Overall use of childcare
Overall, in 2021, 69% of families in England with children aged 0 to 14 had used some form of childcare during their most recent term-time week. (Accompanying Table 1.1) . This is a fall from 75% in 2018.
Among children aged 0 to 14, 57% had received childcare, having fallen from 65% in 2018 (Accompanying Table 1.3).
Just among families with children aged 0 to 4 years 83% had used some form of childcare during their most recent term-time week. This is a fall from 87% in 2019.
Among children aged 0 to 4 years, a higher proportion (68%) had used childcare during their most recent term-time week than among older age groups (57% among all children aged 0 to 14 years). This is a fall from 76% among 0 to 4 year olds in 2019 and the lowest percentage since 2010-2011.
Both childcare use by pre-school and school-aged children have declined between 2018 and 2021.
The decline in childcare use does not appear to be related to:
- Affordability: of parents who had not used any childcare in the past year (neither formal nor informal), only 10% said it was because they could not afford childcare, which is in line with 2018 (9%) (Accompanying Table 5.2).
- Mothers’ working patterns: just over seven in ten (71%) mothers reported that they were in work, in line with 2018 (70%). There has been an increase in the proportion of mothers working full time between 2018 and 2021 from 34% in 2018 to 37% in 2021 (Accompanying Table 8.5).
It is possible that COVID could be impacting on the findings from 2021. Of parents who had not used any childcare in the past year (either formal or informal) only 2% mentioned reasons relating to COVID-19 but there may be indirect impacts. For example, in 2021, 26% of parents of 0-14-year-olds said that they did not use formal childcare because they rarely needed to be away from their child (Accompanying Table 5.2). This was a marked increase from 11% in 2018. Therefore, COVID-19 could be impacting on lifestyle changes such as increased working from home, that might be impacting on childcare use for school-aged children in particular.
Use of formal childcare among families
The proportion of families using formal childcare fell from 62% in 2018 (the most recent comparable wave) to 55% in 2021 (Accompanying Table 1.1). This fall was attributable to a lower take-up across a range of formal childcare providers: after-school clubs (a fall from 32% to 28%), breakfast clubs (a fall from 8% to 6%), day nurseries (a fall from 9% to 6%), playgroups (a fall from 5% to 3%), and childminders (a fall from 5% to 3%).
Turning to families containing pre-school children (aged 0 to 4), the use of formal childcare fell from 76% in 2019 (the most recent comparable wave), to 73% in 2021. The fall was attributable to lower use of playgroups and pre-schools (a fall from 8% to 6%) and day nurseries (a fall from 22% to 13%).
Among families containing school-age children (aged 5 to 14), the use of formal childcare fell from 60% in 2018, to 52% in 2021.
Use of formal childcare among children
Just over two in five (44%) children aged 0 to 14 received formal childcare in 2021 (Accompanying Table 1.6), a fall from 52% in 2018.
Among pre-school children, 59% received formal childcare, down from 64% in 2019, and among school-age children, 39% received formal childcare, down from 47% in 2018.
Just under two in five (36%) children aged 0 to 2 received formal childcare, a fall from 41% in 2019 (Accompanying Table 1.6). Children aged 0 to 2 were most likely to receive formal childcare from day nurseries (15%), followed by nursery schools (13%) and childminders (4%).
Over four in five (83%) children aged 3 to 4 received formal childcare, a fall from 89% in 2019 (Accompanying Table 1.6). Children aged 3 to 4 were most likely to receive formal childcare from reception classes (23%), nursery schools (22%), nursery classes (15%), and day nurseries (12%).
Pre-school children in receipt of formal childcare spent a median of 22.0 hours a week in formal childcare (Accompanying Table 1.7), up from 19.0 hours in 2019. The length of time spent in formal childcare rose with age: children aged 0 to 2 receiving formal childcare spent 17.0 hours a week in formal childcare (unchanged since 2019), while children aged 3 to 4 who received formal childcare spent 27.0 hours a week in formal childcare (up from 21.0 hours in 2019). The increase in hours of formal childcare among 3 to 4 year olds from 2019 can be explained by fieldwork timing for 2021, in the first half of the academic year when there was a higher proportion of 4 year olds in reception classes.
The characteristics associated with children’s likelihood of receiving formal childcare included:
- The child’s age: children aged 3 to 4 were most likely to receive formal childcare (83%) while children aged 12 to 14 were least likely to (25%) (Accompanying Table 1.6);
- The deprivation level of the local area: 56% of children living in the least deprived areas received formal childcare, compared to 35% of children living in the most deprived areas (Accompanying Table 1.3);
- The family’s (gross) annual income: 57% of children in families earning £45,000 or more received formal childcare, compared to 30% of those in families earning under £10,000 (Accompanying Table 1.3);
- The family structure and work status: children in dual-working couple families (54%), and in working lone-parent families (42%), were most likely to receive formal childcare. Children in couple families with neither parent in work (22%), and in non-working lone-parent families (30%) were least likely to receive formal childcare (Accompanying Table 1.3).
Use of informal childcare among children
Just over two in five (22%) children used informal childcare in 2021 (Accompanying Table 1.6), a decline from 2018 (28%).
Pre-school children were more likely to use informal childcare than school-age children (27% and 20% respectively). Childcare use has declined in both age groups since 2018 (from 32% among pre-school children and 26% among school-age children in 2018).
Children were most likely to receive informal childcare from grandparents (17%, in line with 18% in 2018), with small proportions of children being cared for by friends or neighbours (2%, a fall from 4% in 2018), and older siblings (2%, a fall from 3% in 2018). Among pre-school children 24% were cared for by grandparents (a fall from 29% in 2019), and among school-age children 14% were cared for by grandparents (in line with 15% in 2018).
Children who received informal childcare spent a median of 6.6 hours a week in informal childcare (Accompanying Table 1.7). Pre-school children receiving informal childcare spent longer in informal childcare than their school-age counterparts (9.0 hours and 5.0 hours respectively).
Use of holiday childcare among school-age children
Around two in five (39%) families with school-age children used childcare during school holidays (Accompanying Table 7.1), in line with 2018 (38%). Just under one in five (18%) families used formal childcare during school holidays, a fall from 21% in 2018. A quarter (25%) of families used informal childcare during school holidays, in line with 2018 (27%).
Almost three in five (58%) parents of school-age children who worked during school holidays said it was easy or very easy to arrange childcare during the holiday periods, unchanged since 2017 when this question was last asked (Accompanying Table 7.12). Around a quarter (24%) reported that it was difficult or very difficult to arrange childcare during the school holidays, in line with 2017 (25%). Those who experienced difficulties arranging holiday childcare most commonly said this was due to family or friends not always being available to help (44%), or because they found it difficult to afford holiday childcare (42%), which was not statistically significantly different from 2017 (35%) (Accompanying Table 7.13). Only 3% gave reasons explicitly relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among families with school-age children who did not use holiday childcare, over half (52%) said this was because they preferred to look after their children themselves, 26% said it was because they (or their partner) was at home during the school holidays, and 23% said they rarely needed to be away from their children (Accompanying Table 7.14). Only 6% gave reasons explicitly relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reasons for using childcare
Around seven in ten (71%) pre-school children who received childcare (formal or informal) did so for economic reasons (e.g. to enable their parents to work, to look for work, or to study), and 61% received childcare for child-related reasons (e.g. for the child’s educational or social development, or because the child likes attending) (Accompanying Table 9.10). Reasons relating to parental time (e.g. so the parents could conduct domestic activities, socialise, or look after other children) were less common (20%). These proportions are in line with 2019 (69%, 59%, and 20% respectively).
By annual family income, over four in five (83%) pre-school children in families earning £45,000 or more who received childcare did so for economic reasons, falling to 44% of pre-school children in families earning under £10,000. This pattern was reversed with respect to reasons relating to parental-time: 16% of pre-school children in families earning £45,000 or more received childcare for reasons relating to parental time, rising to 33% among those earning under £10,000. Pre-school children’s receipt of childcare for child-related reasons varied less markedly by income, rising from 52% for pre-school children in families earning under £10,000, to 68% among families earning between £30,000 and £45,000, then falling back to 60% among families earning £45,000 or more.
School-age children were most likely to receive childcare for child-related reasons (64%, in line with 67% in 2018), followed by economic reasons (55%, in line with 54% in 2018), with reasons relating to parental time again being less common (16%, in line with 15% in 2018) (Accompanying Table 10.6).
Reflecting the trends by annual family income just described for pre-school children, school-age children in families earning £45,000 or more were most likely to receive childcare for economic reasons (62%, falling to 39% among pre-school children in families earning under £10,000), and were least likely to receive childcare for reasons relating to parental time (12%, rising to 25% among school-age children in families earning under £10,000). School-age children’s receipt of childcare for child-related reasons did not vary across the income distribution.
Parents considered a range of factors when choosing a formal childcare provider for their child. For pre-school children, the most common factors were the provider’s reputation (63%, a rise from 57% in 2019), convenience (62%, unchanged since 2019), and so the child could mix with other children (56%, a rise from 50% in 2019) (Accompanying Table 6.1). For school-age children, the most common reasons were convenience (48%, in line with 46% in 2018), the provider’s reputation (43%, a rise from 38% in 2018), and concerns relating to the kind of care provided (38%, a rise from 33% in 2018) (Accompanying Table 6.1).
Parents who had not used any childcare in the past year (neither formal nor informal) tended not to use childcare out of choice, rather than due to constraints. Almost three in five (58%) parents who were not using childcare said this was because they would rather look after their child(ren) themselves and 25% said it was because their children are old enough to look after themselves, which are both in line with 2018 (63% and 25%, respectively). A further 26% said it was because they rarely need to be away from their children, an increase from 2018 (11%) ( Accompanying Table 5.2). Only 10% said it was because they could not afford childcare, which is in line with 2018 (9%), and only 2% mentioned reasons relating to COVID-19.
There were some differences by the age of the children in the family. A higher percentage of families that contained only pre-school children said that they would rather look after their children themselves than those families that just had school age children (67% compared to 54%) and families with younger children were less likely to be able to afford childcare than those with only school age children (14% compared to 9%).
Changes to local childcare provision
Parents were asked what changes to local childcare provision, if any, would be most helpful for making it better suited to their needs. Parents were most likely to say more affordable childcare (31%, a rise from 26% in 2018), more childcare available during the school holidays (20%, in line with 19% in 2018), more flexibility about when childcare is available (14%, a rise from 12% in 2018), longer opening hours (14%, in line with 15% in 2018), and more information about what’s available (14%, unchanged from 2018) (Accompanying Table 5.15).
There were some differences by age of the children within the family. A higher percentage of families who only had pre-school children, compared to those who only had school-age children, cited more affordable childcare (40% compared to 26%) and more flexibility about when childcare is available (17% compared to 13%). However, a lower percentage of families with only pre-school children said that they wanted more childcare available during the school holidays, compared to those who only had school-age children (15% compared to 21%).
Parents who wanted to see improvements made to local childcare provision were asked at which times of the year improvements should be made in order to meet their needs. Parents were most likely to say in the Summer holidays (62%, in line with 65% in 2018), followed by during half-term holidays (37%, in line with 36% in 2018), in the Easter holidays (35%, in line with 34% in 2018), on weekdays during term time (32%, down from 36% in 2018), and in the Christmas holidays (30%, in line with 29% in 2018) (Accompanying Table 5.14).
There were differences by age of the children in the family. Families who had school age children only were more likely to say they wanted to see improvements to provision in all the school holidays compared to those who only had pre-school children.