Background
The amount of financial support available to parents, in the form of government-funded childcare, is being extended. The new measures will expand the existing system by offering up to 30 funded hours of childcare per week over 38 weeks of the year to children aged 9 months up to 2 years whose parents meet the same income eligibility criteria as applied to the existing 30 hours entitlement for 3- and 4-year-olds.
At the time of the survey (October to December 2024) only the first phase of this expansion - 15 hours of funded childcare per week for eligible parents of 9 month to 2 year old children - had been rolled out. The new entitlements will be offered in full from September 2025.
This pilot Survey asked about:
- parents experiences with applying to access the 15 hours funded childcare hours entitlement for working families,
- using childcare providers in their area for their child who is receiving funded childcare,
- and how parents childcare and employment arrangements work for them and their family.
Introduction
This section provides an overview of the current sample characteristics.
Issued sample
The current cohort consists of a stratified random sample of 39,970 parents who were selected from a base population of 347,894 of customers who:
- had a live Child Benefit claim (ChB);
- had applied for working families’ childcare entitlements between 1st May-31st August 2024 (for their child to start childcare from September 2024).
- had a child claimed for born between 31st August 2021 and 30th November 2023 (i.e. aged 9 months to 2 years at the time of sampling).
The sample were stratified proportionally by regions in England to capture geographical representativeness while ensuring where any labour market effects in the regions most affected by unemployment were identified. To be designed with a higher representation of parents in lower-income areas in mind, a sample boost was applied in regions with high economic inactivity [1] (opens in a new tab), particularly in the northern regions which may be experiencing a shortage of childcare. However, due to participant anonymity during data collection, geographical data was not collected in the current wave. Consequently, the sample was not weighted by economic activity or geographical data in the analysis. This limitation means the findings may not fully represent the broader population, potentially leading to biases in the results. Future waves intend to capture regional distribution and economic activity.
Achieved sample
A total of 6,612 respondents (91% female, 9% male) in England completed the survey between 30th October and 6th December 2024 – a response rate of 17%.
Eligibility
The working families entitlement offer is 15 hours funded childcare for eligible working families from September 2024. This offer is available for children from the term after they turn 9 months old until the term that they turn 3 years old. 6,771 respondents began the survey. 6,612 respondents had received a childcare code for at least one of their children aged 9 months to 2 years to receive 15 hours funded childcare hours under the working family's entitlement. 159 respondents who did not fit this criteria were screened out of the survey or exited the survey before completing the first question.
Household Characteristics
Respondents were asked questions about themselves and their household – including basic information about themselves, and those they live with including children. Results may not equal 100 percent due to rounding.
- 87.7% of respondents reported that there are 2 people over the age of 18 living at their current address.
- 98.2% were living with a partner.
- Families had between 1-9 children (aged 17 years and under) living in their household. 46.1% reported having 2 children (standard deviation = 0.76) at their current address.
- Most of the children in the surveyed households were aged 1 year (22.6%) and 2 years (31.8%).
Children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND)
- There was a small number of respondents reporting they had SEND child/ren living in their household (7%, N=445).
Parents with a disability
- There was a small number of respondents with a disability amongst surveyed households (3.1%, N=200).
- The majority of these respondents (70%, N=140) said their disability does not impact their ability to work.
Parents with caring responsibilities for other people in their household over the age of 18
- There was a small number of respondents with caring responsibilities amongst surveyed households (1.7%, N=101).
- A few respondents viewed their caring responsibilities as a factor influencing their ability to work (26%, N=26).
- Note: bases of no. of parents answering each characteristic question was different, explaining e.g. why 1.7% = 101 for carers but 3.1% = 200 for disabled parent.
Employment status
- At the time of the survey, 40% of respondents were working full-time as an employee, 48% part-time as an employee, and 7% were self-employed or freelance.
- At the time of the survey, 76% of respondents' partners were working full-time as an employee, 8% part-time as an employee, and 15% were self-employed or freelance.
Parents' household annual income (before tax)
- Lowest household income: 5% of respondents had a household income of less than £20,000.
- Lower household income: 14% of respondents had a household income between £20,000-£39,999.
- Middle household income: 25% of respondents had a household income between £40,000-£59,999.
- Middle household income: 27% of respondents had a household income between £60,000-£79,999.
- Higher household income: 20% of respondents had a household income between £80,000-£99,999.
- Highest household income: 10% of respondents had a household income more than £100,000.
Further information
More detailed information, including sample sizes, can be found in additional tables available in the “supporting files” section and the Methodology section of this release.