Publication Details:
During the Autumn of 2024, PlayBoard engaged in focused survey work with school-age childcare practitioners and the parents/carers of children attending school-age childcare settings. Both surveys were undertaken using the SurveyMonkey platform.
The practitioner survey was open to all settings based providers (community/voluntary, private and social enterprise sectors) as well as childminders whose primary focus is on school-age children. The survey explored a range of key areas including financial challenges and sustainability, workforce, qualification, governance and environmental issues.
The parents/carers survey was designed to gain insight into parental views on their experiences of school-age childcare and the challenges of having their childcare needs met.
In addition to those surveys, PlayBoard delivered a number of play-based focus group sessions with children and young people - giving those directly impacted by school-age childcare an opportunity to express their opinions.
The report provides an overview of key findings and is divided into three sections:
- Overview of the school-age childcare providers survey, encompassing settings and childminders.
- Overview of the parents and carers survey.
- Overview of the focus groups undertaken with children.