them to make any changes to the fees. Only two per cent said that it had affected their fees (one per cent of all sessional day care providers), and all of these had increased their fees as a result. Providers were asked whether they were aware of a further change, due to take place in April 2006, whereby the amount that can be claimed will rise from 70% to 80% of the limit. One in five providers (18 per cent) said that they were aware of this, but most (81 per cent) were unaware of this change Fees paid by parent s employers Few of the sessional day care providers (seven per cent) received fees for children from the parent s employer (for example, via childcare vouchers or direct payment). 65

71 Grossing up these figures, 700 sessional providers received fees from the parent s employer for 1,800 children As only 35 of the interviewed providers received payments in this way, it is difficult to analyse this issue in much more depth 66

72 10 Technical appendix 10.1 Design The research was divided into two surveys, with a group provider questionnaire (i.e. sessional care, full day care and out of school care providers) and an individual setting questionnaire (i.e. childminders). While they were a similar format with similar questions, because childminders largely operate individually it was felt they required a separate questionnaire that was more tailored to their setting. The questionnaires were developed by the research team at BMRB Social Research in consultation with representatives from the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). The surveys were largely based on previous surveys, with new questions relating to costs, and some extra questions on recruitment and retention added in. As part of the questionnaire development stage BMRB researchers carried out cognitive interviews with representatives from the four provider types, to test the new costs questions. The findings from these interviews helped shape the questionnaire format and question wording. In order to reduce the time it took to complete the interview, it was decided the questionnaires would be divided into two sections. The first section would include core questions to be asked of all respondents and the second section would consist of one of two modules (module A or B). Module A asked questions on costs and income and module B asked questions on training and recruitment. Respondents were randomly split into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B, prior to the interview taking place. (The sample was stratified by region before this allocation took place to ensure that within each region equal numbers were asked module A or B). Draft questionnaires were produced and tested in a pilot exercise Pilot The group provider setting questionnaire was piloted on 14 th June The childminder questionnaire was piloted on 5 th and 6 th July Computer assisted telephone interviews (CATI) were carried out by The Operations Centre 20 (TOC) telephone interviewers in Ealing. 20 BMRB is part of the Kantar Group, the information and consultancy arm of WPP, BMRB s parent company. In addition to BMRB, other market research agencies in the Kantar Group include Research International and Millward Brown, as well as a number of smaller, specialist organisations. In April 2004 the support services of the Kantar companies were grouped to form a shared resource called The Operations Centre. The majority of BMRB s existing operational services, including field management, sampling and data processing continue to be based at BMRB s Head Office in Ealing but, while still wholly owned by WPP, the new operations centre is now a separate legal entity from BMRB. The Operations 67

73 Following the pilot exercises a number of relatively minor changes were made, in order to shorten and simplify both questionnaires Sample design The sample for the survey was obtained from Ofsted, who hold a register of all early years and childcare providers. Target sample sizes of 1,125 were set for all four setting types, and the issued sample size was based on ineligibility rates and response rates from the 2003 survey. Some reserve sample was also drawn for contingency. Ofsted provided a stratified random sample for the four provider types who were active as at 13 th June 2005 sessional care, full day care, out of school care and childminders, using a sample specification produced by BMRB. The sample was stratified by Ofsted region, then 1 in n providers were selected to give: 2235 sessional providers, 2192 full day care providers, 2909 out of school providers and 2491 childminders Sessional The sample provided by Ofsted was stratified by region and 1 in n providers were selected, with a random starting point, to draw a sample of 1925 sessional care providers. This sample was then randomly divided into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B Full day care The sample provided by Ofsted was stratified by region and 1 in n providers were selected, with a random starting point, to draw a sample of 1925 full day care providers. This sample was then randomly divided into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B Out of school care The sample provided by Ofsted was stratified by region and 1 in n providers were selected, with a random starting point, to draw a sample of 2550 out of school providers. This sample was then randomly divided into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B. There was no information available in advance as to whether these providers offered before or after school care or holiday care, or all of these. For the 2005 survey, providers were asked about their after school care, if they offered this. If they did not offer after school care, but did offer holiday care, then they were asked Centre continue to work to existing quality standards and BMRB continue to take responsibility for the quality of the work undertaken by their support services. 68

74 about holiday care. (Three providers did not offer after school care or holiday care and so were asked about before school care; a further three provided none of these, and so were asked about weekend care). This approach means that the after school sample is representative of all after school providers, but the holiday club sample is not representative of all holiday clubs. Due to higher than expected non-contact and illegibility rates, another 271 providers were added to the sample. A small number of duplicates were found across the different sample types (as providers can offer more than one type of childcare). As the numbers were small, duplicate providers were randomly allocated to one of the relevant sample types (and asked specifically about this type of care) and removed from the other samples Childminders The sample provided by Ofsted was stratified by region and 1 in n providers were selected, with a random starting point, to draw a sample of 2040 childminders. Home childcarers were excluded from the sample. This sample was then randomly divided into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B. Due to a higher than expected proportion of ineligible respondents, another 295 childminders was added to the sample Main survey The survey was conducted using BMRB s Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), between 28 th June 2005 and 2 nd September 2005 for the group providers questionnaire and 18 th July 2005 and 30 th August 2005 for the individual setting questionnaire. Originally the group providers survey was due to finish earlier; however because of problems in contacting a number of providers, fieldwork was extended in order to boost the number of interviews achieved. The extension was successful and helped increase the response rate to a more acceptable level. Interviews were carried out by The Operation Centre s (TOC) fully trained telephone interviewers. The senior manager 21 of each childcare provision and every childminder included in the issued sample were sent an advance letter informing them that BMRB would be contacting them and explaining what the research would cover. In addition to the letter, they were sent a datasheet 22 and a qualification list, which they were asked to complete 21 Letters were addressed to the Senior manager as their name was not included in the sample provided by Ofsted. 22 The datasheet included a number of detailed questions from the questionnaire that the respondent would need to look up in advance. 69

75 prior to the interview. Different datasheets were sent depending on which module (costs or training) the provider had been randomly allocated to. If when the interviewer spoke to the respondent they said they had not received the advance documents, contact details were taken and duplicate documents were issued by post, fax or . The interviewer then agreed a convenient time to call the respondent back. In total 4349 interviews were carried out with childcare and early years providers in England 1007 with sessional providers, 1171 with full day care providers, with out of school providers and 1132 with childminders. The average interview length was just under 20 minutes for the group provider interviews and just under 12 minutes for the childminder interviews Response rates Sessional care Full day care Out of school Childminder Overall Issued sample Ineligible* Eligible sample Bad number Contactable sample Refusals Non contact Achieved Response rate (on eligible sample) Response rate (on contactable sample) 54% 64% 44% 59% 54% 60% 67% 49% 66% 60% * Ineligible includes providers which have closed down; providers who said that they don t provide the relevant type of childcare and duplicates that were removed prior to issue. 23 Although 1042 out of school providers were interviewed, due to an error on the questionnaire three of these followed erroneous routing and so have been excluded from the tables and reporting. 70

76 10.5 Weighting and grossing The only information held for the population of all providers was the regional breakdown. The regional breakdown for the achieved sample was, in all cases, fairly close to the population breakdown, but we decided that it would still be worth applying weights to ensure that the sample matched the population. The table below shows the achieved and population breakdowns (March 2005) by region. Weights were applied to ensure that the sample matched the population. Sessional Full day care Out of school Region Survey % Popn % Survey % Popn % Survey % Popn % East Midlands East of England London NE & Yorkshire & Humberside North West South East South West West Midlands Childminders Region Survey % Popn % East Midlands East of England London NE & Yorkshire & Humberside North West South East South West West Midlands For the tables and reports, the weighted data was grossed up to the total number of active providers in England. The estimate of the number of active providers was achieved by taking the total number of providers of each type on the Ofsted database (as at March 2005), and taking away the proportion that the survey had found to be 71

77 ineligible (no longer in business, no longer providing that type of childcare). The proportion that were ineligible varied between the different provider types. The table below shows how the grossing was carried out. On Ofsted database (March 2005) Ineligible (%) Total active providers Sessional Full day care Out of school Childminders Survey Total Multiplier Sessional Full day care Out of school Childminders Actual and effective sample sizes The weighting process has an impact on the effective sample sizes of the four providers. As the weights applied were small, the impact of weighting is limited. The actual and effective sample sizes are shown in the table below. Achieved sample Effective sample Sessional 1,007 1,006 Full day care 1,171 1,166 Out of school 1,039 1,032 Childminders 1,132 1,121 72

78 10.7 Data analysis Calculating annual costs and fees In order to make it as easy as possible to collect cost and income data, providers were able to provide a cost for the following time periods: A week a month a four week period a quarter a year In order to produce annual estimates, some assumptions had to be made. For the following costs and income, we assumed that they would be paid across the whole year, and thus multiplied up to a full 52 week year: Rent Insurance (most provided an annual cost) Toys, books and other items for children Business rates Professional fees Transport Other costs Income from local authority/central government However, for consumables (food and other consumables) and fees, the costs or income would only be relevant when the provider was open. There was no question asking how many weeks a year the provider was open (which will be added to the 2006 survey), but providers were asked if the were open during term time, the school holidays or both. For full day and sessional providers those open during both, we multiplied costs/fees up to a full 52 week year. For those only open in term time, we multiplied up to a 39 week year, and for those open just in the holidays, we multiplied up to a 12 week year. 73

79 As out of school providers are very varied as to how many weeks a year they open, we instead calculated weekly costs/fees based on 13 week years for holiday clubs and 39 week years for out of school clubs Pay data When asking about hourly pay, if a respondent refused, they were asked to give a banded answer. The data in the reports combines the banded data with the nonbanded data (by using the midpoint of bands). The level of refusal was low, so this made very little difference to overall estimates Edits When collecting information on costs and income, and asking respondents to provide numbers that are keyed in by the interviewer, it is possible for miskeying to occur. On inspection, a small number of answers seemed either much too large or much to small. Therefore, we decided to implement rules whereby certain outliers would be removed from the data. Only very small numbers of answers were removed Survey materials The questionnaire and advance letter are included in the overview report. 74

80 10.10 Changes to the National Qualification Framework since 2003 The three regulatory authorities (QCA, ACCAC and CCEA) revised the NQF as part of a review of regulatory arrangements. The revised criteria and NQF came into effect on 1 September The main change is that the NQF now comprises nine levels (Entry Level to Level 8) rather than six. While Entry Level and Levels 1 to 3 have not changed, Levels 4 and 5 have been divided into more precise levels - Levels 4 to 8. The recent changes to the NQF do not alter the number of qualifications available, but rather increases the number of levels against which qualifications are accredited. The table below illustrates these changes. Previous levels (Examples) Level 5 Level 5 NVQ in Construction Current levels (Examples) Level 8 Specialist awards Level 5 Diploma in Translation Level 7 Level 7 Diploma in Translation Level 4 Level 6 Level 4 National Diploma in Professional Qualified Teacher Status Production Skills Level 5 Level 4 BTEC Higher National Diploma in Level 5 Early Years Foundation Degree 3D Design Level 4 Level 4 Certificate in Early Years Practice Level 4 Certificate in Early Years Practice Level 3 Level 3 Certificate in Small Animal Care; Level 3 NVQ in Aeronautical Engineering A levels Level 2 Level 2 Diploma for Beauty Specialists; Level 2 NVQ in Agricultural Crop Production GCSEs Grades A*-C Level 1 Level 1 Certificate in Motor Vehicle Studies; Level 1 NVQ in Bakery GCSEs Grades D-G Entry Level Entry Level Certificate in Adult Literacy 75

81 Copies of this publication can be obtained from: DfES Publications P.O. Box 5050 Sherwood Park Annesley Nottingham NG15 0DJ Tel: Fax: Minicom: Oneline: Crown Copyright 2006 Produced by the Department for Education and Skills ISBN Ref No: RR762

82 RESEARCH 2005 Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey Out-of-School Providers Sam Clemens, Robert Kinnaird, Anna Ullman and Jon Cooper BMRB Social Research Research Report RR761

83 Research Report No Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey Out-of-School Providers Sam Clemens, Robert Kinnaird, Anna Ullman and Jon Cooper BMRB Social Research The views expressed in this report are the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department for Education and Skills. Crown Copyright 2006 ISBN

84 Table of Contents 1 Summary and conclusions Introduction Characteristics of provision Places and children Characteristics of staff Training Qualifications of staff Recruitment and retention Income and expenditure Conclusions Introduction The 10 year strategy for childcare Objectives of the research The Survey Survey Design Structure of the report Notes on reading the report Characteristics of Provision Number of providers Ownership Length of operation Business plans Places and Children Number of places... 15

85 4.2 Types of care offered Number of children attending Ages Black or minority ethnic groups (BME) Special Educational needs (SEN) Vacancies Term time care Holiday time care Breaking even Expansion Characteristics of Staff Number of staff Paid staff Unpaid staff Agency staff Age Gender Disability Ethnicity Working hours Pay levels Other work Training Views of current level of training Training plans and budgets

86 6.3 Funding Training Provision and Type of Training Provided Qualifications of Staff Definitions of Qualifications Levels Current qualifications held Senior Managers Supervisory staff Other paid childcare staff Qualifications being worked towards Type of staff Incentives provided for staff working towards a childcare qualification Qualifications required of senior managers Qualifications required of senior managers NVQ Assessors Recruitment and Retention Levels of recruitment Senior Managers Supervisory staff Other paid childcare staff Length of Service Annual staff losses Staff turnover Destination of staff who left Reasons for staff leaving Recruitment Methods

87 8.8 Recruitment Difficulties Types of staff that provider had difficulty recruiting Difficulties encountered Current job vacancies Length of time it takes to fill job vacancies Income and Expenditure Introduction Expenditure and outgoings Costs of premises Insurance costs Cost of toys, books and other items for children Cost of business rates Cost of food Cost of other consumables Cost of professional fees Cost of transport Other costs Staff costs All expenditure Income Fees charged Income from Local Authority/Central Government Income from other sources Profitability of out of school providers Providers operating at a loss Tax credits and childcare vouchers

88 9.5.1 Awareness of tax credit issues Fees paid by parent s employers Technical appendix Design Pilot Sample design Sessional Full day care Out of school care Childminders Main survey Response rates Weighting and grossing Actual and effective sample sizes Data analysis Pay data Edits Survey materials Changes to the National Qualification Framework since Copyright: reports and any other material associated with a survey are normally intended for use within a client s organisation and its associate organisations such as advertising agents. Should a client intend wider circulation of the results then the client must agree the form and content with BMRB, and must acknowledge BMRB as the source of the information. 6

89 1 Summary and conclusions 1.1 Introduction The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned BMRB to undertake four surveys to collect information about childcare providers and the childcare workforce. This report outlines the findings for out of school care providers (after school clubs, breakfast clubs and holiday clubs) that are registered with Ofsted. (This will not include out of school provision solely for children aged 8 and over, as this does not need to be registered). The report is based on interviews with the senior manager at 1,039 out of school care providers sampled from the Ofsted database. Where possible, findings from the 2005 survey have been compared with those from similar surveys conducted in Data have been weighted and grossed to provide national estimates. 1.2 Characteristics of provision The total number of registered out of school care providers has increased from 7,281 in 2003 to 8,609 in Settings are not evenly distributed across England the North West accounts for nearly a fifth (18 per cent) of all settings, while the East Midlands accounts for just seven per cent. The rate of increase has also varied, with the North West seeing the highest increase since 2003 (71 per cent), while provision in the East of England had actually decreased by nine per cent. Two fifths of registered out of school care providers are managed by a voluntary or community organisation, and just over a third (36 per cent) were privately run. Six in ten registered out of school care providers have been operating for five years or more. Profit making providers were more likely to be relatively new, 53 per cent had been in operation for 5 years or more compared with 63 per cent of non-profit making providers. 1.3 Places and children The total number of Ofsted registered places available in out of school care providers is 309,870. This is an increase of 23,000 places since 2003, which is due to the increase in the number of providers. The total number of children attending registered out of school care settings in 2005 was 465,500. The average number of children attending per setting was 55. Three quarters (80 per cent) of the children attending are school-age children aged five years or older. Children of black or minority ethnic origin made up 17 per cent of all children 1

90 attending. 11 per cent of children attending were defined by the providers as having special educational needs. At the time of the survey, there were 71,550 vacant places in registered out of school care providers an average of nine places per provider. Providers in London were the most likely to be full, with 37 per cent of providers having no vacant places on an average day, compared with the average (29 per cent). 1.4 Characteristics of staff The overall number of paid staff working in registered out of school care settings was 68,100, an increase of 20,600 since The proportion of staff who are defined as supervisory staff has increased since 2003, suggesting that the workforce is becoming better qualified and more professional. There are also large numbers of unpaid staff working within registered out of school care settings in total, 11,450, made up of 6,350 volunteers and 5,100 students on placement. The average number of hours worked for all staff was 23 hours a week, with the majority (63 per cent) of out of school paid staff working part time (less than 30 hours a week). The average hourly pay for all staff working in the registered out of school childcare sector was The average hourly pay for senior managers was 9.00, for supervisory staff 6.80 and for other paid childcare staff The average hourly pay was higher for all staff grades in London. 1.5 Training Three-quarters of senior managers said that they thought the amount of training their staff had received in the last year was about right, but a substantial minority (20 per cent) felt that their staff had received an insufficient amount. About two-thirds (64 per cent) of all out of school providers have a written training plan. Half of all out of school providers had a training budget. Funding for training most commonly came from Government sources and the Learning and Skills Council. 1.6 Qualifications of staff Among all paid childcare staff, almost three-quarters (73 per cent) had some kind of qualification (levels 1 to 8) relevant to working with children or young people and 22 per cent had no relevant qualifications at all. Half (51 per cent) of paid staff had at least a level 3 qualification and seven in ten (70 per cent) had at least a level 2 qualification. Eight in ten senior managers held at least a level 3 qualification and 13 per cent of senior managers held a level six or above qualification. Nine in ten supervisory staff had at least a level 2 qualification and around seven in ten had at least a level 3 qualification. Just over 2

91 half (53 per cent) of all other paid childcare staff held no relevant childcare qualifications. A third of other paid childcare staff held at least a level two qualification and ten per cent held at least a level three qualification. 1.7 Recruitment and retention Overall, 26,800 childcare staff were recruited in the last year. The recruitment rate was 51 per cent. Half of providers had at least one member of staff leave in the last year. The turnover rate in 2005 was 21 per cent. Employment growth in 2005 was 30 per cent. Around two fifths of those who left took other jobs in the childcare and early years sector (39 per cent). Word of mouth and adverts in the local press were the most commonly used recruitment methods. Two fifths of out of school care providers who had tried to recruit in the last year had had a fair amount or a great deal of difficulty. A quarter were actively trying to recruit at the time of the survey, and had vacancies for around 4,200 staff in total. 1.8 Income and expenditure Many providers were unable to say how much they spent on various categories of expenditure, or how much money they received from various sources. Thus, the figures provided should be treated with caution. Among those providing a figure, the largest item of expenditure was staff costs, which accounted for around 82 per cent of total expenditure (on average). The overall average expenditure for out of school care providers operating all year round was 83,300 a year. (This is a very rough figure, based on sometimes small numbers of providers). Nearly all out of school care providers spent money on insurance and on toys and books etc for the children. Only a third spent any money on transport and 15 per cent on business rates. Of those receiving some income from fees, the average amount per week was 1000 and the median amount was 513. (This is a very rough figure, based on sometimes small numbers of providers). For those providers who received funding from local authority/central government (23 per cent), on average they received 23,900 a year. Two thirds of out of school care providers had either covered their costs or made a profit in the last financial year. A quarter reported that they operated at a loss and ten per cent didn t know either way. Two-fifths (37 per cent) of these said that this loss was due to one-off circumstances and was unlikely to be repeated in future years. A small proportion of providers (six per cent 3

92 equating to 550 out of school providers) felt that they could not keep operating at a loss for more than another 12 months before having to close. 1.9 Conclusions Registered out of school care provision is on the increase. A greater number of providers are registered to provide this type of care, and the number of children attending registered out of school care settings has increased. Two fifths of registered out of school care providers are managed by some type of voluntary or community organisation, and just over a third (36 per cent) are privately run. The number of paid staff working in registered out of school care settings is 68,100, an increase of 20,600 since The proportion of staff who are defined as supervisory staff has increased since 2003, suggesting that the workforce is becoming better qualified and more professional. Two thirds of registered out of school care providers had either covered their costs or made a profit in the last financial year. A quarter reported that they operated at a loss. 4

93 2 Introduction 2.1 The 10 year strategy for childcare The Government s Ten Year Strategy for early years and childcare, published in December 2004, outlined a number of key principles and objectives: Choice and Flexibility - greater choice for parents in how they balance their work commitments and family life; Availability flexible, affordable, high quality childcare for all families with children aged up to 14 who need it; Quality - high quality provision delivered by a skilled early years and childcare workforce; and Affordability families to be able to afford flexible, high quality childcare that is appropriate for their needs. The Government s vision is to ensure that every child gets the best start in life, and to give parents more choice about how to balance work and family life. By 2010, all 3 and 4 year olds will be entitled to 15 hours a week of free high quality care, for 38 weeks a year and there will be an out of school childcare place available for all children aged 3-14 from the hours of 8am-6pm every weekday. This will be accompanied by a package of measures to help address the issue of affordability of childcare, including increases in the childcare costs that can be claimed through Working Tax Credit and measures to help parents balance work and family life, including the extension of paid maternity leave. To support this, and to help improve the quality of childcare, there is to be a radical reform of the workforce. This will include measures to strengthen professional leadership in all full day care settings, improve the qualifications and status of early years and childcare workers and provide training opportunities for childminders and other home-based carers. A Transformation Fund of 250m over the period April 2006 to August 2008 will support investment to raise the quality of the early years workforce without undermining efforts to improve affordability. 2.2 Objectives of the research The Department for Education and Skills needs robust information on the key characteristics of childcare provision in the early years and childcare sector, as well as information on its workforce and the costs of childcare that is available. 5

94 The DfES carried out surveys amongst childcare and early years providers in 1998, 2001 and 2002/3. The 2005 Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey is a modified version of the 2002/03 Childcare and Early Years Workforce Survey, expanded in places to provide more information on recruitment and retention issues and the costs of childcare. The 2005 survey consists of 4 separate sample surveys aimed at collecting information from the following Ofsted registered settings: full-day childcare: facilities that provide day care for children under 8 for a continuous period of four hours or more in any day in non-domestic premises (for example, day nurseries and children s centres). sessional childcare: facilities that provide day care or children under 8 for a session which is less than a continuous period of 4 hours in any day in non-domestic premises, for example, playgroups. (There must be a break between sessions with no children in the care of the provider). out-of-school childcare: after school clubs, breakfast clubs and holiday clubs that are registered with Ofsted. (This will not include out of school provision solely for children aged 8 and over, as this does not need to be registered) childminders: those looking after one or more children aged under 8 for a total of more than two hours a day, for reward. (People who look after children wholly or mainly in the child s own home do not need to be registered with Ofsted). 2.3 The Survey The survey examines the key characteristics of childcare provision and its workforce: Provider characteristics (ownership, business performance, length of operation); number of places and children attending (number of places, ages, ethnicity, opening hours); staff characteristics (number of staff, demographics of paid staff, pay); training (current level of training, training plans and budgets); qualifications (qualifications held and working towards by paid staff); recruitment and retention (level of recruitment, methods of recruitment, vacancies); 6

95 income and expenditure (costs, fees, funding). 2.4 Survey Design This report is based on 1,039 interviews conducted with senior managers 1 of out of school providers, or in small number of cases, an alternative senior member of staff. Other surveys were conducted with 1,007 senior managers of sessional providers, 1,171 senior managers of full day care provision and 1,132 childminders. The sample for each provider type was stratified by Ofsted region 2 to ensure a representative sample was interviewed in each region. This sample was then randomly divided into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B. In order to reduce the time it took to complete the interview, it was decided that the questionnaires would be divided into two sections. The first section would include core questions to be asked of all respondents and a second section that would consist of one of two modules (module A or B). Module A asked questions on costs and income and module B asked questions on training and recruitment. A copy of the questionnaire is included in the appendices to the overview report. The same questionnaire was used for all of the group settings, but a slightly different questionnaire was used for the childminder survey. For the interview, if the provider offered after school care, then that was the focus of the interview. If no after school care was offered, but holiday care was provided, then the interview focused on holiday care. Data are weighted by Ofsted region (as of March 2005) to ensure the figures are representative of out of school childcare providers throughout England. Interviews were conducted by telephone using CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) by The Operation Centre s 3 fully trained telephone interviewers in Hull. Interviews were carried out between 28 th June 2005 and 2 nd September No specific definition was provided for Senior Manager. Settings decided themselves who best fitted this description. Supervisors were defined as staff qualified to supervise a group of children on their own, whether or not they manage staff. 2 Ofsted divides England into eight regions: East of England, East Midlands, London, NE and Yorkshire, North West England, South East England, South West England, West Midlands 3 BMRB is part of the Kantar Group, the information and consultancy arm of WPP, BMRB s parent company. In addition to BMRB, other market research agencies in the Kantar Group include Research International and Millward Brown, as well as a number of smaller, specialist organisations. In April 2004 the support services of the Kantar companies were grouped to form a shared resource called The Operations Centre. The majority of BMRB s existing operational services, including field management, sampling and data processing continue to be based at BMRB s Head Office in Ealing but, while still wholly owned by WPP, the new operations centre is now a separate legal entity from BMRB. The Operations Centre continue to work to existing quality standards and BMRB continue to take responsibility for the quality of the work undertaken by their support services. 7

96 Full details of the methodology and analysis are included in the Technical Appendix to this report. 2.5 Structure of the report This report is one of five produced from the results of the 2005 Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey the latest in a series of surveys going back to The other four reports cover: Sessional providers Full day care provision Childminders Overview report drawing together the findings from all four settings The remainder of this report is structured as follows: Chapter 3 Characteristics of provision and its development since 2001 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Number of places available and number and types of children enrolled Characteristics of staff Training Qualifications of staff Recruitment and retention Income and expenditure 2.6 Notes on reading the report In the tables, grossed up figures are provided along with percentages. These grossed up figures are based on the total number of out of school providers registered with Ofsted in March 2005, excluding the proportion found by the survey to be no longer eligible for the survey (e.g. closed down, no longer in business). These grossed up figures are not exact, and like the percentages reported are subject to confidence intervals. Grossed figures in this report have been rounded to the nearest

97 Where appropriate, comparisons are made between these findings and those of the previous childcare workforce surveys (mainly the 2003 survey conducted by MORI, but in some cases with the 2001 survey conducted by SQW and NOP). However, the way the sample of out of school providers was drawn in 2005 is very different to the approach used in earlier surveys, so comparisons are not always appropriate. In 2003, the sample was drawn from the Childcarelink database held by Opportunity Links. This database allowed separate samples to be drawn for out of school clubs and holiday clubs. In 2005, the sample was selected from out of school providers registered with Ofsted. Ofsted do not split out of school providers from holiday clubs, and there is no way to identify these groups from the information held on the Ofsted database. Therefore, a sample of out of school providers was drawn. For the interview, if the provider offered after school care, then that was the focus of the interview. If no after school care was offered, but holiday care was provided, then the interview focused on holiday care. Therefore, those interviewed about holiday care will be different to holiday clubs interviewed in 2003 (as in 2003, holiday clubs may also have provided after school care), and will also not be representative of all holiday clubs (as many will provide after school care as well). Therefore, we have limited comparisons with 2003 to some overall figures for all out of school provision, and to comparing out of school provision in 2003 with after school providers in In the 2003 report, some analysis was carried out to look at providers in the 20 per cent most deprived wards. By 2005, there had been a change in the areas used to define the level of deprivation from wards to Super Output Areas (SOA). Therefore, this report looks at the 30 per cent most deprived areas. For comparative purposes, the 30% most deprived SOAs can be considered as roughly equivalent to the 20 per cent most deprived wards. There is also some analysis by the population density of an area. This is defined in the same way as in 2003: low density - less than 10 people per hectare; medium density - between people per hectare and high density - more than 25 people per hectare. The percentages in the tables do not always add to 100 per cent due to rounding, and, where percentages in the text differ to the sum of percentages in the tables, this too will be due to rounding. A * in a table signifies a value between 0 and 0.49, while a signifies a zero. Unless otherwise stated, figures referred to are weighted. 9

98 3 Characteristics of Provision This chapter discusses the characteristics of registered out of school care providers in operation. It considers factors such as ownership, length of time providers have been operating and whether providers have business plans. 3.1 Number of providers The total number of registered out of school care providers in 2005 was 8,609 4, an increase from 7,281 in Chart 3.1 Number of out of school care providers 10,000 9,000 8,609 8,000 Out of school care providers 7,000 7,281 6, Base: Ofsted figures 2003, 2005 The number of settings was not evenly distributed across the regions. The East Midlands accounted for just seven per cent of the total number of providers while the North West accounted for nearly a fifth (18 per cent). The rate of increase also varied across the regions. Overall the number of providers had increased by 18 per cent. The percentage increase was highest in the North West at 71 per cent and lowest in the East of England where the number of providers had actually fallen by nine per cent (see Table 3.1). 4 Ofsted figures March 2005 less a percentage deemed ineligible based on fieldwork outcome codes from the 2005 survey per cent. Providers were classified ineligible if they did not offer out of school provision, or if the setting had closed down or was no longer in business. 11

99 Table 3.1 Number of providers by region Total 2005 Total 2003 Change in the number of providers from 2003 to 2005 % No. % No. % No. East Midlands 7% 634 8% % +34 East of England 9% % 900-9% -84 London 15% 1,269 11% % +469 NE & Yorkshire & Humberside 13% 1,087 14% 1,000 +9% +87 North West 18% 1,541 13% % +641 South East 15% 1,269 17% 1,200 +6% +69 South West 11% % % +6 West Midlands 13% 1,087 13% % +187 Base 2005: All out of school care providers (unweighted 1,039, weighted and grossed 8,609) Base 2003: All out of school care providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 4,534) and holiday club providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 2,781) combined 3.2 Ownership Out of school providers were owned by a number of different groups. Two fifths (39 per cent) were owned by some type of voluntary sector organisation, 36 per cent were privately owned, 13 per cent were owned by local authorities and 10 per cent were owned by a school or college. Providers based in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were more likely to be owned by a voluntary organisation (47 per cent) or a local authority (18 per cent) compared with the 70 per cent least deprived areas (34 per cent and 11 per cent respectively). Providers located in the 70 per cent least deprived areas were more likely to be privately owned (41 per cent) than in the 30 per cent most deprived areas (25 per cent). 12

100 Table 3.2 Ownership of provision by level of deprivation Total % Most deprived areas 70% Least deprived areas % No. % No. % No. Voluntary sector (inc. church, charity, committee) Private sector (owner/manager or part of group chain) 39% 3,400 47% 1,400 34% 2,000 36% 3,100 25% % 2,350 Local Authority 13% 1,150 18% % 650 School/college 10% % % 600 Other 4% 350 2% 50 5% 250 Base: All out of school care providers (Module A) (unweighted 526, weighted and grossed 4,374), 30% Most deprived areas (Module A) (unweighted 176, weighted and grossed 1,468), 70% Least deprived areas (Module A) (unweighted 350, weighted and grossed 2,906) 3.3 Length of operation The majority (59 per cent) of registered out of school care providers had been operating for five years or more. A fifth (20 per cent) had been operating for three to four years, 11 per cent for two years, four per cent for one year and five per cent for less than a year. Profit-making organisations were less likely to have been operating for five years or more than not-for-profit organisations/charities 53 per cent compared with 63 per cent respectively. Settings in areas of lower population density (i.e. rural areas) were less likely to have been operating for five years or more. Three fifths (62 per cent) of providers in areas where the population density was high had been operating for five years or more, compared with 48 per cent in medium or low density areas combined. Larger providers were also more likely to have been operating for five years or more. Nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of providers with 50 or more children enrolled had been operating for five years compared with 39 per cent of providers with one to nineteen children. 13

101 Table 3.3 Length of operation by number of children enrolled Less than a years Overall 1-19 children children children children 50 or more children % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. 5% % 150 7% 100 3% 50 5% 50 3% years 4% 400 5% 50 5% 100 5% 50 5% 50 4% years 11% % 250 9% % % 150 9% years 20% 1,700 17% % % % % years or more 59% 5,100 39% % % % % 2,300 Base: All out of school care providers (unweighted 1,039, weighted and grossed 8,609), 1-19 places (unweighted 160, weighted and grossed 1,317), places (unweighted 199, weighted and grossed 1,672), places (unweighted 162, weighted and grossed 1,339), places (unweighted 122, weighted and grossed 997), 50 or more places (unweighted 386, weighted and grossed 3,197) 3.4 Business plans The majority (71 per cent) of registered out of school care providers had a written business plan. Of those who had a plan, three quarters (76 per cent) had updated it in the last two years. Thus, just over half (54 per cent) of all providers had a written business plan that had been updated in the past two years. A fifth (22 per cent) did not have a written business plan (seven per cent didn t know) and 13 per cent had a written business plan that had not been updated in the last two years. Private sector providers were more likely to have a business plan than voluntary sector providers (80 per cent compared with 65 per cent). 14

102 4 Places and Children This chapter discusses the number of Ofsted registered out of school places and the number of children attending out of school providers. It also looks at the demographic make-up of the children attending in terms of age and ethnicity, children with special educational needs, the number of vacant places, opening hours and days and whether there is potential for expansion. 4.1 Number of places The estimated number of Ofsted registered places in out of school providers is 309,870. (The Ofsted database has 341,200 out of school places registered. However, as mentioned in the previous chapter, some providers are no longer operating). This is an eight per cent increase from 2003 when the equivalent figure (obtained by adding together places in out of school providers to those in holiday clubs) was 286, This is a smaller increase than the increase in the number of settings (which had increased by 18 per cent). However, comparisons with 2003 should be treated with caution as the method of sampling and interviewing this group of providers has changed (as discussed in the introduction). 4.2 Types of care offered The out of school childcare sector covers any care provided both before and after school, during the school holidays and at weekends. Many of the out of school providers provide more than one type of out of school childcare. The most common out of school childcare provided were after school activities (provided by 76 per cent of out of school providers) and holiday clubs (provided by 73 per cent of out of school providers). Half (47 per cent) of the out of school providers offered activities or childcare before school. Provision of activities and childcare at weekends is fairly uncommon and only six per cent offered this. As well as offering out of school care, two-fifths (43 per cent) offered sessional care for children under five and a third (34 per cent) offered full day care for children under five. 5 This comparison is not exact, as providers in the 2005 survey will have answered with regard to their after school services rather than their holiday provision (if they provide both), whereas in 2003, providers will have been equally likely to have answered about either after school or holiday provision (if they provide both). Thus, this finding is indicative only. 15

103 Table 4.1 Type of out of school childcare provided Total 2005 % No. After school activities 76% 6,600 Holiday childcare 73% 6,300 Before school activities 47% 4,000 Weekend care 6% 500 Full daycare for under 5s 34% 2,900 Sessional day care for under 5s 43% 3,700 Base 2005: All out of school providers (unweighted 1,039, weighted and grossed 8,609) Half of the out of school providers (53 per cent) said they accepted children both after school and during school holidays. 4.3 Number of children attending The total number of children attending registered out of school providers in England in 2005 was 465,500. The average number of children attending per setting was 55. A third (37 per cent) of out of school providers catered for over 50 children. There was little difference by area, whether the setting was for-profit of not-for profit, or whether the provider was telling us about after school activities and childcare or holiday activities or childcare. Not all of these children would be attending for out of school provision, as is evident from the age information provided. If only school age children (aged 5+) are considered, the number attending out of school provision was 355,300 (an average of 43 per setting). (Some of the younger children may be attending an out of school provider who provides wrap around care for children in nursery education, which may also be seen by the provider as out of school care). 4.4 Ages As mentioned above, most of the children attending registered out of school providers were aged 5+ (80 per cent). Children attending after school clubs had a similar age profile to those attending holiday clubs, although after school clubs had a slightly 16

104 greater proportion of pre-school children (22 per cent were aged under 5 compared with 14 per cent of children attending holiday clubs). Chart 4.1 Proportions of enrolled children by age group Under 2 2% 2 year olds 4% 3 year olds 6% 4 year olds 9% 5-7 year olds 36% 8 years or over 43% Base: All children (unweighted 55,929 in 1039 providers; weighted 445,281 in 8609 providers) 0 to 2 year olds The number of children aged 0-2 years old attending out of school providers in England in 2005 was 26,900. These children would obviously not be attending the out of school provision, but would be making use of the nursery or playgroup care that some out of school providers offered. Ninety per cent of out of school providers said that their out of school provision did not have any children of this age on their books. 3-4 years old Three and four year olds are also unlikely to be attending out of school provision. Some four year olds (who are rising fives) may be at school in a reception class, or attending nursery education full time and so may fall into the scope of out of school 17

105 provision. Three year olds may be receiving wrap around care linked to a standard nursery education place. In total, 63,000 three and four year olds are being catered for in England by out of school providers. 5-7 years old The number of children aged five to seven attending out of school providers in England was 162,450 in 2005, making up a third (36 per cent) of children attending out of school providers. Ten per cent of out of school providers had no children in this age group. On average, those out of school providers with 5-7 year olds on their books had 20 attending. 8+ years old This age group formed the largest proportion of children catered for by the out of school providers, accounting for 43 per cent of children attending. In total, 192,800 children of this age were attending out of school provision in England in Sixteen per cent of out of school providers currently had no 8+ year olds on their books (and this was more common among providers with larger numbers of staff). On average, those out of school providers with 5-7 year olds on their books had 23 attending. 4.5 Black or minority ethnic groups (BME) Overall there were 70,250 children of black or minority ethnic origin attending registered out of school care providers, representing 17 per cent of all children (for whom ethnic origin was provided). A fifth (20 per cent) of out of school providers had no children of black or minority ethnic origin attending (this rose to 32 per cent in the South West and fell to two per cent in London). Data from the 2001 Census shows that although people of black or minority ethnic origin make up around 9 per cent of England s population, among those aged 0-7 the proportion rises to 15 per cent. This suggests that children of BME origin are using out of school care as would be expected from their proportion in the population Providers based in the 30 per cent most deprived areas, those in areas of high population density and those situated in London have higher numbers of children of black or minority ethnic origin, and these children make up a higher proportion of their enrolments. In London, on average, half (48 per cent) of children enrolled are of BME origin, and only two per cent of London based providers have no children of BME origin enrolled. According to the 2001 Census, in London, 40 per cent of 0-7 year of olds are of black or minority ethnic origin. 18

106 Table 4.2 Proportion of children of black or minority ethnic origin Total % most deprived areas 70% least deprived areas Unweighted base % No. % No. % No. None 20% 1,800 15% % 1, % 21% 1,800 16% % 1, % 15% 1,300 11% % 1,000 11% or more 38% 3,250 55% 1,600 29% 1,700 Don t know 5% 450 3% 100 6% 350 Mean (inc. zeros) 17% 29% 10% Base: All out of school providers (unweighted 1,039, weighted and grossed 8,609) 4.6 Special Educational needs (SEN) Overall there were 44,050 children attending registered out of school providers in England who have a special educational need (SEN); this represents eleven per cent of the overall number of children. A quarter (25 per cent) of out of school providers had no children with a special educational need attending, and there was little difference by region or type of area. At the other extreme, for 24 per cent of providers 11 per cent or more of the children attending had special educational needs. The data shows a link between the number of children attending settings that have a special educational need and providers based in the most deprived areas. In the 30 per cent most deprived areas 33 per cent of providers had more than 10 per cent of children with a special educational need compared to 20 per cent of providers in less deprived areas. Among out of school providers set up on a not-for-profit basis 31 per cent had more than 10 per cent of their children with SEN compared with 15 per cent of those set up on a for-profit basis. 19

107 Table 4.3 Proportion of children who have a special educational need (SEN) Total 2005 % of all providers 30% most deprived areas 70% least deprived areas None 25% 22% 27% 1-5% 30% 27% 31% 6-10% 17% 15% 18% 11% or more 24% 33% 20% Mean percentage 11% 14% 10% Base: All out of school providers (unweighted 1,039, weighted and grossed 8,609) In 2004, 17 per cent of children at maintained primary schools were assessed as having special educational needs (around two per cent with statements). This is slightly higher than the proportion in out of school care but providers will be relying on their own judgement, as the managers of out of school providers may not have access to this information. Holiday clubs appeared to cater for a higher proportion of children with special educational needs than after school clubs. A third (35 per cent) of holiday clubs had more than 10 per cent of children with SEN, and on average 19 per cent of children attending the holiday clubs had special educational needs. The proportion attending after school clubs was nine per cent. 4.7 Vacancies At the time of the survey, there were approximately 71,550 vacant registered out of school places in England. Three out of ten providers (29 per cent) had no vacant places on an average day, 24 per cent one to five places, 20 per cent had six to ten, 14 per cent had 11 to 20 and eight per cent had 21 or more. On average, providers had nine vacant places on an average day. Providers in London were the most likely to be full, with 37% of providers having no vacant places on an average day. There were no significant differences between holiday clubs and after school clubs in terms of their likelihood of having vacancies, or the average number of vacancies per setting. 20

108 4.8 Term time care After school providers were open for 4.6 hours a day (in term time). There is no information as to whether these hours were before or after school. There were no significant differences in hours between after school providers in different types of area, or in different regions. On average, after school providers opened for five (4.9) days a week during term-time. Ninety two per cent of providers were open for five days per week. Two per cent were open for more than five days a week. 4.9 Holiday time care On average holiday clubs were open for 7.4 hours a day during the holidays. Thirty six per cent were open for 9-10 hours and two per cent were open for 11 hours or more. Again, there were few differences by area. As with term time, most holiday clubs (86 per cent) were open for five days during the holidays. The average amount of time they were open was 4.9 days per week. A third (31 per cent) of holiday clubs said that they were open during all holidays (including half term). This rose to 36 per cent if half term was not included. A fifth (22 per cent) were only open during the summer holidays Breaking even Providers were asked what proportion of places they needed to be taken up in order for them to break even. On average, providers needed 65 per cent of places to be taken up in order to break even. Of those able to answer, a third (35 per cent) said they needed 76 to 100 per cent of places to be taken up, 35 per cent said they required 51 to 75 per cent, 19 per cent said 26 to 50 per cent, seven per cent said one to twenty five per cent and three per cent said none. A third (32 per cent) of out of school providers could not answer this question. There was no difference in the proportion of places that after school and holiday clubs needed to fill in order to break even. 21

109 Chart 4.2 Proportion of places that need to be filled to break even None 3% 1%-25% 7% 26%-50% 19% 51%-75% 35% 76%-100% 35% Base: All module A able to answer (unweighted 361, weighted and grossed 2,993) As discussed in greater detail in chapter 9, 64 per cent of out of school providers had either made a profit or covered their costs in their last financial year Expansion Four in ten providers (38 per cent) said they could expand in their current premises, while six in ten (60 per cent) said they could not. Holiday clubs were more likely to be able to expand in their current premises (53 per cent compared with 34 per cent of after school clubs). One fifth (18 per cent) of providers said they had expanded in the last 12 months (similar proportions of after school and holiday clubs had expanded). A further 16 per cent said that they planned to expand in the next 12 months. Again, there was no significant difference in the likelihood of after school clubs and holiday clubs expanding. 22

110 Table 4.4 Potential for expansion (increasing number of places) Total 2005 Unweighted base 526 % No. Able to expand in current premises 38% 3,350 Not able to expand in current premises 60% 5,250 Have expanded in last 12 months 18% 1,550 Have not expanded, but plan to expand in next 12 months 16% 1,400 Have not expanded and have no plans to 62% 5,450 Base: All module A (unweighted 494, weighted and grossed 4,374) Providers who had not expanded in the last 12 months and didn t plan to expand in the next 12 months were asked to give reasons as to why they don t intend to expand. The reasons are detailed in the table below. The most common reason given was Would need larger premises (31 per cent), followed by Already at maximum capacity (28 per cent). A fifth said that there was No sufficient demand for extra places (22 per cent). Other reasons were mentioned by ten per cent or less. Table 4.5 Reasons for not planning to expand in the next 12 months Total 2005 % Would need larger premises 31% Already at maximum capacity 28% No sufficient demand for extra places 22% Too costly to expand 10% Difficulties recruiting suitable staff 9% No need to expand/ don t wish to expand 6% Not enough staff 4% Regulations 4% Premises not suitable 2% Too much competition from other providers 2% Closing/sold 1% Other answers 4% Don t know 2% Base: All out of school care providers (Module A) that have not expanded in the last 12 months and have no plans to expand (unweighted 328, weighted and grossed 2,721) 23

111 5 Characteristics of Staff This chapter looks at the number of paid and unpaid staff working within the registered out of school sector. It also focuses on the demographic profile of those working in the sector, their pay, the number of hours worked and whether they do any other paid work. 5.1 Number of staff Paid staff In 2005 there were 68,100 paid staff working within registered out of school care settings in England. In 2003 there were 47,500 paid staff 6 ; by 2005 this had increased by 20,600, representing a 43 per cent increase. This is more than might be expected given the growth in the number of out of school settings (which has increased by 18 per cent). However, the comparisons with 2003 should be treated with caution as discussed in the introduction. The average number of staff per setting is 7.9; in 2003 this figure was 6.5. This calculates at a ratio of one member of paid staff per 4.6 places in 2005, compared with one member of staff to six places in Chart 5.1 Number of paid staff working in out of school care providers 70,000 68,100 60,000 50,000 All paid staff 47,500 40,000 30, Base 2005: All out of school care providers (unweighted 1,039, weighted and grossed 8,609) Base 2003: All out of school care providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 4,534) and holiday club providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 2,781) combined 6 This figure is derived by calculating the total number of staff working within out of school and holiday club providers in As discussed in Chapter 3, this is not a perfect comparison. 25

112 In 2005 there were 8,200 senior managers, 35,000 supervisory staff and 25,000 other paid childcare staff 7. Overall the number of paid staff has increased by 43 per cent; however the rate of increase varied considerably across the different staff grades. The number of senior managers increased by 12 per cent, the number of supervisory staff increased by 79 per cent and the number of other paid childcare staff increased by 21 per cent. Table 5.1 Number of paid staff Total 2005 Total 2003 Change from 2003 to 2005 % No. % No. % No. Numbers by type of staff All paid staff 68,100 47, % +20,600 Senior Managers 12% 8,200 15% 7, % +900 Supervisory staff 51% 35,000 41% 19, % +15,500 Other paid childcare staff 37% 25,000 44% 20, % +4,300 Average number of staff per setting All paid staff Senior Managers Supervisory staff Other paid childcare staff Base 2005: All out of school care providers (unweighted 1,039, weighted and grossed 8,609) Base 2003: All out of school care providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 4,534) and holiday club providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 2,781) combined The 2005 out of school figures show an increasingly professional workforce working in the sector. There has been a shift from other paid childcare staff to supervisory staff. In 2003, supervisory staff made up 41 per cent of the paid workforce and other paid childcare staff made up 44 per cent. In 2005 the proportion of supervisory staff had increased to 51 per cent and other childcare staff had decreased to 37 per cent. The 7 The total number of paid staff is different to the sum of the numbers of individual staff types due to the rounding of figures. 26

113 growth in numbers of supervisory staff has been substantial with the workforce size at this level almost doubling in the last two years. Chart 5.2 Proportion of grades of staff 50% Other paid childcare staff Supervisory st aff 44% 41% 51% 37% 25% Senior managers 12% 15% 0% Base 2005: All out of school care providers (unweighted 1,039, weighted and grossed 8,609) Base 2003: All out of school care providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 4,534) and holiday club providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 2,781) combined Unpaid staff There was a total of 11,450 unpaid staff working within registered out of school providers, 5,100 students on placements and 6,350 volunteers. This shows an increase in unpaid workers from 2003 when there were 8,600. This is due to both an increase in the number of unpaid students on placement, which has increased from 3,500 in 2003 to 5,100 in 2005 (an increase of 1,600) and an increase in the number of volunteers from 5,100 to 6,350 in 2003 (an increase of 1,250). The average number of unpaid staff per setting was 1.3, a similar figure to 2003 when the ratio was

114 In total there were 78,900 8 paid and unpaid staff working within out of school providers. In 2003 there were 56,100, representing a 41 per cent increase. Overall there has been an increase in the average number of staff per setting. In 2005 the figure had increased to 9.2 from 7.7 in The ratio of staff per place has improved from one member of staff per 5.1 places in 2003 to one member of staff to 3.9 places in Table 5.2 Number of unpaid staff Change from 2003 to 2005 Numbers by type of staff % No. All paid staff and unpaid staff 78,900 56, % +22,800 Unpaid staff Volunteers 6,350 5, % +1,250 Students on placements 5,100 3, % +1,600 Total unpaid staff 11,450 8, % +2,850 Base 2005: All out of school care providers (unweighted 1,039, weighted and grossed 8,609) Base 2003: All out of school care providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 4,534) and holiday club providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 2,781) combined 5.2 Agency staff About one in ten (12 per cent) providers had used agency, freelance or supply staff in the last 12 months. Providers located in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were more likely to have used agency staff than the 70 per cent least deprived 18 per cent compared with 9 per cent respectively. London (22 per cent) was also more likely to have used agency staff. 5.3 Age Senior managers tend to be older than supervisory and other paid childcare staff. A fifth (21 per cent) were aged 50 or over, compared with just ten per cent of supervisory staff and nine per cent of other paid childcare staff. Other paid childcare staff was the youngest group with a fifth (21 per cent) aged 16-19, compared with four per cent of supervisory staff and less than one per cent of senior managers. 8 This number does not match the sum of the individual staff types because of the scaling up and rounding or figures. 28

115 Table 5.3 Age of paid staff Overall 2005 Senior Manager Supervisory staff Other paid childcare staff % No. % No. % No. % No % 8,200 * 50 4% 1,400 21% 5, % 14,800 6% % 8,050 25% 6, % 23,750 37% 3,000 40% 14,000 27% 6, % 14,300 35% 2,850 22% 7,700 15% 3, % 7,500 21% 1,750 10% 3,500 9% 2,250 Base: All senior managers (unweighted 987, weighted and grossed 8,181), All supervisory staff (unweighted 2,364, weighted and grossed 19,595), All other paid childcare staff (unweighted 1,690, weighted and grossed 14,022), All paid staff 2005 (unweighted 5,041, weighted and grossed 41,798) 5.4 Gender Men made up 13 per cent of the registered out of school childcare workforce, around 8,850 staff. Overall, two fifths (42 per cent) of providers employed at least one man. Providers based in London (61 per cent) and holiday clubs (63 per cent) were more likely to employ at least one man, compared to the average (42 per cent). Larger providers were more likely to employ at least one man of the settings with 16 or more staff, 74 per cent employ male staff compared with 28 per cent of providers with one to five staff. 5.5 Disability Paid members of staff with a disability represented just two per cent of the total out of school workforce 1,200 people. One in ten providers (11 per cent) employed at least one member of staff who has a disability. Profit making organisations were less likely to employ at least one member of staff with a disability than non-profit making organisations six per cent compared with 14 per cent respectively. According to the 2005 Labour Force Survey (LFS), about ten per cent of the working population (and 11 per cent of the female working population) have a disability. 29

116 5.6 Ethnicity One in ten (12 per cent) people working in the registered out of school childcare sector were from a black or minority ethnic group, around 8,300 people. A third of providers (32 per cent) employed at least one member of staff from a black or minority ethnic group. On average, settings based in London had a higher proportion of staff from a black or minority ethnic group (40 per cent), as did those based in the 30 per cent most deprived areas (21 per cent), compared to the overall average of 12 per cent. On average providers based in low and medium population density areas had a lower proportion of staff from black or minority ethnic groups (two and three per cent respectively). If we compare the 2005 out of school figures with the UK average we can see that a higher proportion of people from black or minority ethnic (BME) group work within out of school care settings (12 per cent) compared with the average for UK working population (eight per cent). In London, the difference is greater still. In London the average proportion of the working population that are from a black or minority ethnic (BME) group is 29 per cent, while the proportion working within out of school providers in 2005 was 40 per cent. Table 5.4 Number of male staff, staff from a black or minority ethnic group and number of staff with a disability Total UK average 2005 % No. % Proportion of male 13% 8,850 NA staff Proportion of staff 12% 8,300 8% from a black or minority ethnic group Proportion of staff with a disability 2% 1,200 10% Base 2005: All staff in out of school providers (unweighted 7,699, weighted and grossed 77,100) 5.7 Working hours The majority (63 per cent) of out of school paid staff work part time (less than 30 hours a week). 30

117 The average number of hours worked for all staff was 23 hours a week. Senior managers work the longest, on average 29 hours a week, with around half (53 per cent) working full time (30 hours or more a week). Supervisory staff worked on average 23 hours a week with 35 per cent working full time (30 hours or more a week). Other paid childcare staff worked the shortest number of hours. On average they work for 18 hours a week and a fifth (22 per cent) work full time (30 hours a week or more). To put these figures into context we can compare them with the UK averages 9. In July to September 2005, the average number of hours worked for the working population was 32.1 hours and 26.5 hours for females. Table 5.5 Average number of hours worked a week Average hours All staff 23 Senior manager 29 Supervisory staff 23 Other paid childcare staff 18 UK: All staff 32.1 UK: Females 26.5 Base: All senior managers (unweighted 987, weighted and grossed 8,181), All supervisory staff (unweighted 2,364, weighted and grossed 19,595), All other paid childcare staff (unweighted 1,690, weighted and grossed 14,022), All paid staff 2005 (unweighted 5,041, weighted and grossed 41,798) 5.8 Pay levels The average hourly pay for all staff working in the registered out of school childcare sector was The average hourly pay for senior managers was The average hourly pay for supervisory staff was The average hourly pay for other paid childcare staff was Labour Force Survey: Actual Hours Worked (SA) July to September

118 The average hourly pay was higher for all staff grades in London, senior managers earned an hour, supervisory staff earned 8.50 an hour and other paid staff earned 6.90 an hour. The figures are considerably lower than the UK average. In summer , the average hourly wage for the UK was and 9.43 for females, and 8.06 for parttime workers. Table 5.6 Average pay for all out of school care staff Overall Senior manager Supervisory staff Other paid childcare staff % No. % No. % No. % No. Less than 4 1% 700 * % % 19,050 3% % 7,350 50% 12, % 25,900 23% 1,650 47% 16,450 32% 8, % 9,550 30% 2,100 16% 5,600 4% 1, % 2,700 12% 850 4% 1,400 1% or more 1% 700 3% 250 * 100 * 50 Refused 3% 2,050 4% 300 3% 1,050 3% 750 Don t know 11% 7,500 25% 1,750 8% 2,800 7% 1,750 Mean Median Base: All senior Managers (unweighted 987, weighted and grossed 8,181), All supervisory staff (unweighted 2,364, weighted and grossed 19,595), All other paid childcare staff (unweighted 1,690, weighted and grossed 14,022), All paid staff 2005 (unweighted 5,041, weighted and grossed 41,798) 5.9 Other work Two-fifths (38 per cent) of paid staff working within registered out of school care providers, around 25,750 staff, did other paid work in addition to working for the provider sampled in the 2005 survey. For those providers who had more than one person doing other paid work, on average 69 per cent did other work within the education or childcare sector. 10 Labour Force Survey

119 6 Training This chapter looks at views on the amount of training received by childcare staff, training plans, training budgets and the amount spent on training for out of school providers. 6.1 Views of current level of training Three-quarters of senior managers said that they thought the amount of training their staff had received in the last year was about right. Two per cent believed they had received too much training and a substantial minority (20 per cent) felt that their staff had received an insufficient amount of training in the last year. Views were similar among managers of after school clubs and holiday clubs. These figures were very similar to those reported for out of school clubs in 2003 Table 6.1 Views of current level of training Total 2005 Total 2003 Change from 2003 to 2005 % No. % No. Too little 20% 1,700 23% 1,000-3 About right 75% 6,400 73% 3, Too much 2% 200 2% Base 2005: All out of school care providers (Module B) (unweighted 513, weighted and grossed 4,235) Base 2003: Out of school clubs (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 4,534) 6.2 Training plans and budgets About two-thirds (64 per cent) of all registered out of school providers have a written training plan; this was very similar to the 2003 results for out of school clubs (62 per cent). Larger settings with 11 or more staff were more likely to have a training plan (75 per cent) compared to smaller settings with less than 11 staff (62 per cent). The sample size for larger settings (as defined here) is relatively small (below 100) so the results need to be interpreted with some caution. Providers with a lower proportion of Level 3 qualified staff were less likely (61 per cent) to have a training plan than out of school providers with a high level of qualified staff (70 per cent) A low proportion of staff with at least a level 3 qualification was defined as below 50% and a high proportion of staff with at least a level 3 qualification was defined as above 50%. 33

120 Half (50 per cent) of all registered out of school providers had a training budget. The proportion of out of school providers that had a training budget had gone up slightly from 43 per cent in 2003 to 50 per cent in this year s survey. (The results from the 2003 and 2005 survey are not entirely comparable as we have discussed in the introduction to this report, so this finding is only indicative). Table 6.2 Written Training Plan and specific training budget Total 2005 Total 2003 Change from 2003 to 2005 % No. % No. Have training plan 64% 5,400 62% 2, Don t have training plan 34% 2,900 36% 1,600-2 Don t know 2% 100 2% Have a training budget 50% 4,200 43% 2, Don t have training budget 47% 3,900 53% 2,400-6 Don t know 4% 300 4% Base 2005: All out of school care providers (Module B) (unweighted 513, weighted and grossed 4,235) Base 2003: Out of school clubs (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 4,534) 6.3 Funding The main source of funding for training was Government funding (combining Local Authority funding and Sure Start funding) 12. The vast majority (76 per cent) of providers received some form of Government funding. Fifteen per cent received funding from the Learning and Skills Council. Providers also received funding from many other sources such as Jobcentre Plus and the local community. However, only a very small number of providers received any such funding. After school clubs were more likely to get money from Government sources than were holiday clubs (79 per cent compared with 64 per cent). 12 This was a new question added in 2005 questionnaire and hence there is no trend data. The actual amount spent in training was not asked in the 2005 survey. 34

121 Table 6.3 Funding sources for training Government sources (EYDPC/Sure Start) Learning & Skills Council 2005 All After school clubs Holiday clubs % No. % % 76% 6,500 79% 64% 15% 1,250 15% 13% Jobcentre Plus 3% 250 3% 1% Local community 2% 150 2% 2% No answer 19% 1,650 17% 30% Other 6% 500 6% 5% Don t know 2% 200 2% 5% Base: All out of school providers (Module B) (unweighted 513, weighted and grossed 4,235); All after school clubs (Module B) (unweighted 412, weighted and grossed 3,391); All holiday clubs (Module B) (unweighted 98, weighted and grossed 819) 6.4 Training Provision and Type of Training Provided Almost all (95 per cent) registered out of school providers said they help staff to receive other types of training (i.e. training that is not directly related to a specific childcare qualification). The most common types of training provided were: first aid (75 per cent), child protection (46 per cent), food hygiene (40 per cent) and childcare training (38 per cent). 35

122 Table 6.4 Type of training provided 2005 All After school clubs Holiday clubs % No. % % First Aid 75% 6,050 76% 69% Child protection 46% 3,750 47% 42% Food hygiene 40% 3,250 44% 26% Childcare training 38% 3,050 39% 31% Health and safety training SENCO/Special needs training Management/ business skills Behaviour management Equal opportunities Early years training 37% 3,000 36% 41% 14% 1,150 15% 13% 11% % 7% 10% % 8% 5% 450 6% 4% 5% 400 5% 3% Other answer 12% 1,000 11% 19% Base: Out of school providers who provide training (module B) (unweighted 488, weighted and grossed 4,024); after school (unweighted 392, weighted and grossed 3,222); holiday club (unweighted 93, weighted and grossed 777) Only answers of 5% or more have been included in this table. 36

123 7 Qualifications of Staff This section looks at the relevant qualifications held by paid childcare staff working in registered out of school care settings. The questionnaire was designed to only pick up qualifications that were relevant to working with young people and children. This chapter covers current qualifications held and qualifications that staff are working towards, qualifications required when recruiting senior managers, the proportion of senior manager that were NVQ assessors and whether providers offer time off and or financial help for those working towards a childcare qualification. 7.1 Definitions of Qualifications Levels The qualifications are grouped together in the levels that they have been accredited with by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Level 1 (foundation level) GCSE grade D-G, Foundation level GNVQ, Level 1 NVQ Level 2 (intermediate level) GCSE A*-C, Intermediate GNVQ, Level 2 NVQ Level 3 (Advanced level) A level, Vocational A level (Advanced GNVQ), Level 3 NVQ Level 4 Higher level qualifications, BTEC Higher Nationals, Level 4 NVQ (e.g. Level 4 Certificate in Early Years Practice) Level 5 Higher level qualifications, BTEC Higher Nationals, Level 5 NVQ (e.g. Early Years Foundation Degree) Level 6 Honours degree (e.g. Qualified Teacher Status) Level 7 Masters degree Level 8 Doctorate Respondents were asked for the highest qualification relating to childcare that the senior manager, supervisory staff or other paid childcare staff hold 13. There have been changes to the way that the levels are defined since the previous survey in 2002/3. Current Levels 4, 5 and 6 (as defined above) were previously all part of Level 4. Current Levels 7 and 8 were previously part of Level 5. Further information can be found in the Technical appendices to this report. 13 In the previous surveys, respondents were asked for the actual name and level of the qualification. In the 2005 survey respondents were only asked for the level of their highest qualification to reduce the burden on the respondent and to avoid the difficulties of coding the numerous childcare qualifications. 37

124 7.2 Current qualifications held Among all paid childcare staff, almost three-quarters (73 per cent) had some kind of qualification (Levels 1 to 8) relevant to working with children or young people and 22 per cent had no relevant qualifications at all. Half (51 per cent) of paid staff had at least a Level 3 qualification and seven in ten (70 per cent) had at least a Level 2 qualification. Focusing on the 2005 after school clubs enables some comparisons to be made with the previous survey (2003). Seventy one per cent of all paid staff working at after school clubs 14 held at least a Level 2 qualification. This had increased by 17 percentage points from the previous survey (54 per cent). The proportion of all staff working at after school clubs that held at least a Level 3 qualification had also increased from the previous survey from 37 per cent to 51 per cent. Twenty two per cent of all paid childcare staff working at after school clubs had no relevant qualification in 2005, a decrease from 37 per cent in Table 7.1 Level of qualification held by all paid staff 2005 % No. Level 1 3% 2,050 Level 2 19% 12,950 Level 3 41% 27,900 Level 4/5 4% 2,700 Level 6 5% 3,400 Level 7/8 1% 700 Other 3% 2,050 Don t know 2% 1,350 No qualification 22% 15,000 At least Level 2 70% 47,650 At least Level 3 51 % 34,750 Base: All senior managers (unweighted 987, weighted and grossed 8,181), All supervisory staff (unweighted 2,364, weighted and grossed 19,595), All other paid childcare staff (unweighted 1,690, weighted and grossed 14,022), All paid staff 2005 (unweighted 5,041, weighted and grossed 41,798) 14 Providers who said they provided after school care were asked to focus on this element of their childcare provision when responding to the survey. 38

125 7.2.1 Senior Managers The National Daycare Standards (2003) for under 8s day care and childminding specify that the manager should have at least a Level 3 qualification appropriate to the post. (Where this cannot be achieved immediately, providers can agree with Ofsted on an action plan detailing how the provider will meet this requirement along with an approved timescale.) Around eight in ten (82 per cent) senior managers held at least a Level 3 qualification. Thirteen per cent of senior managers held a Level six or above qualification One in ten (eight per cent) had no relevant qualification. Table 7.2 Highest qualification level held by Senior manager 2005 % No. Level 1 * * Level 2 5% 350 Level 3 56% 4,550 Level 4/5 13% 1,100 Level 6 10% 800 Level 7/8 3% 250 Other 4% 300 Don t know 1% 100 No qualification 8% 700 At least Level 2 86% 7,050 At least Level 3 82% 6,650 Base: All senior managers (unweighted 987, weighted and grossed 8,181), 39

126 7.2.2 Supervisory staff Nine in ten (89%) supervisory staff that had at least a Level 2 qualification and around seven in ten (68%) had at least a Level 3 qualification. Just five per cent of supervisors had no relevant qualifications. Table 7.3 Highest qualification level held by supervisory staff 2005 % No. Level 1 1% 350 Level 2 21% 7,350 Level 3 59% 20,650 Level 4 & 5 3% 1,050 Level 6 5% 1,750 Level 7 &8 * 50 Other 3% 1,050 DK/No answer 2% 700 No qualification 5% 1,750 At least Level 2 89% 31,150 At least Level 3 68% 23,800 Base: All supervisory staff (unweighted 2,364, weighted and grossed 19,595) 40

127 7.2.3 Other paid childcare staff Just over half (53 per cent) of all other paid childcare staff held no relevant childcare qualifications. A third (35 per cent) held at least a Level two qualification and ten per cent held at least a Level three qualification. One per cent of other paid childcare staff held a Level six or above qualification. Table 7.4 Highest qualification level held by other paid childcare staff 2005 % No. Level 1 6% 1,500 Level 2 25% 6,250 Level 3 8% 2,000 Level 4 & 5 0% 50 Level 6 1% 250 Level 7 & 8 * 50 Other 3% 750 DK/No answer 3% 750 No qualification 53% 13,250 At least Level 2 35% 8,750 At least Level 3 10% 2,500 Base: All other paid childcare staff (unweighted 1,690, weighted and grossed 14,022) 7.3 Qualifications being worked towards Among all paid childcare staff, 29 per cent were currently working towards some kind of qualification 15. The proportion of all paid childcare staff that were not working towards a qualification was 66 per cent. Level 3 was the most common qualification being worked towards amongst all paid childcare staff (15 per cent) followed by Level 2 (six per cent). Fifteen per cent of after school club supervisory staff were working towards a Level 3 qualification compared to eight per cent of holiday club supervisory staff. Similarly, 16 per cent of other childcare staff working at after school clubs were studying towards a Level 2 qualification compared to eight per cent of other staff working at holiday clubs. 15 Measured in this survey as levels 1 to 8 41

128 Looking at 2005 after school clubs alone, 66 per cent of all staff were not studying towards a qualification. If we compare this figure with the 2003 out of school figures, there has been an increase of five percentage points from 61 per cent. The most common qualification level being worked towards by all staff working for after school clubs was Level 3 (15 per cent), as was the case in the previous survey (19 per cent). Twenty eight per cent of all paid staff working at after school clubs were working towards at least a Level 2 qualification, which was six percentage points greater than those working towards at least a Level 3 qualification (22 per cent) Type of staff The table below shows that other paid staff were most commonly working towards a qualification. This is consistent with the earlier result that other paid staff are the least likely to already hold a qualification. The most common qualification that other paid staff were working towards was a Level 3 qualification (18 per cent) closely followed by Level 2 (14 per cent). Senior managers who were studying for a qualification were more likely to be working towards a Level 4 or higher qualification than supervisory or other paid staff. Table 7.5 Qualifications worked towards by type of childcare staff All staff Senior managers Supervisory staff Other paid childcare staff % No. % No. % No. % No. Level 1 1% 700 0% 0 * 50 2% 500 Level 2 6% 4,100 * * 3% 1,050 14% 3,500 Level 3 15% 10,200 12% 1,000 14% 4,900 18% 4,500 Level 4 and 5 4% 2,700 9% 750 4% 1,400 1% 250 Level 6 and 3% 2,050 5% 400 3% 1,050 2% 500 above Don t know 3% 2,050 2% 150 4% 1,400 3% 750 Not studying for relevant qualification 66% 44,950 70% 5,750 70% 24,500 58% 14,500 Base: All senior managers (Module B) (unweighted 482, weighted and grossed 3,983), All supervisory staff (Module B) (unweighted 1,175, weighted and grossed 9,703), All other paid childcare staff (Module B) (unweighted 845, weighted and grossed 6,970), All paid staff 2005 (Module B) (unweighted 2,502, weighted and grossed 20,656) 42

129 7.4 Incentives provided for staff working towards a childcare qualification Three quarters (76 per cent) of providers with staff working towards a qualification allowed staff time off to work towards qualifications and three quarters (76 per cent) paid at least part of the costs associated with the training. 7.5 Qualifications required of senior managers Senior managers were asked if they were required to have any qualifications relevant to working with children or young people when they were appointed to their job. Seventy per cent of senior managers said they were required to hold a relevant qualification. Senior managers working for after school clubs were more likely (72 per cent) to say this than those working within holiday clubs (61 per cent). If we compare the 2005 after school group with the 2003 out of school providers there has been an increase in the proportion of senior managers required to hold a relevant qualification when they were appointed 72 per cent compared with 60 per cent in Qualifications required of senior managers Of those providers where senior managers weren t required to hold a relevant qualification, half (49 per cent) were required to work towards a qualification when appointed. 7.7 NVQ Assessors In 2005, 12 per cent of senior managers were NVQ assessors. An NVQ assessor is responsible for assessing whether a candidate s work meets the required NVQ standards. In order to be an assessor they must hold the necessary qualifications and have experience of working in the sector. Thirteen per cent of after school club senior managers were NVQ assessors which was similar to the proportion from the previous survey (15 per cent). 43

130 8 Recruitment and Retention This chapter outlines the staffing issues for registered out of school providers. This is split into two sections: - Recruitment: levels of recruitment, recruitment methods, current vacancies and difficulties in recruiting - Staff retention: length of service, staff turnover and where leavers went 8.1 Levels of recruitment In total, registered out of school providers recruited around 26,800 childcare staff in the last 12 months. This gave a recruitment rate of 51 per cent. The recruitment rate is calculated by dividing the total number of paid childcare staff recruited by the total number currently employed less the difference between those recruited and those leaving their current employment Senior Managers Just over one in ten (11 per cent) senior managers had been recruited in the past 12 months; around 950 people Supervisory staff Just over half (52 per cent) of all out of school providers had recruited at least one supervisor in the last year. An average of 1.54 supervisors per setting were recruited and if the data is grossed up this is equivalent to around 12,400 supervisors Other paid childcare staff Almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of the out of school providers had recruited at least one other paid childcare staff, an average of 2.34 per organisation. This means that around a total of 13,450 other childcare staff were recruited within the last 12 months. 8.2 Length of Service The average length of service for all paid staff was three years and eleven months. The average length of service was higher for senior managers at six years and four months, than supervisory staff at four years and other paid staff at two years and six months. 16 Please note that the recruitment rate includes churn within the sector as well as staff being recruited to the sector. 45

131 8.3 Annual staff losses Half (51 per cent) of all registered out of school providers had lost at least one member of staff. Overall, an average of 1.31 staff had left per organisation and grossed up this means that around 10,900 staff had left in the last 12 months. Overall, 47 per cent of the out of school providers had lost no staff at all in the past 12 months. Table 8.1 Numbers of staff leaving in previous 12 months 2005 % No. None 47% 4, % 3, % % 400 Any staff leaving 51% 4,300 Average number of staff leaving per setting Total number of staff leaving ,900 Base: All out of school care providers (Module B) (unweighted 513, weighted and grossed 4,235) 8.4 Staff turnover Looking at the total number of employees being recruited and the number leaving the sector enables us to express the turnover for the sector and the rate of employment growth. The turnover rate for 2005 was 21 per cent. 17 The employment growth rate in 2005 was 30 per cent The turnover rate is calculated by dividing the total number leaving their employment by the total number currently employed, less the difference between those recruited and those leaving their current employment. It should be noted therefore that this turnover rate includes the churn within sector as well as staff leaving the sector. 18 This is calculated by dividing the net change in staff by the total currently employed less the difference between those recruited and those leaving their current employment. It should be noted therefore that this employment growth includes the churn within sector as well as staff leaving the sector. 46

132 8.5 Destination of staff who left About two-fifths (39 per cent) of all staff who left obtained jobs within the childcare and early years education sector. A further 28 per cent were employed outside the childcare sector and about one in ten (nine per cent) were still looking for a job. Understandably, not all respondents knew what had happened to staff who had left their employment hence almost one quarter were unable to answer the question. Table 8.2 Destination of staff who left within the past 12 months 2005 % No. Other jobs in the childcare and early years education sector Job outside the childcare and early education sector 39% 4,250 28% 3,050 Unemployed 9% 1,100 Don t know 24% 2,600 Base: All out of school care providers (Module B) that had staff leave in the past 12 months (unweighted 261, weighted and grossed 2,157) Of those who left to take up work outside the childcare and early years' sector, a third (34 per cent) continued to work in jobs that involved working with children. 8.6 Reasons for staff leaving Given that the Government has promised to expand the number of childcare places and improve the quality of care it is important to minimize the number of staff exiting the childcare and early years education sector. All out of school providers who have had staff leaving the past 12 months were asked about the reason for staff leaving (i.e. the reason as perceived by the provider). The top three reasons were: not liking the hours they were working (23 per cent) (in particular those working in after school providers), to improve career/training opportunities (17 per cent) and to improve their pay (15 per cent). There were also other reasons mentioned such as people leaving because they had moved or leaving to look after their own children. 47

133 Table 8.3 Reasons for staff leaving 2005 % No. They did not like the hours they had to work 23% 2,000 To get better training/career development opportunities 17% 1,450 To improve their pay 15% 1,300 Moved 10% 850 Maternity/looking after children 9% 750 They were asked to leave/did not have contract renewed 8% 700 Career change 8% 700 Went into education 6% 500 Personal reasons 6% 500 Other reasons 25% 550 Don t know 3% 250 Base: All out of school care providers (Module B) that had staff leave in the past 12 months (unweighted 261, weighted and grossed 2,157) Only answers of 5% or more have been included in this table, answers given by less than five per cent have been merged into other. 8.7 Recruitment Methods The two most common ways of recruiting staff were word of mouth, (81 per cent), and adverts in the local press (70 per cent). Other popular recruitment methods were spontaneous applications/cvs sent in (53 per cent) and job centre/new deal schemes (52 per cent). 48

134 Table 8.4 Methods of recruitment 2005 % No. Word of mouth 81% 6,950 Adverts in the local press 70% 6,050 Ad hoc CVs/applications sent to you 53% 4,550 Jobcentre/New Deal Scheme 52% 4,500 Through parents of child catered for 49% 4,200 Colleges 46% 3,950 LEA/Loc authority/council jobs bulletin 46% 3,950 Internet 33% 2,850 Open days 22% 1,900 National press 21% 1,800 Recruitment fairs 15% 1,300 Public notice boards 5% 450 Other 3% 250 Base: All out of school care providers (Module B) (unweighted 513, weighted and grossed 4,235) Only answers of 5% or more have been included in this table. 8.8 Recruitment Difficulties Just over four in ten (43 per cent) out of school providers that had tried to hire staff within the past 12 months said that they had a fair amount or a great deal of difficulty recruiting. A further 19 per cent said they had not experienced much difficulty and the remaining 39 per cent claimed that they had not experienced any difficulties in recruiting staff. If we compare the results for after school clubs with the 2003 data for out of school clubs the data indicates that it has become slightly easier to recruit staff. In 2003 about 53 per cent of out of school providers that had tried to hire staff within the past 12 months mentioned that they had a fair amount or a great deal of difficulty recruiting, compared with 43 per cent of after school clubs in

135 Table 8.5 Extent to which provider has experienced any difficulties in recruiting staff in the past 12 months After school clubs 2003 Out of school care % No. % No. % No. Not at all 39% 2,600 38% 2,000 37% 1,200 Not very much 19% 1,250 20% 1,050 7% 250 A fair amount 20% 1,350 19% 1,000 21% 800 A great deal 23% 1,500 24% 1,250 32% 1,400 Base 2005: All out of school care providers (Module B) who had tried to recruit within the past 12 months (unweighted 405, weighted and grossed 3,406) Base After school 2005: All after school clubs (Module B) who had tried to recruit within the past 12 months (unweighted 321, weighted and grossed 2,710) Base 2003: All out of school providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 4,534) Types of staff that provider had difficulty recruiting Overall, out of school providers experienced difficulties with recruiting all grades of staff. The greatest difficulty was finding supervisory staff and other paid staff, almost eight in ten (79 per cent) of out of school providers said they had problems recruiting supervisors and 46 per cent reported difficulties in recruiting other paid staff. About a fifth of the providers also had difficulties finding support staff for children with special needs (21 per cent), supply staff (20 per cent) and senior managers (18 per cent). The sample size is too low to allow for any further sub-group analysis. Table 8.6 Types of staff that providers have had difficulty in recruiting 2005 % No. Senior Manager 18% 550 Supervisory staff 79% 2,250 Other paid staff 46% 1,300 SEN Support staff 21% 600 Supply staff 20% 600 Base 2005: All out of school care providers (Module B) that had any difficulties in recruiting staff within the past 12 months (unweighted 172, weighted and grossed 1,428) 50

136 8.8.2 Difficulties encountered The most common difficulty encountered by registered out of school care providers when attempting to recruit staff was the lack of qualified applicants (36 per cent). Other difficulties included candidates wanting different hours to those offered (31 per cent) and too few applicants with the right experience (30 per cent). Given that out of school providers only operate outside of school hours it is perhaps not surprising that one of the main difficulties that they face when recruiting staff is that the applicant wants different hours to those offered. It is not possible to make a direct comparison with the 2003 survey but it appears to be a significantly smaller proportion saying that there is a general lack of applicants around (too few applicants with the right experience) in this year s survey. About four in ten (42 per cent) of all out of school clubs mentioned this in 2003 compared to 31 per cent of after school clubs in the 2005 survey. Table 8.7 Difficulties encountered when attempting to recruit staff in the last 12 months 2005 % No. No qualified applicants 36% 1,000 Candidates wanting different hours 31% 900 Too few applicants with the right experience 30% 850 Too few applicants 27% 800 Provider couldn t afford wages 12% 350 Quality of staff 8% 200 Location 3% 100 Other answer 9% 250 Base 2005: All out of school care providers (Module B) that had any difficulties in recruiting staff within the past 12 months (unweighted 172, weighted and grossed 1,428) 8.9 Current job vacancies Overall, about one quarter (23 per cent) of all registered out of school providers were actively trying to recruit childcare staff. Providers in the South East were slightly more likely to be actively recruiting (31 per cent). This result is based on a sample below 100 and needs to be treated with caution. The first column in the table below shows the proportion of vacancies amongst the three different grades of staff and the second columns shows the grossed up total number of vacancies that the providers are recruiting for. 51

137 Table 8.8 Number of vacancies provider are actively recruiting for by type of staff 2005 % No. Senior managers 6% 500 Supervisory staff 5% 1,800 Other childcare staff 8% 1,900 Base: All out of school care providers (Module B), which are actively trying to recruit staff (unweighted 115, weighted and grossed 960) 8.10 Length of time it takes to fill job vacancies Respondents were asked to provide an estimate of how long it would take to fill any vacancy that they currently had. Only providers who actually had a vacancy for a particular type of staff were asked this question therefore the sample sizes are very small (all below 100) and the results must be interpreted with caution. Generally speaking the data indicates that between half and 60 per cent of all vacancies would be filled within two months and about eight in ten all of vacancies for supervisory and other paid staff would be filled within six months. Table 8.9 Length of time provider thinks it will take to fill vacancies Senior Managers Supervisory Staff Other paid staff % % % 0-2 months 50% 55% 60% 3-6 months 13% 24% 25% More than 6 months 28% 16% 12% Don t know 9% 5% 3% Base: All out of school care providers (Module B) that have a vacancy for a senior manager (unweighted 22; weighted and grossed 186); supervisory staff (unweighted 71, weighted and grossed 597); other paid staff (unweighted 63, weighted and grossed 522) Providers who were not currently looking for staff were asked how long it took to fill vacancies on average. Three quarters (75 per cent) estimated that it would take less than two months to fill a vacancy, 12 per cent said it would take between 3-6 months and only two per cent believed it would take longer than 6 months. 52

138 9 Income and Expenditure 9.1 Introduction This chapter looks at the expenditure incurred by registered out of school providers, and their income. Expenditure and outgoings are broken down into various categories, which are addressed in turn. A summary chart (Chart 9.1) brings together all of these categories and shows total expenditure. Income is also broken down into a few categories. This chapter also covers the profitability of registered out of school providers, and for loss-making providers investigates how sustainable these losses are. Finally, the senior manager s knowledge of tax credits is assessed. 9.2 Expenditure and outgoings Costs of premises Most of the registered out of school providers (64 per cent) rented their premises, and 21 per cent owned the premises they use. A significant minority (12 per cent) occupied them in some other way (e.g. using premises owned by another public organisation, or through some rent free arrangement). Three per cent were unable to say whether they owned or rented the premises. A third (31 per cent) of registered out of school providers were unable to say how much their premises cost. This was more likely to be the case among out of school providers set up on a for-profit basis than those set up as charitable or not-for-profit organisations (36 per cent compared to 26 per cent). Of those providing a figure, 34 per cent registered out of school providers did not pay any costs for the use of their premises. This was more common for out of school providers operating in the 30 per cent most deprived areas (45 per cent of those providing a cost did not pay anything towards their premises compared to 27 per cent of providers in less deprived areas). Out of school providers set up on a not-for-profit basis who provided a cost were more likely to have free use of premises (41 per cent) than for-profit providers (20 per cent). Holiday clubs were very likely to have free use of premises, and nearly half of those providing a figure (48 per cent) did not pay anything for use of their premises. (Please note that the base for holiday clubs answering these cost questions is small 109 so findings need to be treated with caution). Three in ten (30 per cent) of after school clubs had cost-free use of their premises. 53

139 Overall, excluding those paying nothing for their premises, the average annual cost for premises was 6,550, and the median cost was 3,500. Mean and median costs for premises were highest in London ( 8,500 and 6,000 respectively) and the South East ( 11,300 and 5,200). Providers set up as profit making organisations tended to pay more for their premises than non-profit making organisations (an average cost of 7,500 compared with 5,750) Insurance costs One third (36 per cent) of registered out of school providers were unable to say how much they paid for insurance. Of those who could provide a figure, eight per cent paid nothing. The average amount spent by those who did pay for insurance was 1,100 per year, and the median amount was 250. Insurance costs appeared to be higher in the 30 per cent most deprived areas ( 1,900 compared to 650 in less deprived areas). There was little difference between the costs paid by after school clubs and holiday clubs Cost of toys, books and other items for children A fifth (21 per cent) of registered out of school providers could not say how much they spent on toys, books and other such items for children. Of those providing a cost, only three per cent said that they spent nothing on toys or books. Around three-fifths (59 per cent) of those providing a cost said that they paid less than 1,000 a year, but at the other extreme, eight per cent were paying over 4,000 a year. The average amount spent per year was 1,550 and the median amount was There were few differences by type of provider (profit making or not-for-profit; holiday club or after school club) or by area Cost of business rates A third (37 per cent) of the registered out of school providers did not know if they paid business rates or did not know how much. Of those providing a cost, the vast majority (85 per cent) did not pay anything. This was slightly more common among those set up on a non-profit making basis (90 per cent of those able to say did not pay business rates compared to 80 per cent of other organisations). Four per cent of out of school providers paid over 4,000 a year on business rates. Of those paying business rates, the average annual amount paid was 3,600, and the median amount was 1,800. Non-profit making organisations tended to pay less than organisations set up on a profit making basis (a median of 1000 compared to 3000). 54

140 9.2.5 Cost of food Fifteen per cent of registered out of school providers were not able to say how much they spent on food. Of those able to provide a cost, 16 per cent said that they did not spend anything on food. The majority (62 per cent) spent between 1-50 a week The average spend per week for those who did buy food, and who provided a figure was 70. The median spend was 25. This means that, on average, those providers open all year round (52 weeks a year) pay 3,600 a year on food. For providers open in term time only (39 weeks) this translates into 2,730. For providers open in the school holidays only (12 weeks), this translates into 840 a year. Holiday clubs were less likely to provide food than after school clubs. Of those providing a figure, 49 per cent of holiday clubs spent nothing on food, compared with 10 per cent of after school clubs Cost of other consumables Providers were asked how much they spent on other consumables (such as nappies, stationery, paint etc). Twenty three per cent were unable to provide a figure. Of those who could provide a figure, 21 per cent per cent said that they did not pay for any other consumables, and 51 per cent spent 1-25 a week. The average spend per week for those who did buy such consumables, and who provided a figure was 40. The median spend was 13. This means that, on average those providers open all year round (52 weeks a year) pay 2,100 a year on consumables. For providers open in term time only (39 weeks) this translates into 1,550. For providers open in the school holidays only (12 weeks), this translates into 480 a year. There was little difference in the amount spent by after school clubs and holiday clubs Cost of professional fees Three in ten (28 per cent) registered out of school providers were unable to provide a figure for how much they spent on professional fees (such as accountants or lawyers). Of those providing a figure, half (49 per cent) paid nothing while 14 per cent paid over 1,000 a year. Among those paying professional fees (for example to accountants or lawyers), the average annual cost was 900 and the median annual cost was

141 Out of school providers set up to make a profit were more likely to pay professional fees than charitable organisations (40 per cent of those providing a figure spent nothing on professional fees compared to 55 per cent of not-for-profit organisations). Holiday clubs were less likely to spend money on professional fees than after school clubs. For those providing a figure, 64 per cent of after school clubs spent nothing, compared with 45 per cent of after school clubs Cost of transport Thirteen per cent of registered out of school providers were unable to provide a figure for the amount spent on transport. Of those providing a figure most (64 per cent) did not pay anything for transport. Median spend for those that did have transport costs was 1,500 per year and the mean cost was 2,700. There was little difference between holiday clubs and after school clubs in terms of their spend on transport Other costs Eight per cent of registered out of school providers could not provide a figure for what they spent on other costs. Of those providing a figure, 71 per cent of providers did not pay for any other costs, while six per cent spent 5,000 or more. Of those who did have other costs, the mean annual spend was 5,650. The median spend was 800. The sorts of costs included as other costs are (in order of proportion mentioning them) maintenance (e.g. repairs, cleaning, decorating); utilities (e.g. heating, gas, lighting, phone bills); costs associated with staff (e.g. recruitment, expenses, uniforms); training; registration fees (covering Ofsted costs); advertising and general publicity; general administration (e.g. photocopying); finance costs (e.g. bank charges, tax, loans,` subscriptions etc); trips and outings for the children Staff costs Staff numbers and their average levels of pay were covered in Chapter Five. This information can be used to produce a rough estimate of the average amount that out of school care providers will need to spend on staff costs. Costs are provided on a weekly basis, as out of school providers can be open for relatively short periods of time. Holiday providers who are only open in the summer will only pay staff costs for 6-8 weeks. Out of school providers which provide after school care across all three terms and holiday care in all holidays will pay staff costs for 52 weeks a year. 56

142 On average, an out of school provider will pay 1,181 per week in salaries 19. On top of this, the provider will have to pay Employer s National Insurance, which amounts to 11 per cent of the gross salaries which will be an extra 130 a week. Thus, salary costs (without any additional benefits that might be provided) are, on average, 1,311 per week. Thus, an annual cost for an out of school provider offering childcare for the whole year will be around 68,172. The annual cost for a holiday provider open just in the summer would be around 9, All expenditure In this table, for food, consumables and staff costs (which would only be provided when the provision is operating) we have provided a full annual cost that would be accrued if the provision was open all year round (i.e. for 52 weeks a year). Table 9.1 Annual expenditure for out of school providers Base % paying nothing Av. Amount (exc. zeros) Median Amount (exc. zeros) Cost of premises % 6,550 3,500 Insurance 336 8% 1, Toys, books etc 413 3% 1,550 1,000 Business rates % 3,600 1,800 Food % 3,600 1,300 Other consumables % 2, Professional fees % Transport % 2,700 1,500 Other costs % 5, Staff 1,039-68,172 TOTAL AVERAGE 83,300 (inc. zeros) Base: All out of school providers (Module A) (unweighted 526, weighted and grossed 4,374) 19 This is based on average hourly pay and weekly hours as discussed in Chapter 5. On average, a setting will employ 0.95 senior managers; 4 supervisory staff and 2.9 other paid staff. 57

143 9.3 Income Fees charged Most of the after school clubs (68 per cent) charge parents on a per half day or session basis. One quarter (24 per cent) charge per hour; 23 per cent charge per day and 19 per cent charge per week. A small proportion (three per cent) charge on a monthly basis, and very few (just one per cent) charge on a termly basis. Holiday clubs are most likely to charge per day (54 per cent) or per session (52 per cent). A quarter (26 per cent) charge on a weekly basis and 14 per cent charge on a hourly basis. In most registered out of school providers (60 per cent) the fees do not vary from child to child. Two thirds (67 per cent) of holiday clubs have the same fees for all children, while 57 per cent of after school clubs charge the same for all children. Charging the same for all children is more common in out of school providers set up on a not-forprofit basis (64 per cent charge the same for all children, compared to 52 per cent of for-profit out of school providers). In the out of school providers where the fees do vary, the most common reasons for variation are the number of siblings enrolled, the number of hours per week the child does, whether the parents get the Local Authority nursery education grant and the age of the child. Chart 9.1 Reasons why fees vary No. siblings enrolled 64% No. hours per week 35% Whether get grant Age of child Parents' income What fees cover 22% 21% 17% 13% Discount for employees, members Other 7% 6% Base: All out of school providers (Module A) where fees vary (unweighted 210, weighted and grossed 1,738) 58

144 Two-fifths (37 per cent) of registered out of school providers were unable to provide a figure for their income from fees in a given period (providers were able to give information on any period of time that they wanted). As was the case with the cost data, out of school providers set up on a for-profit basis were less likely to be able to provide this information than those set up as not-for-profit organisations (44 per cent of the former were unable to provide a figure compared to 32 per cent of the latter). Of those providing a figure, nine per cent of the registered out of school providers said that they did not receive any income from fees. Most of these (93 per cent) were after school clubs rather than holiday clubs. Most (75 per cent) were not-for-profit organisations, and they tended to be based in the 30 per cent most deprived areas (73 per cent). Of those receiving some income from fees, the average amount per week was 1000 and the median amount was 513. The average amount received in fees per enrolled child per week was 29 (roughly 6 a day for an out of school provider open for five days a week). There was a significant difference in the fee income generated by after school clubs and by holiday clubs. Holiday clubs generated far more income from fees than after school clubs, presumably because they care for children for more hours per day. On average, holiday clubs received 2100 per week in fees, compared to 800 a week for after school clubs. (After school and holiday clubs have, on average, similar numbers of children enrolled in a typical week, so the difference is not due to this). Table 9.2 Income from fees per week Total After school club 271 % Holiday clubs 59* % Unwtd base 332 % No income 9% 10% 3% % 48% 30% 501-1,000 25% 27% 19% 1,001-2,000 11% 9% 24% 2, % 6% 24% MEAN INCOME 1, ,100 MEDIAN INCOME ,000 (Don t know - % of all ) (37%) (35%) (46%) Base: Out of school providers (Module A) (unweighted 526, weighted and grossed 4,374) *Note small base please treat results with caution 59

145 Most of the registered out of school providers (71 per cent) had raised their fees in the last two years (54 per cent had done so in the last year). Providers in the least deprived 70 per cent of areas were more likely to have raised fees in the last two years than those in the 30% most deprived areas (76 per cent compared to 62 per cent). There was no difference between out of school providers set up on a for-profit and a not-for-profit basis Income from Local Authority/Central Government A quarter (23 per cent) of registered out of school providers could not say how much money they received from their Local Authority. Of those providing a figure, three-fifths (58 per cent) said they received no money from local authority/central government funding. For those providers who did receive funding on average they received 23,900 a year. Providers in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were less likely to say they didn t receive government funding than the 70 per cent least deprived areas (47 per cent and 63 per cent respectively). For those that did receive money there was no significant difference in the average amount received. After school clubs received more money, on average, from Local Authority or Central Government funding than did holiday clubs ( 26,100 a year compared with 16,700) Income from other sources Over half (55 per cent) of registered out of school providers said that they had no other sources of income apart from the fees and local authority income already mentioned. A third (35 per cent) raised additional income through fundraising. Eleven per cent received money via Sure Start (those in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were slightly more likely to receive money from Sure Start). Five per cent mentioned a grant as another source of income, and four per cent mentioned specific funding from an organisation. Non-profit making providers were far more likely to engage in fundraising than for-profit ones, and so were more likely to have another source of income (48 per cent undertook fundraising compared to 16 per cent of for-profit out of school providers; 72 per cent of for-profit providers had no other sources of income, compared to 43 per cent of non-profit making providers). Fourteen per cent of those who did receive income from other sources were unable to say how much. Among those giving an amount, the mean amount received from other sources was 7,700 and the median amount was 1000 a year. This ranged from 12 per cent who received less than 500 to nine per cent who received over 5,000. Out of school providers in the 30% most deprived areas had higher levels of income from 60

146 other sources than those in less deprived areas. Not-for-profit out of school care providers had higher levels of other income than for-profit organisations. There was little difference in the average amount received by holiday clubs and out of school clubs. Table 9.3 Income from other sources per year Total 30% most 70% least Not-for- For-profit deprived areas deprived areas profit Unwtd base 526 % 176 % 350 % 301 % 209 % No income 55% 48% 59% 43% 72% % 13% 12% 15% 8% 501-1,000 4% 4% 4% 5% 3% 1,001-5,000 5% 5% 4% 8% 2% 5,001+ 9% 9% 7% 13% 4% Don t know 14% 15% 14% 16% 11% MEAN INCOME 7,700 9,400 6,600 8,300 5,900 MEDIAN INCOME 1, Base: All out of school providers (Module A) (unweighted 526, weighted and grossed 4,374) 9.4 Profitability of out of school providers Most (57 per cent) of the registered out of school providers are set up as charitable or not-for-profit organisations, which grosses up to 5,000 not-for-profit out of school services. One-fifth (40 per cent) are set up on a for-profit basis, and three per cent were not sure. Out of school providers in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were more likely to be operating on a not-for-profit basis than those in the less deprived areas (71 per cent compared with 50 per cent). Not-for-profit organisations were asked about whether they made any surpluses or reserves in the last financial year, while the profit-making organisations were asked specifically about profits or losses. Overall, a fifth (22 per cent) of out of school providers reported they had made a profit (profit-making organisations) or a surplus (non-profit making organisations/charities) in the last financial year. Two-fifths (42 per cent) were covering their costs. A quarter (26 per cent) of all registered out of school providers reported that they had operated at a loss. Ten per cent were unable to say. 61

147 Those based in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were less likely to be making a profit or surplus, and more likely just to be covering costs. There was no difference in the proportions actually making a loss. Out of school providers set up as profit making organisations were more likely to be making a profit than not-for-profit providers (31 per cent compared with 17 per cent), while not-for-profit organisations were more likely to be covering their costs (50 per cent compared with 33 per cent). There was no difference in the proportions making a loss. There was no difference in profitability between out of school providers providing after school care and those offering holiday care. Comparing those that answered as after school clubs in 2005 with the out of school sample from 2003 suggests that the financial position of after school providers has got worse in the last two years. Compared to 2003, fewer after school providers are making a profit while more are making a loss. Similar proportions are covering their costs, or are unable to provide an answer. There was little difference between 2001 and Table 9.4 Financial state of providers Total 2005 After Out of Change from Out of school school to 2005 school Unwtd base 526 % 414 % 850 % 850 % Made surplus or 22% 23% 29% -6 29% profit Covered costs 42% 43% 42% +1 44% Operated at a 26% 24% 19% +5 21% loss Don t know 10% 10% 10% 0 6% Base: All out of school providers (Module A) (unweighted 526, weighted and grossed 4,374) 2003 out of school providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 4,534) 2001 out of school providers (unweighted 850, weighted and grossed 4,900) Those providers making a surplus or profit were asked how much they had made in the last financial year. Two fifths (37 per cent) were unable to provide this figure. The average profit made by those providing a figure was 8,200. Among those providing a figure, there was some variation. Fifty-three per cent had made 4,000 or less, while 11 per cent had made more than 16,000. There was little difference in the mean 62

148 surplus made by not-for-profit organisations that provided a figure and the mean profit of for-profit providers Providers operating at a loss In total, 2,240 registered out of school providers operated at a loss in the most recent financial year for which they had information. Two-fifths (37 per cent) of these said that this loss was due to one-off circumstances and was unlikely to be repeated in future years. However, in total, around 800 out of school providers said that they had been operating at a loss for more than a year. Those operating at a loss that was not due to a one-off circumstance were asked what they were doing to try to reduce losses. Most (64 per cent) were trying to take on more children and 54% per cent had raised fees for children. Two-fifths (42 per cent) were increasing their fund raising efforts, and a quarter (23 per cent) had cut the number of staff employed. Ten per cent were looking for alternative sources of funding. A small proportion of providers (six per cent equating to 550 out of school providers) felt that they could not keep operating at a loss for more than another 12 months before having to close. Four per cent felt that they could only keep going for less than 6 months. 9.5 Tax credits and childcare vouchers Awareness of tax credit issues In April 2005, there was an increase in the amount of childcare that could be claimed as part of the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit to 175 per week for one child. Half of the respondents (47 per cent) were aware of this increase, although 53 per cent were unaware of this change. Awareness did not seem to vary greatly by area or type of provider. Those that were aware of the change were asked if the change had led them to make any changes to the fees. Seven per cent said that it had affected their fees (three per cent of all out of school providers), with six per cent increasing their fees and one per cent reducing them. Providers were asked whether they were aware of a further change, due to take place in April 2006, whereby the amount that can be claimed will rise from 70% to 80% of the limit. One fifth of respondents (20 per cent) said that they were aware of this, but most (80 per cent) were unaware of this change Fees paid by parent s employers A third (35 per cent) of the registered out of school providers received fees for children from the parent s employer (for example, via childcare vouchers or direct payment). 63

149 This was more common for providers set up on a for-profit basis (42 per cent had children whose fees were paid by the parent s employers compared to 31 per cent of not-for-profit providers). It was also more common in providers based in the 70 per cent least deprived areas (39 per cent compared to 27 per cent). On average, in providers with children paid for by parental employers, four children were paid for in this way. Providers receiving fees from the parent s employer were asked how much they received in this way for a typical week in term time. Many (45 per cent) did not know, but for those providing a figure, the average amount was 260 per week (although many (62 per cent of those providing a figure) said that they received less than 100 a week. The average weekly income from fees was 900 (including those saying they received nothing from fees). Thus, on average, providers who get any income from employers received 29 per cent of their fee income from the employers of parents. 64

150 10 Technical appendix 10.1 Design The research was divided into two surveys, with a group provider questionnaire (i.e. sessional care, full day care and out of school care providers) and an individual setting questionnaire (i.e. childminders). While they were a similar format with similar questions, because childminders largely operate individually it was felt they required a separate questionnaire that was more tailored to their setting. The questionnaires were developed by the research team at BMRB Social Research in consultation with representatives from the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). The surveys were largely based on previous surveys, with new questions relating to costs, and some extra questions on recruitment and retention added in. As part of the questionnaire development stage BMRB researchers carried out cognitive interviews with representatives from the four provider types, to test the new costs questions. The findings from these interviews helped shape the questionnaire format and question wording. In order to reduce the time it took to complete the interview, it was decided the questionnaires would be divided into two sections. The first section would include core questions to be asked of all respondents and the second section would consist of one of two modules (module A or B). Module A asked questions on costs and income and module B asked questions on training and recruitment. Respondents were randomly split into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B, prior to the interview taking place. (The sample was stratified by region before this allocation took place to ensure that within each region equal numbers were asked module A or B). Draft questionnaires were produced and tested in a pilot exercise Pilot The group provider setting questionnaire was piloted on 14 th June The childminder questionnaire was piloted on 5 th and 6 th July Computer assisted telephone interviews (CATI) were carried out by The Operations Centre 20 (TOC) telephone interviewers in Ealing. 20 BMRB is part of the Kantar Group, the information and consultancy arm of WPP, BMRB s parent company. In addition to BMRB, other market research agencies in the Kantar Group include Research International and Millward Brown, as well as a number of smaller, specialist organisations. In April 2004 the support services of the Kantar companies were grouped to form a shared resource called The Operations Centre. The majority of BMRB s existing operational services, including field management, sampling and data processing continue to be based at BMRB s Head Office in Ealing but, while still wholly owned by WPP, the new operations centre is now a separate legal entity from BMRB. The Operations 65

151 Following the pilot exercises a number of relatively minor changes were made, in order to shorten and simplify both questionnaires Sample design The sample for the survey was obtained from Ofsted, who hold a register of all early years and childcare providers. Target sample sizes of 1,125 were set for all four setting types, and the issued sample size was based on ineligibility rates and response rates from the 2003 survey. Some reserve sample was also drawn for contingency. Ofsted provided a stratified random sample for the four provider types who were active as at 13 th June 2005 sessional care, full day care, out of school care and childminders, using a sample specification produced by BMRB. The sample was stratified by Ofsted region, then 1 in n providers were selected to give: 2235 sessional providers, 2192 full day care providers, 2909 out of school providers and 2491 childminders Sessional The sample provided by Ofsted was stratified by region and 1 in n providers were selected, with a random starting point, to draw a sample of 1925 sessional care providers. This sample was then randomly divided into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B Full day care The sample provided by Ofsted was stratified by region and 1 in n providers were selected, with a random starting point, to draw a sample of 1925 full day care providers. This sample was then randomly divided into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B Out of school care The sample provided by Ofsted was stratified by region and 1 in n providers were selected, with a random starting point, to draw a sample of 2550 out of school providers. This sample was then randomly divided into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B. There was no information available in advance as to whether these providers offered before or after school care or holiday care, or all of these. For the 2005 survey, providers were asked about their after school care, if they offered this. If they did not offer after school care, but did offer holiday care, then they were asked about holiday care. (Three providers did not offer after school care or holiday care and Centre continue to work to existing quality standards and BMRB continue to take responsibility for the quality of the work undertaken by their support services. 66

152 so were asked about before school care; a further three provided none of these, and so were asked about weekend care). This approach means that the after school sample is representative of all after school providers, but the holiday club sample is not representative of all holiday clubs. Due to higher than expected non-contact and illegibility rates, another 271 providers were added to the sample. A small number of duplicates were found across the different sample types (as providers can offer more than one type of childcare). As the numbers were small, duplicate providers were randomly allocated to one of the relevant sample types (and asked specifically about this type of care) and removed from the other samples Childminders The sample provided by Ofsted was stratified by region and 1 in n providers were selected, with a random starting point, to draw a sample of 2040 childminders. Home childcarers were excluded from the sample. This sample was then randomly divided into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B. Due to a higher than expected proportion of ineligible respondents, another 295 childminders was added to the sample Main survey The survey was conducted using BMRB s Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), between 28 th June 2005 and 2 nd September 2005 for the group providers questionnaire and 18 th July 2005 and 30 th August 2005 for the individual setting questionnaire. Originally the group providers survey was due to finish earlier; however because of problems in contacting a number of providers, fieldwork was extended in order to boost the number of interviews achieved. The extension was successful and helped increase the response rate to a more acceptable level. Interviews were carried out by The Operation Centre s (TOC) fully trained telephone interviewers. The senior manager 21 of each childcare provision and every childminder included in the issued sample were sent an advance letter informing them that BMRB would be contacting them and explaining what the research would cover. In addition to the letter, they were sent a datasheet 22 and a qualification list, which they were asked to complete prior to the interview. Different datasheets were sent depending on which module (costs or training) the provider had been randomly allocated to. If when the interviewer 21 Letters were addressed to the Senior manager as their name was not included in the sample provided by Ofsted. 22 The datasheet included a number of detailed questions from the questionnaire that the respondent would need to look up in advance. 67

153 spoke to the respondent they said they had not received the advance documents, contact details were taken and duplicate documents were issued by post, fax or . The interviewer then agreed a convenient time to call the respondent back. In total 4349 interviews were carried out with childcare and early years providers in England 1007 with sessional providers, 1171 with full day care providers, with out of school providers and 1132 with childminders. The average interview length was just under 20 minutes for the group provider interviews and just under 12 minutes for the childminder interviews Response rates Sessional care Full day care Out of school Childminder Overall Issued sample Ineligible* Eligible sample Bad number Contactable sample Refusals Non contact Achieved Response rate (on eligible sample) Response rate (on contactable sample) 54% 64% 44% 59% 54% 60% 67% 49% 66% 60% * Ineligible includes providers which have closed down; providers who said that they don t provide the relevant type of childcare and duplicates that were removed prior to issue. 23 Although 1042 out of school providers were interviewed, due to an error on the questionnaire three of these followed erroneous routing and so have been excluded from the tables and reporting. 68

154 10.5 Weighting and grossing The only information held for the population of all providers was the regional breakdown. The regional breakdown for the achieved sample was, in all cases, fairly close to the population breakdown, but we decided that it would still be worth applying weights to ensure that the sample matched the population. The table below shows the achieved and population breakdowns (March 2005) by region. Weights were applied to ensure that the sample matched the population. Sessional Full day care Out of school Region Survey % Popn % Survey % Popn % Survey % Popn % East Midlands East of England London NE & Yorkshire & Humberside North West South East South West West Midlands Childminders Region Survey % Popn % East Midlands East of England London NE & Yorkshire & Humberside North West South East South West West Midlands For the tables and reports, the weighted data was grossed up to the total number of active providers in England. The estimate of the number of active providers was achieved by taking the total number of providers of each type on the Ofsted database (as at March 2005), and taking away the proportion that the survey had found to be 69

155 ineligible (no longer in business, no longer providing that type of childcare). The proportion that were ineligible varied between the different provider types. The table below shows how the grossing was carried out. On Ofsted database (March 2005) Ineligible (%) Total active providers Sessional Full day care Out of school Childminders Survey Total Multiplier Sessional Full day care Out of school Childminders Actual and effective sample sizes The weighting process has an impact on the effective sample sizes of the four providers. As the weights applied were small, the impact of weighting is limited. The actual and effective sample sizes are shown in the table below. Achieved sample Effective sample Sessional 1,007 1,006 Full day care 1,171 1,166 Out of school 1,039 1,032 Childminders 1,132 1,121 70

156 10.7 Data analysis Calculating annual costs and fees In order to make it as easy as possible to collect cost and income data, providers were able to provide a cost for the following time periods: A week a month a four week period a quarter a year In order to produce annual estimates, some assumptions had to be made. For the following costs and income, we assumed that they would be paid across the whole year, and thus multiplied up to a full 52 week year: Rent Insurance (most provided an annual cost) Toys, books and other items for children Business rates Professional fees Transport Other costs Income from local authority/central government However, for consumables (food and other consumables) and fees, the costs or income would only be relevant when the provider was open. There was no question asking how many weeks a year the provider was open (which will be added to the 2006 survey), but providers were asked if the were open during term time, the school holidays or both. For full day and sessional providers those open during both, we multiplied costs/fees up to a full 52 week year. For those only open in term time, we multiplied up to a 39 week year, and for those open just in the holidays, we multiplied up to a 12 week year. 71

157 As out of school providers are very varied as to how many weeks a year they open, we instead calculated weekly costs/fees based on 13 week years for holiday clubs and 39 week years for out of school clubs Pay data When asking about hourly pay, if a respondent refused, they were asked to give a banded answer. The data in the reports combines the banded data with the nonbanded data (by using the midpoint of bands). The level of refusal was low, so this made very little difference to overall estimates Edits When collecting information on costs and income, and asking respondents to provide numbers that are keyed in by the interviewer, it is possible for miskeying to occur. On inspection, a small number of answers seemed either much too large or much to small. Therefore, we decided to implement rules whereby certain outliers would be removed from the data. Only very small numbers of answers were removed Survey materials The questionnaire and advance letter are included in the overview report. 72

158 10.10 Changes to the National Qualification Framework since 2003 The three regulatory authorities (QCA, ACCAC and CCEA) revised the NQF as part of a review of regulatory arrangements. The revised criteria and NQF came into effect on 1 September The main change is that the NQF now comprises nine levels (Entry Level to Level 8) rather than six. While Entry Level and Levels 1 to 3 have not changed, Levels 4 and 5 have been divided into more precise levels - Levels 4 to 8. The recent changes to the NQF do not alter the number of qualifications available, but rather increases the number of levels against which qualifications are accredited. The table below illustrates these changes. Previous levels (Examples) Level 5 Level 5 NVQ in Construction Current levels (Examples) Level 8 Specialist awards Level 5 Diploma in Translation Level 7 Level 7 Diploma in Translation Level 4 Level 6 Level 4 National Diploma in Professional Qualified Teacher Status Production Skills Level 5 Level 4 BTEC Higher National Diploma in Level 5 Early Years Foundation Degree 3D Design Level 4 Level 4 Certificate in Early Years Practice Level 4 Certificate in Early Years Practice Level 3 Level 3 Certificate in Small Animal Care; Level 3 NVQ in Aeronautical Engineering A levels Level 2 Level 2 Diploma for Beauty Specialists; Level 2 NVQ in Agricultural Crop Production GCSEs Grades A*-C Level 1 Level 1 Certificate in Motor Vehicle Studies; Level 1 NVQ in Bakery GCSEs Grades D-G Entry Level Entry Level Certificate in Adult Literacy 73

159 Copies of this publication can be obtained from: DfES Publications P.O. Box 5050 Sherwood Park Annesley Nottingham NG15 0DJ Tel: Fax: Minicom: Oneline: Crown Copyright 2006 Produced by the Department for Education and Skills ISBN Ref No: RR761

160 RESEARCH 2005 Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey Childminders Sam Clemens and Robert Kinnaird BMRB Social Research Research Report RR763

161 Research Report No Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey Childminders Sam Clemens and Robert Kinnaird BMRB Social Research The views expressed in this report are the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department for Education and Skills. Crown Copyright 2006 ISBN

162 Table of Contents 1 Summary and conclusions Introduction Characteristics of provision Places and children Characteristics of childminders Training Qualifications Income and expenditure Conclusions Introduction The Ten Year Strategy for childcare Objectives of the research The Survey Survey Design Structure of the report Notes on reading the report Characteristics of Provision Introduction Numbers and Geographical Spread of Childminders Length of operation Business plans Network and Association Membership Childminder Provision

163 3.6.1 Opening times Working hours Whether look after own children Places and children Introduction Number of places Enrolments in term time Enrolments during school holidays Ages Black or Minority Ethnic groups (BME) Special Educational Needs (SEN) Number of hours of care Term time School holidays Vacancies Expansion Characteristics of Childminders Introduction Age Sex Ethnicity Disability Experience Paid assistants Training

164 6.1 Introduction Preparatory course Whether received training in last 12 months Qualifications Introduction Definitions of Qualifications Levels Current qualifications Qualification being worked towards Income and Expenditure Introduction Expenditure and outgoings Costs of housing Insurance costs Cost of toys, books and other items for children Cost of food Cost of other consumables Cost of professional fees Cost of transport Other costs All expenditure Staff costs Income Fees charged Income from Local Authority Income from other sources

165 8.3.4 Total income from childminding Tax credits and childcare vouchers Awareness of tax credit issues Fees paid by parent s employers Technical appendix Design Pilot Sample design Sessional Full day care Out of school care Childminders Main survey Response rates Weighting and grossing Actual and effective sample sizes Data analysis Pay data Edits Survey materials Changes to the National Qualification Framework since Copyright: reports and any other material associated with a survey are normally intended for use within a client s organisation and its associate organisations such as advertising agents. Should a client intend wider circulation of the results then the client must agree the form and content with BMRB, and must acknowledge BMRB as the source of the information. 5

166 1 Summary and conclusions 1.1 Introduction The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) commissioned BMRB to undertake four surveys to collect information about childcare providers and the childcare workforce. This report outlines the findings for childminders and is based on interviews with 1,132 childminders sampled from the Ofsted database. Findings from the 2005 survey have been compared with those from similar surveys conducted in 2003 and where appropriate Data have been weighted and grossed to provide national estimates. 1.2 Characteristics of provision Since 2003 there has been a slight decline in the number of registered childminders: from 72,900 to 70,200 (a four per cent decrease). A substantial minority (18 per cent) of registered childminders contacted for the 2005 survey said that they were no longer working as a childminder, and so did not take part in the interview. Taking this into account, there are 57,650 active childminders offering childcare places in England. It is difficult to compare the number of active childminders in 2005 with the number in 2003, as the 2003 sample was drawn from a different source and so we do not know what proportion of Ofsted registered childminders were no longer working as childminders at that time. This means that it is not possible to gross up the 2003 figures on the same basis as has been done in 2005, and so any comparisons of overall numbers are invalid. Other comparisons (involving proportions and averages) are possible, as both samples involved interviews with active childminders. Childminders are not evenly distributed across England the South East accounts for nearly a fifth (19 per cent), while the East Midlands accounts for just eight per cent. Just under half (45 per cent) of childminders have been operating for five years or more; the equivalent proportion in 2003 was 58 per cent. The vast majority (91 per cent) of childminders operate in both term time and during the school holidays and 76 per cent operate for five days a week. Seven per cent accept children at weekends. The average number of hours that childminders accepted children for in term time is 43 hours a week, a slight increase since 2003 when the equivalent figure was 39 hours. Most childminders do not have a business plan, although the proportion with a business plan has risen from 17 per cent in 2003 to 29 per cent in

167 1.3 Places and children In 2005 there were an estimated 275,600 childminding places. There were 242,400 children enrolled. Childminders provide places to children of varying ages a fifth of children enrolled were aged under two years old, a third were pre-school children (2-4 year olds), a quarter were aged 5-7 years old and 22 per cent were aged 8 or over. Children of black or minority ethnic origin make up 12 per cent of all children attending. At the time of the survey, there were 80,700 vacant places with childminders an average of 1.4 places per childminder. However, childminders do not always want to work at their full capacity, and if demand was there, they would only fill 67 per cent of these places (53,800 places). Three-fifths of childminders look after their own children at the same time as the children they are paid to look after. 1.4 Characteristics of childminders Forty-five per cent childminders were aged 20-39, 37 per cent were aged and 18 per cent were 50 or over, a similar breakdown to As in 2003, nearly all (98 per cent) childminders were female. On average childminders had been working in childcare for eight years and four months, a decrease from nine years and five months in Just two per cent of childminders employ a paid assistant. 1.5 Training Four in five childminders had attended a preparatory training course when they first registered as a childminder and two thirds of childminders had received some training in the last 12 months. A fifth of childminders who had received training in the last 12 months felt that they had not received enough training. 1.6 Qualifications Three-fifths (65 per cent) of childminders held some kind of childcare related qualification. There appeared to be a substantial increase in the proportion of childminders holding at least a Level 3 relevant qualification (from 16 per cent in 2003 to 43 per cent in 2005). However, this may be due to childminders in 2005 counting each module that makes up the Childminding Certificate as a Level 3 qualification in its own right. 2

168 Just under a fifth (17 per cent) of active childminders were working towards a relevant qualification. 1.7 Income and expenditure Average annual expenditure by childminders on costs such as insurance, toys, food and consumables etc. (but excluding any housing costs) was 2,300. On average childminders charged 2.75 an hour, ranging from an average of 3.30 an hour in London to an average of 2.19 an hour in the West Midlands. On average, childminders took 7,600 a year in fees which is around 150 a week. Taking into account their expenditure, this means that the average net income from childminding in the last 12 months was 5,500. A fifth (21 per cent) of childminders said that they had supplemented their income from childminding from other sources. 1.8 Conclusions Since 2003, there has been a slight decline in the number of registered childminders. A substantial minority (18 per cent) of the registered childminders contacted for the survey said that they were no longer working as a childminder, which means that the number of active childminders (57,650) is substantially less than the number registered. Just under a quarter of a million children (242,400) are looked after by childminders, for, on average, 17 hours a week in term time and 25 hours a week in the school holidays. There is a substantial amount of spare capacity in this sector of the childcare market: in total 53,800 vacant places which childminders would fill if demand was there. This accounts for 20 per cent of all registered places available. 3

169 2 Introduction 2.1 The Ten Year Strategy for childcare The Government s Ten Year Strategy for early years and childcare, published in December 2004, outlined a number of key principles and objectives: Choice and Flexibility - greater choice for parents in how they balance their work commitments and family life; Availability flexible, affordable, high quality childcare for all families with children aged up to 14 who need it; Quality - high quality provision delivered by a skilled early years and childcare workforce; and Affordability families to be able to afford flexible, high quality childcare that is appropriate for their needs. The Government s vision is to ensure that every child gets the best start in life, and to give parents more choice about how to balance work and family life. By 2010, all 3 and 4 year olds will be entitled to 15 hours a week of free high quality care, for 38 weeks a year and there will be an out of school childcare place available for all children aged 3-14 from the hours of 8am-6pm every weekday. This will be accompanied by a package of measures to help address the issue of affordability of childcare, including increases in the childcare costs that can be claimed through Working Tax Credit and measures to help parents balance work and family life, including the extension of paid maternity leave. To support this, and to help improve the quality of childcare, there is to be a radical reform of the workforce. This will include measures to strengthen professional leadership in all full day care settings, improve the qualifications and status of early years and childcare workers and provide training opportunities for childminders and other home-based carers. A Transformation Fund of 250m over the period April 2006 to August 2008 will support investment to raise the quality of the early years workforce without undermining efforts to improve affordability. 2.2 Objectives of the research The Department for Education and Skills needs robust information on the key characteristics of childcare provision in the early years and childcare sector, as well as information on its workforce and the costs of childcare that is available. 5

170 The DfES carried out surveys amongst childcare and early years providers in 1998, 2001 and The 2005 Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey is a modified version of the 2003 Childcare and Early Years Workforce Survey, expanded in places to provide more information on recruitment and retention issues and the costs of childcare. The 2005 survey consists of four separate sample surveys aimed at collecting information from the following Ofsted registered settings: Full-day childcare: facilities that provide day care for children under 8 for a continuous period of four hours or more in any day in non-domestic premises (for example, day nurseries and children s centres). Sessional childcare: facilities that provide day care for children under 8 for a session which is less than a continuous period of 4 hours in any day in non-domestic premises, for example, playgroups. (There must be a break between sessions with no children in the care of the provider). Out-of-school childcare: after school clubs, breakfast clubs and holiday clubs. Childminders: those looking after one or more children aged under 8 for a total of more than two hours a day, for reward. (People who look after children wholly or mainly in the child s own home do not need to be registered with Ofsted). 2.3 The Survey The survey examines the key characteristics of childcare provision and its workforce: Provider characteristics (business performance, member of childminder networks or professional associations, length of operation). Number of places and children attending (number of places, ages, ethnicity, hours worked). Staff (whether have paid assistants). Training (current level of training, training plans). Qualifications (qualifications held and being worked towards by childminders). Income and expenditure (costs, fees, funding). 6

171 2.4 Survey Design This report is based on 1,132 interviews conducted with childminders. Other surveys were conducted with 1,171 senior managers of full day care providers, 1,007 senior managers of sessional providers and 1,039 senior managers of out of school provision. The sample for each provider type was stratified by Ofsted region 1 to ensure a representative sample was interviewed in each region. This sample was then randomly divided into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B. In order to reduce the time it took to complete the interview, it was decided that the questionnaires would be divided into two sections. The first section included core questions to be asked of all respondents and the second section consisted of one of two modules (module A or B). Module A asked questions on costs and income and module B asked questions on training and recruitment. A copy of the questionnaire is included in the appendices to the overview report. The same questionnaire was used for all of the group settings, but a slightly different questionnaire was used for the childminder survey. Data are weighted by Ofsted region (as of March 2005) to ensure the figures are representative of childminders throughout England. Interviews were conducted by telephone using CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) by The Operation Centre s 2 fully trained telephone interviewers in Hull. Interviews were carried out between 28 th June 2005 and 2 nd September Full details of the methodology and analysis are included in the Technical Appendix to this report. 1 Ofsted divides England into eight regions: East of England, East Midlands, London, North East, Yorkshire & Humberside, North West England, South East England, South West England, West Midlands. 2 BMRB is part of the Kantar Group, the information and consultancy arm of WPP, BMRB s parent company. In addition to BMRB, other market research agencies in the Kantar Group include Research International and Millward Brown, as well as a number of smaller, specialist organisations. In April 2004 the support services of the Kantar companies were grouped to form a shared resource called The Operations Centre. The majority of BMRB s existing operational services, including field management, sampling and data processing continue to be based at BMRB s Head Office in Ealing but, while still wholly owned by WPP, the new operations centre is now a separate legal entity from BMRB. The Operations Centre continue to work to existing quality standards and BMRB continue to take responsibility for the quality of the work undertaken by their support services. 7

172 2.5 Structure of the report This report is one of five produced from the results of the 2005 Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey the latest in a series of surveys going back to The other four reports cover: Full day care providers Sessional providers Out of school providers Overview report drawing together the findings from all four settings The remainder of this report is structured as follows: Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Characteristics of provision Number of places available and number and types of children enrolled Characteristics of childminders Training Qualifications Income and expenditure 2.6 Notes on reading the report In the tables, grossed up figures are provided along with percentages. These grossed up figures are based on the total number of childminders registered with Ofsted in March 2005, excluding the proportion found by the survey to be no longer eligible for the survey (e.g. no longer working as childminders). These grossed up figures are not exact, and like the percentages reported are subject to confidence intervals. Grossed figures in this report have been rounded to the nearest 100. Where appropriate, comparisons are made between these findings and those of the previous childcare workforce surveys (mainly the 2003 survey conducted by MORI, but in some cases with the 2001 survey conducted by SQW and NOP). However, comparisons need to be treated with caution as both the previous surveys used different sample sources, and used different methods of weighting and grossing. In 8

173 2001, data from the Children s Day Care Facilities Survey (March 2001) were used for weighting and grossing purposes, and so the samples are not strictly comparable. The sample for the childcare audiences in 2003 came from the Childcarelink database held by Opportunity Links, whereas the 2005 sample came from Ofsted. The 2003 sample did not have full details of all providers in all parts of the country and some work was done to obtain the necessary contact details on certain areas. The 2003 childminder survey then used Ofsted data for weighting and grossing. The weighted data is therefore comparable (with some caveats) with the 2005 data. However, as the sample was not drawn from Ofsted, it was not possible to know how many childminders on the Ofsted database in 2003 were ineligible for the survey because they were not active childminders. It was assumed, when grossing the figures up to provide national estimates, that all childminders on the Ofsted database were active childminders. In 2005 we found that this was not the case and identified 18 per cent of our sample as being registered but inactive. This was taken into account when grossing figures up to provide national estimates. Therefore, it is not possible to compare national estimates from 2005 with 2003, as the 2003 figures may over-estimate provision. However, both surveys are surveys of active childminders, so the proportions and means are comparable. In the 2003 report, some analysis was carried out to look at childminders in the 20 per cent most deprived wards. By 2005, there had been a change in the areas used to define the level of deprivation from wards to Super Output Areas (SOA). Therefore, this report looks at the 30 per cent most deprived areas. For comparative purposes, the 30% most deprived SOAs can be considered as roughly equivalent to the 20 per cent most deprived areas. There is also some analysis by the population density of an area. This is defined in the same way as in 2003: low density - less than 10 people per hectare; medium density - between people per hectare and high density - more than 25 people per hectare. The percentages in the tables do not always add to 100 per cent due to rounding, and, where percentages in the text differ to the sum of percentages in the tables, this too will be due to rounding. A * in a table signifies a value between 0 and 0.49, while a signifies a zero. Unless otherwise stated, figures referred to are weighted. 9

174 3 Characteristics of Provision 3.1 Introduction This chapter looks at the number and geographical spread of childminders, length of time working as a childminder, details of the childcare provision and whether the childminder was a member of a network or association. 3.2 Numbers and Geographical Spread of Childminders Since 2003 there has been a slight decline in the number of registered childminders: from 72,900 to 70,200 (a four per cent decrease). A substantial minority (18 per cent) of registered childminders contacted for the survey said that they were no longer working as a childminder, and so did not take part in the interview. Taking this into account, there are 57,650 active childminders offering childcare places in England. It is difficult to compare the number of active childminders in 2005 with the number in 2003, as the 2003 sample was drawn from a different source and so we do not know what proportion of Ofsted registered childminders were no longer working as childminders at that time. This means that it is not possible to gross up the 2003 figures on the same basis as has been done in 2005, and so any comparisons of overall numbers are invalid. Other comparisons (involving proportions and averages) are fine, as both samples involved interviews with active childminders. Childminders are not evenly distributed across the regions. The South East alone accounts for nearly a fifth of all providers (19 per cent) while the East Midlands had the smallest proportion with just eight per cent. The regional distribution is almost exactly the same as in previous years. 11

175 Table 3.1 Number of childminders by region Total 2005 Total 2003 Change from 2005 to 2003 Total 2001 % No. % % % East Midlands 8% 4,800 8% 0 9% East of England 12% 6,900 12% 0 12% London 16% 9,400 15% +1 16% NE & Yorkshire & Humberside 14% 8,300 14% 0 13% North West 12% 6,700 12% 0 12% South East 19% 11,000 19% 0 20% South West 9% 5,300 10% -1 10% West Midlands 9% 5,300 10% -1 9% Base 2005: All childminders (unweighted 1,132; weighted and grossed 57,662) Base 2003: All childminders (unweighted 850; weighted and grossed 72,949) Base 2001: All childminders (unweighted 850; weighted and grossed 72,300) Childminders were predominantly based in the more densely populated areas. Eight out of ten childminders (79 per cent) were based in high density areas, 13 per cent were in areas of medium density and the rest were in areas of low density (eight per cent). Just under a fifth (18 per cent) of childminders were based in the 30 per cent most deprived areas, this figure is the same as Length of operation There was a decrease in the proportion of childminders that had been operating for over five years compared with per cent and 58 per cent respectively. As with the 2003 survey, childminders located in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were more likely to have been operating for less than five years (64 per cent) than those in the 70 per cent least deprived areas (53 per cent). 3 Comparisons with the 2003 survey must be treated with caution as the deprivation data was based on a different measurement to the 2005 survey, but the 20 per cent most deprived wards in 2003 are roughly equivalent to the 30 per cent most deprived areas in the 2005 survey 12

176 3.4 Business plans The number of childminders who had a written business plan has increased from 17 per cent in 2003 to 29 per cent in Of those who had a plan (15,500 childminders), 80 per cent had updated the plan in the past two years, a decrease since 2003 when the proportion was 85 per cent. Overall this translates into 22 per cent childminders with a written business plan that has been updated in the last two years. 3.5 Network and Association Membership About a third (35 per cent) of childminders were members of a formal childminding network, this is a decrease since 2003 when the figure was 46 per cent. Childminders with a greater number of children enrolled were more likely to be a member of a formal childminding network than those with fewer children enrolled 28 per cent of childminders with 1-2 children enrolled said they were, compared with 49 per cent of childminders with 7 or more children enrolled. There had been a slight decrease in the proportion of childminders who were members of an informal childminding network, 33 per cent in 2003 to 27 per cent in As in 2003, four in five childminders (79 per cent) were members of a professional association. The most popular organisation was the National Childminder Association (NMCA) with 78 per cent of all childminders. Other organisations mentioned were the Pre-School Learning Alliance (four per cent), Playgroup Network (three per cent) and a local childminding association (three per cent). 13

177 Table 3.2 Professional association membership National Childminder Association (NCMA) Total 2005 Total 2003 Change from 2003 to 2005 % No. % % 78 45, Pre-school Learning Alliance 4 2, Playgroup Network 3 2, Local Childminding Association 3 1,600 - (+3) Sure Start (+1) Kids Club Network Other Answer 3 1, Not a member of a professional association 21 11, Base 2005: All childminders (Module A) (unweighted, 525; weighted and grossed 26677) Base 2003: All childminders (unweighted 850; weighted and grossed 72,949) 3.6 Childminder Provision Opening times The majority (91 per cent) of childminders accepted children in both term time and school holidays, similar to 2003 when the figure was 90 per cent. Just eight per cent offered term time care only and less than one per cent offered school holiday care only. Childminders based in London were more likely to offer term time care exclusively than the overall proportion 17 per cent compared with eight per cent respectively Opening times term-time Three quarters of childminders (76 per cent) were open for five days, presumably Monday to Friday. Seven per cent accepted children at weekends in term time. 14

178 Opening times in school holidays Three quarters of childminders (73 per cent) were open for five days, again presumably Monday to Friday. Six per cent accepted children at weekends during the school holidays. Childminders in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were more likely to accept children at weekends than those in the 70 per cent least deprived areas 11 per cent and five per cent respectively Working hours Term time The average number of hours childminders accept children for in term time was 43 hours a week, an increase since 2003 when the equivalent figure was 39 hours. Nearly half (47 per cent) of childminders accepted children for 50 hours or more, a substantial increase from 33 per cent in Childminders with a greater number of enrolments were more likely to accept children for longer hours than those with fewer children enrolled. On average childminders with seven or more children enrolled accepted children for 49 hours a week while those with 1-2 enrolments accepted children for 38 hours a week School holidays The average number of hours childminders accept children for during the school holidays was 45 hours a week, an increase since 2003 when the equivalent figure was 40 hours a week. Half (50 per cent) of childminders accepted children for 50 hours or more a week and three quarters (74 per cent) accepted children for 40 hours or more. In 2003 the equivalent figures were 36 per cent and 71 per cent respectively. Childminders with a greater number of enrolments were more likely to accept children for longer hours than those with fewer children enrolled. On average childminders with seven or more children enrolled, accepted children for 49 hours a week while those with 1-2 enrolments accepted children for 42 hours a week. Childminders based in the North West (50 hours) tended to accept children for longer hours than average (45 hours) during the school holidays. 3.7 Whether look after own children Childminders were asked whether they look after any of their own children at the same time as children they are paid to look after. Three fifths (61 per cent) of childminders 15

179 said that they did look after their own children at the same time as looking after children that they are paid to look after. Childminders with a greater number of children enrolled were less likely to look after their own children at the same time as the children they are paid to look after. Only half (51 per cent) of childminders with seven or more children enrolled looked after their own children compared with 68 per cent of childminders with 1-2 enrolments. Table 3.3 Proportion of childminders that look after own children at the same time as children they re paid to look after by number of enrolments with childminder Overall 1-2 enrolments 3-4 enrolments 5-6 enrolments 7 or more enrolments % % % % % Yes 61% 68% No 39% 32% Base 2005: All childminders (unweighted 1,132; weighted and grossed 57,662) The childminders own children tended to be older than the ones they are paid to look after. Only one in ten had a child aged under two years old while a third had a child aged eight or over. 16

180 4 Places and children 4.1 Introduction This chapter presents data on the number of Ofsted registered places, the number of children enrolled with childminders, the demographic breakdown of the children enrolled, the number of hours of care, number of vacancies and expansion. 4.2 Number of places In total there were 275,600 Ofsted registered places with active childminders in The average number of places per childminder was 4.8 which is a slight increase since 2003 when there were, on average, 4.5 places per childminder. Over half of the childminders were registered to provide more than four places (56 per cent) and very few (6 per cent) offered just one or two places. Childminders in London were more likely (69 per cent) to have 1-4 registered places than childminders overall (44 per cent), and hence had, on average, the least number of places per childminder. This was also the case in Table 4.1 shows places by region. The distribution of places by region is consistent with the distribution of households with dependent children. The South East is most well provided for, with a fifth (20 per cent) of all places and 17 per cent of the households with dependent children. This was also the situation in This is the number of places as estimated by the survey, not the total number on the Ofsted database. 17

181 Table 4.1 Number of Ofsted registered places Region Number of places Distribution of households with children* No. % Mean East Midlands % East of England % London % North East, Yorkshire & Humberside % North West % South East % South West % West Midlands % TOTAL 275, Base 2005: All childminders (unweighted 1,132; weighted and grossed 57,662) * From 2001 Census 4.3 Enrolments in term time The total number of children enrolled in term time was 242,400. The average number of children enrolled per childminder was 4.2, which is an increase since 2003 when the figure was 3.9. The number of children enrolled is less than the number of places available, suggesting that there is a significant amount of spare capacity (as not all children will take a full place). The average number of enrolments per childminder was lowest in London (3.1) and highest in the South West (5). Childminders in areas of higher density were more likely to have fewer number of children enrolled than the less dense areas high density (4.05), medium density (4.38) low density (5.70). As table 4.2 shows the distribution of enrolments matches the distribution of places quite closely. 18

182 Table 4.2 Children enrolled by region in term time Region Children enrolled Distribution of places No. % Mean East Midlands 23,300 10% 4.9 9% East of England 31,200 13% % London 29,000 12% % North East, Yorkshire & Humberside 38,300 16% % North West 27,200 11% % South East 42,100 17% % South West 26,400 11% % West Midlands 24,900 10% 4.7 9% TOTAL 242, Base 2005: All childminders (unweighted 1,132; weighted and grossed 57,662) 4.4 Enrolments during school holidays The total number of children enrolled during the last school holiday was 145,000. The average number of children per childminder was 2.8. (The last school holiday would have been Easter for most of the childminders interviewed). Again childminders in London had fewer children enrolled in the holidays (2.1) compared with the overall average (2.8). 19

183 Table 4.3 Children enrolled by region during school holidays Region Children enrolled No. % Mean East Midlands 12,200 8% 2.8 East of England 19,600 14% 3.1 London 16,000 11% 2.1 North East, Yorkshire & Humberside 24,300 17% 3.1 North West 17,300 12% 2.8 South East 28,200 19% 2.8 South West 14,100 10% 2.8 West Midlands 13,300 9% 2.9 TOTAL 145, Base: All childminders who look after children during holidays (1,041; weighted and grossed 52,844) 4.5 Ages Childminders provided places to children of varying ages. A fifth (20 per cent) of the children enrolled were aged less than 2 years; while a third (34 per cent) were preschool children aged 2-4 years old. A quarter (24 per cent) were aged 5-7 years old and a fifth (22 per cent) were 8 or over. 20

184 Chart 4.1 Proportions of enrolled children by age group Under 2 20% 2 years old 13% 3 years old 11% 4 years old 9% 5-7 years old 24% 8 years and over 22% Base: All children (unweighted 4,832 in 1132 childminders; weighted 243,933 in childminders) Childminders looking after larger numbers of children tended to have a greater number of older children. Childminders with 1-2 enrolments had 0.2 children aged 8 or over while those with 7 or more enrolments had Black or Minority Ethnic groups (BME) There were 23,600 children of black or minority ethnic origin, which accounts for 12 per cent of all children enrolled with childminders 5. Data from the 2001 Census shows that although people of black or minority ethnic origin make up around nine per cent of England s population, among those aged 0-7 the proportion rises to 15 per cent. This suggests that there are slightly fewer children of BME origin using childminders than would be expected from their proportion in the population. 5 This average excludes people who answer don t know at either the question on number of children enrolled, or at the number of children of BME origin (i.e. to be included, both questions have to be answered). Therefore, this proportion is slightly higher than that calculated by dividing the number of BME origin children by the total number of children enrolled. 21

185 Three quarters (74 per cent) of childminders looked after no children of black or minority ethnic origin. This fell to a third (34 per cent) in London and rose to 85 per cent in the South West. Table 4.4 Proportion of children of black or minority ethnic origin Total % most deprived areas 70% least deprived areas Unweighted base 1, % No. % No. % No. None 74% 42,550 68% 6,900 75% 35, % 1% 400 1% 100 1% % or more 25% 14,650 31% 3,200 24% 11,450 Don t know * * 50 Mean (inc. zeros) 12% 18% 11% Base: All childminders (unweighted 1,132, weighted and grossed 57,662), Compared with the average (0.4 children of BME origin per childminder), providers based in the 30 per cent most deprived areas (0.5), those in areas of high density (0.5) and those situated in London (1.1) have higher numbers of children of black or minority ethnic origin. These figures are as expected because of the greater concentration of people of black or minority ethnic origin in London and in turn, London is a high density area and contains a large number of the 30 per cent most deprived areas. 4.7 Special Educational Needs (SEN) There were 9,400 children with a special educational need (SEN) enrolled with childminders, this represents four per cent of all the children enrolled with childminders. Eighty-seven per cent of childminders had no children with a special educational need, one in ten (11 per cent) were looking after one child with special education needs; and very few (2 per cent) were looking after two or more. In 2004, 17 per cent of children at maintained primary schools were assessed as having special educational needs (around two per cent with statements). This is much higher than the proportion with childminders. Childminders will be relying on their own judgement, as pre-school children may not have been formally assessed, and for children that have been assessed, childminders may not have access to this information. This may mean that they are under-estimating the proportion. Alternatively, it may be that children with special educational needs are less likely to be looked after by childminders, either because their parents feel they need a different sort of childcare, or because childminders are unwilling to take them on. 22

186 4.8 Number of hours of care Term time On average, childminders said that they would accept children for 9.2 hours a day (for a typical day in term time). Most (59 per cent) accepted children for 9-10 hours a day (which covers the standard 8am 6 pm day), and 14 per cent accepted children for 11 or more hours a day. Most childminders (76 per cent) accepted children for 5 days a week. The average number of hours per week that childminders said that they would accept children for was 43 hours. However, the hours that childminders actually looked after children for tended to be less than this. The average number of hours a childminder looked after a child was 17 hours a week in term time. A third (33 per cent) of children were looked after for 1-9 hours, a third (30 per cent) were looked after for hours, 15 per cent for hours, eight per cent hours and ten per cent were looked after for 40 hours or more. Children in London were looked after for, on average, the greatest number of hours (21 hours a week), while those in the South West were looked after for, on average, the least number of hours (15.1 per week) School holidays On average, childminders said that they would accept children for 9.7 hours a day (for a typical day in the holidays). Most (57 per cent) accepted children for 9-10 hours a day (which covers the standard 8am 6 pm day), and 14 per cent accepted children for 11 or more hours a day. Most childminders (73 per cent) accepted children for 5 days a week. The average number of hours per week that childminders said that they would accept children for was 44 hours, which is similar to the term time hours that they are prepared to work. The average number of hours a childminder looked after a child during the school holidays was 25 hours a week, which is more than in term time. As with term time care, childminders in London tended to look after children for, on average, the greatest number of hours per week (28 hours), while in the South West, children spent, on average, the least number of hours with childminders (21 hours per week). 23

187 Table 4.5 Number of hours per week children are cared for Number of hours Term time School holidays % % or more 3 5 Don t know 4 6 Mean Base: All children term time (unwtd 4,481; weighted and grossed ), School holiday (unwtd 2,802; weighted and grossed 144,984) 4.9 Vacancies Childminders were asked how many vacant places they had in a typical week. Many (38 per cent) said that they had no vacancies. This was more common for childminders in the 70 per cent least deprived areas (40 per cent had no vacancies, compared with 30 per cent of childminders in the most deprived areas). A fifth of childminders (19 per cent) had one vacant place, a further fifth (20 per cent) had two, while one in ten (10 per cent) said that they had 4 or more vacant places. In total, there were 80,700 vacancies, on average 1.42 per childminder (including those with no vacancies). This number of vacant places accounts for 29 per cent of all childminder places available. Childminders with fewer children enrolled had, on average, more vacant places. Childminders with 1-2 enrolments had 2.2 places vacant while those with seven or more enrolled had 0.6. Childminders who had vacancies were asked how many of their vacant places they would actually fill if the demand was there. A fifth (17 per cent) of childminders with vacancies said they would not fill any. The average number of vacant places among childminders with vacancies was 2.3, but the average number childminders said that they would fill was 1.6. In total, childminders with vacancies said that they would fill 53,800 of the vacant places if demand was there which is 67 per cent of all the vacant places; and which accounts for 20 per cent of all registered places available. 24

188 4.10 Expansion About one in ten (13 per cent) childminders had expanded in terms of the number of registered places in the last 12 months. Of those who hadn t expanded, 16 per cent said they planned to in the next 12 months. Childminders who said they didn t plan to expand were asked why not. By far the most common reason given (43 per cent) was that they were already at the maximum capacity. After this other reasons were that they were happy with number of present children (15 per cent) and would need larger premises (11 per cent). Table 4.6 Reasons why childminder doesn t plan to expand in the next 12 months Already at maximum capacity 43 Happy with the number of children at present 15 Would need larger premises 11 Stopping childminding 7 Because of own children/grandchildren 7 No sufficient demand for extra places 5 Couldn t cope with more children 4 Quality of childcare would suffer 4 Would have to take on staff and don t want to 3 Don t need to take on more children 1 Too much competition from other providers 1 Too costly to expand 1 Other answer 8 No answer 1 Don t know 1 Base: Childminders with no plans to expand in next 12 months (unwtd 378; weighted and grossed 19,081) % 25

189 5 Characteristics of childminders 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Age This chapter looks at the demographic profile of childminders, their experience and the scale of the employment of paid assistants. Most childminders (90 per cent) were aged 30 or over. A third (35 per cent) were 30-39, a further third (37 per cent) were and a fifth (18 per cent) were aged 50 or over. Eight per cent were aged 25-29, and only a very small number of childminders were younger than this (one per cent around 900 individuals). These figures are similar to Sex As in 2003, the vast majority (98 per cent) of childminders were female. Men represented just two per cent of childminders, approximately 1,000 individuals. 5.4 Ethnicity Seven per cent of childminders said they were of black or minority ethnic origin, a decrease from 2003 when the proportion was 13 per cent. This proportion is slightly lower than the average for the UK working population of nine per cent Disability Just one per cent of childminders (approximately 800 individuals) said they had a disability, a similar figure to 2003 (one per cent) According to the 2005 Labour Force Survey (LFS), about ten per cent of the working population (and 11 per cent of the female working population) have a disability. 6 Labour Force Survey

190 Table 5.1 Demographics of childminders Total Change from 2003 to 2005 % No. % , , years 18 10, Female 98 56, Male 2 1, From a black or minority ethnic group Not from a black or minority ethnic group 7 4, , With a disability Without a disability 99 56, Base 2005: All childminders (unweighted 1,132; weighted and grossed 57,662) Base 2003: All childminders (unweighted 850; weighted and grossed 72,949) 5.6 Experience On average childminders had been working as a childminder for six years and eight months. Childminders with a greater number of children enrolled, tended on average to have been working as a childminder for longer. Those with 1-2 enrolments, had worked for four years and eleven months compared with those with seven or more enrolments where the average number of years was eight years and five months. Childminders were also asked how long they been working in the childcare sector. On average they had been working in childcare for eight years and four months, a decrease since 2003 when the equivalent figure was nine years and five months. Again those with a greater number of enrolments had worked in the childcare sector for longer (1-2 enrolments, six years and seven months, 7 or more enrolments, ten years and three months). 28

191 5.7 Paid assistants Just two per cent of childminders employed a paid assistant. 7 7 The base size is too small (22) to allow any further analysis of paid assistants. 29

192 6 Training 6.1 Introduction This chapter looks at the training that childminders have received. 6.2 Preparatory course Around four in five (84 per cent) childminders had attended a preparatory training course when they first registered as a childminder, a slight increase since 2003 when the proportion was 77 per cent and continuing an upward trend since This figure drops in the East Midlands where only two thirds (67 per cent) of childminders had attended a course. In all other regions the figure is over 82 per cent. Of those people who had attended a preparatory course most said it had lasted for longer than one day (81 per cent for at least 8 hours, an increase since 2003 when the figure was 73 per cent). One in twenty (five per cent) said that the course was less than four hours. Table 6.1 Whether received preparatory course Total 2005 Total 2003 Change from 2003 to % No. % % Attended course 84% 48,300 77% +7 67% Did not attend course 16% 9,300 23% -7 33% Don t know * Base 2005: All childminders (unweighted 1132; weighted and grossed 57,662). Base 2003: All childminders (unweighted 850; weighted and grossed 72,949) Base 2001: All childminders (unweighted 850; weighted and grossed 72,300) 6.3 Whether received training in last 12 months There was a slight increase in the number of childminders who have received some training in the last 12 months, from 61 per cent in 2003 to 66 per cent in However, the proportion receiving 16 or more days of training in the last 12 months had decreased from 18 per cent in 2003 to 13 per cent in On average, childminders had received nine days of training in the last 12 months. Some childminders had received a lot of training (a small number said that they had spent over 200 days training, which may be because they had been doing some course or qualification), which brings this average up. The median amount of training received was two days in the last 12 months. 31

193 Table 6.2 Amount of training in last 12 months Total 2005 Total 2003 % No. % Change from 2003 to 2005 Any days spent training 66% 40,100 61% +5 Number of days: None 34% 20,400 39% days 36% 21,700 22% days 12% 7,300 11% days 6% 3,500 11% or more days 13% 7,600 18% -5 MEAN AMOUNT MEDIAN AMOUNT 9 days 2 days Base 2005: All childminders (Module B) (607) Base 2003: All childminders (850) A fifth of those childminders who had received training in the last 12 months said they thought this was not enough, 77 per cent said they thought this was about right 8. 8 In 2003 the survey asked childminders for more detail about the training they received; satisfaction with training, money spent on training, funding for training, training plans and business skills, these questions were removed for the 2005 survey. 32

194 7 Qualifications 7.1 Introduction This chapter looks at the qualifications that childminders currently hold and the qualifications they are working towards. 7.2 Definitions of Qualifications Levels The qualifications are grouped together in the levels that they have been accredited with by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. Level 1 (foundation level) GCSE grade D-G, Foundation level GNVQ, Level 1 NVQ Level 2 (intermediate level) GCSE A*-C, Intermediate GNVQ, Level 2 NVQ Level 3 (Advanced level) A level, Vocational A level (Advanced GNVQ), Level 3 NVQ Level 4 Higher level qualifications, BTEC Higher Nationals, Level 4 NVQ (e.g. Level 4 Certificate in Early Years Practice) Level 5 Higher level qualifications, BTEC Higher Nationals, Level 5 NVQ (e.g. Early Years Foundation Degree) Level 6 Honours degree (e.g. Qualified Teacher Status) Level 7 Masters degree Level 8 Doctorate Respondents were asked for the highest qualification relating to childcare that they hold 9. There have been changes to the way that the levels are defined since the previous survey in Current Levels 4, 5 and 6 (as defined above) were previously all part of Level 4. Current Levels 7 and 8 were previously part of Level 5. Further information can be found in the Technical appendices to this report. 9 In the previous surveys, respondents were asked for the actual name and level of the qualification. In the 2005 survey respondents were only asked for the level of their highest qualification to reduce the burden on the respondent and to avoid the difficulties of coding the numerous childcare qualifications. 33

195 7.3 Current qualifications A third (35 per cent) of childminders at the time of the survey held no qualifications relevant to childcare. This figure increased for those based in areas of low density (44 per cent) and those in the North West (43 per cent). Six in ten (65 per cent) childminders held some kind of relevant qualification. Two fifths (40 per cent) said they held a Level 3 qualification and 43 per cent said they had at least a Level 3 qualification. This is a large increase on 2003 and 2001, when just 15 per cent and 14 per cent respectively said they had a Level 3 qualification. (This increase may be due to confusion among childminders as what counts as a Level 3 qualification. There is a suggestion that some childminders may have counted one unit towards the Level 3 qualification as a Level 3 qualification; therefore this increase should be treated with caution). Table 7.1 Current qualifications held Total Change from 2003 to 2005 % No. % Level 1 16% 8,800 7% +9 Level 2 6% 3,100 7% -1 Level 3 40% 21,500 15% +25 Level 4 & 5 1% 700 Level 6 2% 1,000 1% +2 Level 7 & 8 * 200 Overseas qualification * (-) Any relevant qualification 65% 35,200 64% +1 No relevant qualification 35% 18,900 36% -1 At least a Level 2 qualification At least a Level 3 qualification 49% 26,500 23% % 23,400 16% +27 Base 2005: All childminders giving useable qualification details (unwtd, 1,063; weighted and grossed 54,180) Base 2003: All childminders (unweighted 850; weighted and grossed 72,949) 34

196 7.4 Qualification being worked towards Just under a fifth (17 per cent) of childminders said they were working towards a relevant qualification, a similar proportion to 2003 (19 per cent). In total, 15 per cent of childminders were working towards a Level 3 qualification or above. Childminders located in the low density areas were more likely to say they weren t studying towards a qualification (91 per cent) Table 7.2 Qualifications being worked towards Total Change from 2003 to 2005 % No. % Level Level Level , Level 4 & 5 2 1,200 Level * +3 Any relevant qualification 17 9, No relevant qualification 81 46, At least a Level , qualification At least a Level 3 qualification 15 8, Base 2005: All childminders (Module B) (unwtd 607; weighted and grossed 30,985) Base 2003: All childminders (unweighted 850; weighted and grossed 72,949) 35

197 8 Income and Expenditure 8.1 Introduction This chapter looks at the expenditure incurred by childminders. A summary table (Table 8.1) brings together all of these categories and shows total expenditure. The chapter also covers the fees charged for looking after children, and the income received from childminding. 8.2 Expenditure and outgoings Costs of housing Childminders tend to look after children in their own homes, so we asked about the costs of their own rent or mortgage. Of course, this cost is not entirely expenditure related to childminding, as it is also where the childminder lives. However, a proportion of it could be seen as related to childminding. Most (72 per cent) childminders own their own home with a mortgage, and 13 per cent own their home outright. Just 12 per cent rent their home. Compared to population figures for England, childminders are more likely to own their home (86 per cent compared to 68 per cent), but less likely to own their home outright (13 per cent compared to 29 per cent). As childminding is a business run from home, and the home has to be inspected to ensure that it is suitable, it may be more difficult for those who rent their properties to take up childminding (for example, many rental agreements do not allow businesses to be run from rented properties). Seventeen per cent of childminders said that they did not pay any housing costs. This is higher than the proportion owning their home outright, and could possibly be due to respondents partners being the householders. A significant minority (19 per cent) of childminders did not provide details of how much they paid for their housing costs (either because they did not know or they did not want to say). The average annual cost of housing among those paying for it who could give a figure was 5,800. This varied by region and was highest in London and the South East ( 7,000) and lowest in the North West ( 4,300) Insurance costs Nearly all childminders had some insurance related to being a childminder only four per cent said that they did not pay for insurance. Nine per cent could not say how much their insurance cost them, but among those providing a figure (and who paid for insurance), the average cost per year was

198 8.2.3 Cost of toys, books and other items for children Again, very few childminders (four per cent) did not spend any money on toys, books or other items for the children they looked after. Eighteen per cent were not able to provide a figure (it may be difficult for some to separate out the costs of toys etc. related to their childminding from the costs of toys that are bought for their own children). Among those who said that they paid something for toys and books etc. the average cost per year was 380. Not surprisingly, this increased as the number of enrolments increased (average spend among those with 1-2 children enrolled was 300 a year, and among those with 7+ children enrolled it was 600 a year) Cost of food One in ten (11 per cent) childminders did not spend any money on food for the children they looked after. This was most common among childminders with only one or two enrolments (20 per cent did not pay for any food). A further eight per cent were not able to say how much they spent on food. Of those providing a figure, and who did pay something for food the average cost per year was around 1,000 (around 20 a week). Again, this tended to increase with the number of enrolments (ranging from 600 for those with 1-2 children up to 1,600 for those with 7+ children) Cost of other consumables Providers were asked how much they spent on other consumables (such as nappies, stationery, paint etc). Seventeen per cent said that they did not pay for any other consumables (again, this was most common for childminders looking after just one or two children 26 per cent did not pay for any other consumables). A further 12 per cent were unable to say how much they actually spent on consumables. Of those who gave a figure, and were paying for other consumables, the average cost per year was around 300 (or around 7 a week) Cost of professional fees Most childminders (85 per cent) did not pay any professional fees (e.g. to accountants or lawyers). Four per cent could not tell us how much they paid. Of those paying, who gave a figure, the average spent on professional fees was 190 a year. 38

199 8.2.7 Cost of transport Nearly a third (30 per cent) of childminders said that they did not spend anything on transport. Nine per cent could not say how much they spent. Of those who did spend money on transport, and who could give a figure, the average amount spent was 660 a year Other costs 61 per cent of childminders said that could not think of any other significant costs that they had to pay. The costs that childminders who could think of other significant costs mentioned included items such as bills (e.g. heating, lighting, electricity etc); trips and outings and the cost of toddler groups, playgroups etc. Chart 8.1 below shows the proportions mentioning each. Chart 8.1 Significant other costs Bills Trips/outings 24% 23% Playgroups 20% NMCA membership/fees Maintenance 17% 17% Equipment/toys 6% First aid courses 3% Ofsted fees 2% Other 9% Base: Childminders that have significant other costs (unwtd 202; weighted and grossed 10,297) Five per cent were unable to say how much these other costs were, but among those providing a figure, the average amount spent on other costs was 600 a year. 39

200 8.2.9 All expenditure Table 8.1 Annual expenditure for childminders (excluding housing costs) Base % paying nothing Av. Amount (exc. zeros) Median Amount (exc. zeros) Insurance 475 4% Toys, books etc 430 4% Food % 1, Other consumables % Professional fees % Transport % Other costs % TOTAL AVERAGE (inc. zeros) 2,300 Base: All childminders (Module A) (unwtd 525; weighted and grossed 26,677) Staff costs Details were not collected on the salaries paid by childminders to their paid assistants. As only two per cent of childminders employ any paid assistants, this is unlikely to have any significant impact on the overall expenditure figures. 8.3 Income Fees charged Most childminders (81 per cent) charged per hour. One in ten (nine per cent) charged per day and seven per cent per week. Just under half (44 per cent) of the childminders varied the fees from child to child, while 56 per cent charged the same for all children. Where the fees do vary, the most common reasons for variation are the number of siblings enrolled, and number of hours per week the child does and what the fees cover. 40

201 Chart 8.2: Reasons why fees vary No. siblings 69% No. hours per week 41% What fees cover 31% Age of child 25% Parents' income 13% Friend/relative 2% Other 10% Base: Childminders where the fees vary (unwtd 237; weighted and grossed 12,009) Most of the childminders (86 per cent) who were open both during the school holidays and during term time did not vary their fees on this basis. Childminders were asked what fees they charged for a typical child. A fifth (22 per cent) of the childminders could not (or would not) say. For those providing a figure, most (78 per cent) charged between 2.50 and 5.00 per hour, and only one per cent charged more than 5 an hour. Two per cent said that they charged nothing. (This may be because they were looking after children for a friend or relative). On average, childminders charged 2.75 per child per hour. Childminders in London charged the highest amount ( 3.30 an hour) and those in the West Midlands charged the least ( 2.19 per hour). There was no difference in hourly rates between the most and least deprived areas. Childminders were also asked what their total income from fees was. Fifteen per cent could not say, but among those giving a figure, a quarter (28 per cent) had a fee income of over 10,000 a year. A further third (37 per cent) had a fee income of between 5,000 and 10,000. A substantial minority (18 per cent) had a fee income of less than 2,500 a year. On average, childminders took 7,600 a year in fees which is around 150 a week. 41

202 Not surprisingly, fee income increased with the number of children enrolled ranging from, on average, 4,700 for childminders with one to two children up to 11,100 for those with seven or more children. Half (50 per cent) had raised their fees in the last two years, 13 per cent had raised their fees more than two years ago, one per cent had reduced their fees and a third (36 per cent) had never raised their fees. Childminders in the 30 per cent most deprived areas were more likely to have never changed their fees than those in less deprived areas (49 per cent had never changed their fees compared with 34 per cent of those in less deprived areas). Childminders with fewer children enrolled were also less likely to have ever changed their fees (54 per cent of those with just one or two children enrolled had never changed their fees, compared to 21 per cent of those with 7 or more children enrolled) Income from Local Authority It was fairly rare for childminders to receive any income from the Local Authority and 92 per cent said that they got no income from this source, and three per cent did not know. This did not vary by the level of deprivation of an area, or by the number of children enrolled. Of the few who did receive Local Authority money, the average amount was 3,200 per year Income from other sources Childminders were asked what, apart from fees and money from Local Authorities, were their other main sources of income. Most (89 per cent) said that they had no other sources of income. However, a few childminders mentioned other sources but not all of these were childcare related sources three per cent mentioned other jobs and one per cent said their partner s income. Therefore, not all the other income mentioned is directly relevant to childminding. The only relevant answer given was Sure Start which was mentioned by two per cent of childminders Total income from childminding To assess how much income childminding brought in for childminders, we asked roughly, in the last 12 months, how much their income from childminding had been. From this we calculated annual net income. Over a quarter (28 per cent) of childminders either could not (22 per cent) or would not (six per cent) answer. Of those providing a figure, two per cent earned nothing in the previous year. A quarter (27 per cent) had taken home 2,500 or less, and a further 31 per cent had taken home between 2,501 and 5,000. One in ten (13 per cent) had taken home over 10,

203 The average net income from childminding in the last 12 months was 5,500. This did not vary by the level of deprivation of the area. Childminders in the South East had a significantly higher income than those in the North East, Yorkshire and Humberside (on average 6,300 compared to 4,600). Childminders were asked how many places they needed to fill to earn the minimum income that they are prepared to accept. Eleven per cent didn t know. Of those giving an answer, a tenth (11 per cent) said no places (and so presumably did not rely on their childminding income). At the other extreme, 28 per cent said they needed between 76% and 100% of their places filled. On average, childminders felt they needed 56% of their available places filled if they were to earn the minimum income they required. A fifth (21 per cent) of childminders said that they supplemented their income from childminding from other sources. This was more common on the 70 per cent least deprived areas (where 22 per cent of childminders supplemented their income compared to 14 per cent in more deprived areas). It was more common in the East Midlands and the South East where around 30 per cent supplemented their income, compared to the East of England where only seven per cent did. Childminders with fewer children were more likely to supplement their income than those looking after a higher number of children (27 per cent of childminders with 1-2 children enrolled supplemented their income compared to 17 per cent of those with 7+ enrolled). 8.4 Tax credits and childcare vouchers Awareness of tax credit issues In April 2005, there was an increase in the amount of childcare that could be claimed as part of the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit to 175 per week for one child. Three in ten (29 per cent) childminders were aware of this increase. Awareness did not seem to vary greatly by area or number of children enrolled. Those that were aware of the change were asked if the change had led them to make any changes to the fees. Three per cent said that it had affected their fees (one per cent of all childminders), and all of these increased their fees. Providers were asked whether they were aware of a further change, due to take place in April 2006, whereby the amount that can be claimed will rise from 70% to 80% of the limit. One in ten childminders (nine per cent) said that they were aware of this, but most (92 per cent) were unaware of this change Fees paid by parent s employers A fifth (17 per cent) of childminders received fees for children from the parent s employer (for example, via childcare vouchers or direct payment). This was more 43

204 common for childminders in the 70 per cent least deprived areas (18 per cent compared to 11 per cent in the most deprived areas). It was also, not surprisingly, more common among childminders with larger number of children enrolled (28 per cent of childminders with 7 or more children enrolled received some of their fees from the parent s employer). On average, in childminders with children paid for by parental employers, just one child was paid for in this way. The average fee income received in the last week from parents employers was 80 (among childminders who received income from this source). The number of childminders in the sample receiving income in this way (88) is too small to allow for more detailed analysis. 44

205 9 Technical appendix 9.1 Design The research was divided into two surveys, with a group provider questionnaire (i.e. sessional care, full day care and out of school care providers) and an individual setting questionnaire (i.e. childminders). While they were a similar format with similar questions, because childminders largely operate individually it was felt they required a separate questionnaire that was more tailored to their setting. The questionnaires were developed by the research team at BMRB Social Research in consultation with representatives from the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). The surveys were largely based on previous surveys, with new questions relating to costs, and some extra questions on recruitment and retention added in. As part of the questionnaire development stage BMRB researchers carried out cognitive interviews with representatives from the four provider types, to test the new costs questions. The findings from these interviews helped shape the questionnaire format and question wording. In order to reduce the time it took to complete the interview, it was decided the questionnaires would be divided into two sections. The first section would include core questions to be asked of all respondents and the second section would consist of one of two modules (module A or B). Module A asked questions on costs and income and module B asked questions on training and recruitment. Respondents were randomly split into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B, prior to the interview taking place. (The sample was stratified by region before this allocation took place to ensure that within each region equal numbers were asked module A or B). Draft questionnaires were produced and tested in a pilot exercise Pilot The group provider setting questionnaire was piloted on 14 th June The childminder questionnaire was piloted on 5 th and 6 th July Computer assisted telephone interviews (CATI) were carried out by The Operations Centre 10 (TOC) telephone interviewers in Ealing. 10 BMRB is part of the Kantar Group, the information and consultancy arm of WPP, BMRB s parent company. In addition to BMRB, other market research agencies in the Kantar Group include Research International and Millward Brown, as well as a number of smaller, specialist organisations. In April 2004 the support services of the Kantar companies were grouped to form a shared resource called The Operations Centre. The majority of BMRB s existing operational services, including field management, sampling and data processing continue to be based at BMRB s Head Office in Ealing but, while still wholly owned by WPP, the new operations centre is now a separate legal entity from BMRB. The Operations 45

206 Following the pilot exercises a number of relatively minor changes were made, in order to shorten and simplify both questionnaires. 9.2 Sample design The sample for the survey was obtained from Ofsted, who hold a register of all early years and childcare providers. Target sample sizes of 1,125 were set for all four setting types, and the issued sample size was based on ineligibility rates and response rates from the 2003 survey. Some reserve sample was also drawn for contingency. Ofsted provided a stratified random sample for the four provider types who were active as at 13 th June 2005 sessional care, full day care, out of school care and childminders, using a sample specification produced by BMRB. The sample was stratified by Ofsted region, then 1 in n providers were selected to give: 2235 sessional providers, 2192 full day care providers, 2909 out of school providers and 2491 childminders Sessional The sample provided by Ofsted was stratified by region and 1 in n providers were selected, with a random starting point, to draw a sample of 1925 sessional care providers. This sample was then randomly divided into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B Full day care The sample provided by Ofsted was stratified by region and 1 in n providers were selected, with a random starting point, to draw a sample of 1925 full day care providers. This sample was then randomly divided into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B Out of school care The sample provided by Ofsted was stratified by region and 1 in n providers were selected, with a random starting point, to draw a sample of 2550 out of school providers. This sample was then randomly divided into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B. There was no information available in advance as to whether these providers offered before or after school care or holiday care, or all of these. For the 2005 survey, providers were asked about their after school care, if they offered this. If they did not offer after school care, but did offer holiday care, then they were asked Centre continue to work to existing quality standards and BMRB continue to take responsibility for the quality of the work undertaken by their support services. 46

207 about holiday care. (Three providers did not offer after school care or holiday care and so were asked about before school care; a further three provided none of these, and so were asked about weekend care). This approach means that the after school sample is representative of all after school providers, but the holiday club sample is not representative of all holiday clubs. Due to higher than expected non-contact and illegibility rates, another 271 providers were added to the sample. A small number of duplicates were found across the different sample types (as providers can offer more than one type of childcare). As the numbers were small, duplicate providers were randomly allocated to one of the relevant sample types (and asked specifically about this type of care) and removed from the other samples Childminders The sample provided by Ofsted was stratified by region and 1 in n providers were selected, with a random starting point, to draw a sample of 2040 childminders. Home childcarers were excluded from the sample. This sample was then randomly divided into two equal groups and assigned to module A or B. Due to a higher than expected proportion of ineligible respondents, another 295 childminders was added to the sample. 9.3 Main survey The survey was conducted using BMRB s Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), between 28 th June 2005 and 2 nd September 2005 for the group providers questionnaire and 18 th July 2005 and 30 th August 2005 for the individual setting questionnaire. Originally the group providers survey was due to finish earlier, however because of problems in contacting a number of providers, fieldwork was extended in order to boost the number of interviews achieved. The extension was successful and helped increase the response rate to a more acceptable level. Interviews were carried out by The Operation Centre s (TOC) fully trained telephone interviewers. The senior manager 11 of each childcare provision and every childminder included in the issued sample were sent an advance letter informing them that BMRB would be contacting them and explaining what the research would cover. In addition to the letter, they were sent a datasheet 12 and a qualification list, which they were asked to complete 11 Letters were addressed to the Senior manager as their name was not included in the sample provided by Ofsted. 12 The datasheet included a number of detailed questions from the questionnaire that the respondent would need to look up in advance. 47

208 prior to the interview. Different datasheets were sent depending on which module (costs or training) the provider had been randomly allocated to. If when the interviewer spoke to the respondent they said they had not received the advance documents, contact details were taken and duplicate documents were issued by post, fax or . The interviewer then agreed a convenient time to call the respondent back. In total 4349 interviews were carried out with childcare and early years providers in England 1007 with sessional providers, 1171 with full day care providers, with out of school providers and 1132 with childminders. The average interview length was just under 20 minutes for the group provider interviews and just under 12 minutes for the childminder interviews. 9.4 Response rates Sessional care Full day care Out of school Childminder Overall Issued sample Ineligible* Eligible sample Bad number Contactable sample Refusals Non contact Achieved Response rate (on eligible sample) Response rate (on contactable sample) 54% 64% 44% 59% 54% 60% 67% 49% 66% 60% * Ineligible includes providers which have closed down; providers who said that they don t provide the relevant type of childcare and duplicates that were removed prior to issue. 13 Although 1042 out of school providers were interviewed, due to an error on the questionnaire three of these followed erroneous routing and so have been excluded from the tables and reporting. 48

209 9.5 Weighting and grossing The only information held for the population of all providers was the regional breakdown. The regional breakdown for the achieved sample was, in all cases, fairly close to the population breakdown, but we decided that it would still be worth applying weights to ensure that the sample matched the population. The table below shows the achieved and population breakdowns (March 2005) by region. Weights were applied to ensure that the sample matched the population. Sessional Full day care Out of school Region Survey % Popn % Survey % Popn % Survey % Popn % East Midlands East of England London NE & Yorkshire & Humberside North West South East South West West Midlands Childminders Region Survey % Popn % East Midlands East of England London NE & Yorkshire & Humberside North West South East South West West Midlands For the tables and reports, the weighted data was grossed up to the total number of active providers in England. The estimate of the number of active providers was achieved by taking the total number of providers of each type on the Ofsted database 49

210 (as at March 2005), and taking away the proportion that the survey had found to be ineligible (no longer in business, no longer providing that type of childcare). The proportion that were ineligible varied between the different provider types. The table below shows how the grossing was carried out. On Ofsted database (March 2005) Ineligible (%) Total active providers Sessional Full day care Out of school Childminders Survey Total Multiplier Sessional Full day care Out of school Childminders Actual and effective sample sizes The weighting process has an impact on the effective sample sizes of the four providers. As the weights applied were small, the impact of weighting is limited. The actual and effective sample sizes are shown in the table below. Achieved sample Effective sample Sessional 1,007 1,006 Full day care 1,171 1,166 Out of school 1,039 1,032 Childminders 1,132 1,121 50

211 9.7 Data analysis Calculating annual costs and fees In order to make it as easy as possible to collect cost and income data, providers were able to provide a cost for the following time periods: A week a month a four week period a quarter a year In order to produce annual estimates, some assumptions had to be made. For the following costs and income, we assumed that they would be paid across the whole year, and thus multiplied up to a full 52 week year: Rent Insurance (most provided an annual cost) Toys, books and other items for children Business rates Professional fees Transport Other costs Income from local authority/central government However, for consumables (food and other consumables) and fees, the costs or income would only be relevant when the provider was open. There was no question asking how many weeks a year the provider was open (which will be added to the 2006 survey), but providers were asked if the were open during term time, the school holidays or both. For full day and sessional providers those open during both, we multiplied costs/fees up to a full 52 week year. For those only open in term time, we multiplied up to a 39 week year, and for those open just in the holidays, we multiplied up to a 12 week year. 51

212 As out of school providers are very varied as to how many weeks a year they open, we instead calculated weekly costs/fees based on 13 week years for holiday clubs and 39 week years for out of school clubs Pay data When asking about hourly pay, if a respondent refused, they were asked to give a banded answer. The data in the reports combines the banded data with the nonbanded data (by using the midpoint of bands). The level of refusal was low, so this made very little difference to overall estimates. 9.8 Edits When collecting information on costs and income, and asking respondents to provide numbers that are keyed in by the interviewer, it is possible for miskeying to occur. On inspection, a small number of answers seemed either much too large or much to small. Therefore, we decided to implement rules whereby certain outliers would be removed from the data. Only very small numbers of answers were removed. 9.9 Survey materials The questionnaire and advance letter are included in the overview report. 52

213 9.10 Changes to the National Qualification Framework since 2003 The three regulatory authorities (QCA, ACCAC and CCEA) revised the NQF as part of a review of regulatory arrangements. The revised criteria and NQF came into effect on 1 September The main change is that the NQF now comprises nine levels (Entry Level to Level 8) rather than six. While Entry Level and Levels 1 to 3 have not changed, Levels 4 and 5 have been divided into more precise levels - Levels 4 to 8. The recent changes to the NQF do not alter the number of qualifications available, but rather increases the number of levels against which qualifications are accredited. The table below illustrates these changes. Previous levels (Examples) Level 5 Level 5 NVQ in Construction Current levels (Examples) Level 8 Specialist awards Level 5 Diploma in Translation Level 7 Level 7 Diploma in Translation Level 4 Level 6 Level 4 National Diploma in Professional Qualified Teacher Status Production Skills Level 5 Level 4 BTEC Higher National Diploma in Level 5 Early Years Foundation Degree 3D Design Level 4 Level 4 Certificate in Early Years Practice Level 4 Certificate in Early Years Practice Level 3 Level 3 Certificate in Small Animal Care; Level 3 NVQ in Aeronautical Engineering A levels Level 2 Level 2 Diploma for Beauty Specialists; Level 2 NVQ in Agricultural Crop Production GCSEs Grades A*-C Level 1 Level 1 Certificate in Motor Vehicle Studies; Level 1 NVQ in Bakery GCSEs Grades D-G Entry Level Entry Level Certificate in Adult Literacy 53

214 Copies of this publication can be obtained from: DfES Publications P.O. Box 5050 Sherwood Park Annesley Nottingham NG15 0DJ Tel: Fax: Minicom: Oneline: Crown Copyright 2006 Produced by the Department for Education and Skills ISBN Ref No: RR763