Extra time

While the Government urges employers to introduce 'family-friendly'

policies for an acceptable balance between work and home life, evidence from a new report suggests that more people are working unsocial hours than ever before and face increasingly difficult childcare dilemmas.

Around the Clock: Childcare services at atypical times, by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), looks at the growth of the 24-hour society in Britain and examines the sparse childcare options as 'more people are now working outside the standard nine-to-five day, Monday to Friday, than are working solely within it'. But it also highlights some innovative initiatives which are battling to close this particular childcare gap.

Co-authors June Statham and Ann Mooney, senior researcher officers at London's Thomas Coram Research Unit, surveyed early years partnerships, six major childcare organisations and a range of other childcare providers.

Of the 150 EYDCPs approached, 114 responded. Asked if demand for atypical hours childcare was being met, only two thought it was, 70 per cent said only partly, and 18 per cent said not at all.

Previous JRF studies have found that the burden of working unsocial hours falls mostly on those in lower socio-economic groups. In 2002 the National Centre for Social Research revealed that 21 per cent of mothers and 41 per cent of fathers started work between 6.30am and 8.30am, while 25 per cent of mothers and 45 per cent of fathers worked between 5.30pm and 8.30pm.

Fifty-four per cent of lone parents worked unsocial hours.

One in seven mothers and one in six fathers worked night shifts, while four out of ten mothers and more than half of all fathers worked at least one Saturday a month. A quarter of mothers and just under a third of fathers worked at least one Sunday a month. This included 18 per cent of mothers and 22 per cent of fathers who worked both weekend days.

This latest report says those in lower socio-economic groups are 'more likely than those in professional jobs to feel that they had no choice other than to work atypical hours'.

They can draw little comfort from the legislation introduced in April giving employees with children aged under six the right to 'ask' their employers if they can work flexible hours. Employers are obliged to consider any request 'seriously', but they still do not have to agree to flexible working.

No providers of group childcare surveyed by JRF offered care before 6.45am or after 9pm. Childminders supplied most atypical hours care, with half taking children before 8am and nearly a quarter providing care after 6pm.

But nine out of ten childminders felt that working untypical hours would be unfair on their own families. Around one in three of both day nurseries and out-of-school services took children before 8am, and one in ten kept them after 6pm.

Supply and demand

Though more parents are forced to work unsocial hours, the demand for atypical hours childcare is curiously patchy. Only 10 per cent of EYDCPs reported a 'significant' demand. 'You have to build up a demand for this service before it can be developed. A lot of parents don't inquire about these services because they don't think it's a possibility,' says June Statham.

Jane Griffiths, manager of Bristol Children's Information Service, says, 'We get some requests for this type of care, but not loads, and I believe if the demand was there we could meet it.' The CIS works with NHS childcare co-ordinators and JobCentre Plus. With the Single Parent Action Network (SPAN) it is aiming to set up a home-based childcare service, similar to 'sitter' services developed in Scotland.

Ann McKenzie ran the pilot Dundee sitter service and is now national development officer for sitter services funded by the Scottish Executive.

Sitter services in Dundee and North Lanarkshire have proved a viable childcare option for those working unsocial hours and they will be set up in other areas, she says. 'Sitter services, which involve someone looking after children in the family home, are particularly useful for parents who have to leave home at 6am and don't want to wake children and take them somewhere to be minded at that hour.'

The Scottish sitter services are a template for the Bradford Community Nanny Scheme in West Yorkshire, created by the local EYDCP and lone-parent charity Gingerbread. Seven community nannies, all qualified nursery nurses, care for children in the homes of lone parents who may be working non-standard hours, studying or in need of respite care. The respite care is free, and other charges are on a sliding scale of between 75 pence and 6 an hour.

As June Statham suggests, for atypical hours services to succeed, people need to know about them. Most demand comes from the NHS, police, fire and prison services and groups of workers in call centres, the media and the transport sector, says the JRF report. Childminders in the south-west have created a network linked to the Avon and Somerset Police Constabulary to offer care outside normal hours. Network development co-ordinator Wendy Jackson says its childminders have to participate in the 'children come first' quality assurance scheme administered by the National Childminding Association. They need additional registration to provide overnight care.

No place like home

Private day nurseries, on the other hand, seem reluctant to get involved in atypical hours care. Niche operations near airports or for staff in NHS trusts may prove viable, says Martin Pace, a director of Wimbledon-based Dolphin Nurseries, but private nursery operators 'should stick to their knitting'. The route to sustainability is daycare during standard hours, he insists.

Stewart Pickering, a director of Kidsunlimited, agrees. 'We have considered opening until 9pm, but we have found that while parents initially showed some interest, the demand fell away,' he says. The chain would open on Saturdays if there was demand, 'because that would certainly stack up financially'.

But he thinks parents prefer to have their children cared for in a home environment if they have to work late, a view echoed by the National Day Nurseries Association, which was also consulted by JRF.

NDNA chief executive Rosemary Murphy says, 'The needs of the child must be paramount. We would have reservations about a widespread move to extended-hours childcare. Rather than extending hours, we need to educate employers and empower working parents.' Family-friendly hours are the association's preferred option.

The JRF report suggests that networks of childminders who do not have their own children at home may be best placed to provide an atypical hours service. The home childcarers scheme, given a lacklustre launch earlier this year, would certainly help those working unsocial hours, as it allows childminders to come to the child's own home.

In an ideal world, an appropriate work-life balance would reduce the need for out-of-hours childcare, though there will always be some workers, such as those in the health service or at airports, who cannot alter their working hours much. Its ultimate success also depends on childcare providers finding staff willing to work the unsocial hours. New types of service, such as the community nanny, childminding network or sitter options, could be the solution.

Whatever happens, the JRFreport concludes, childcare outside standard hours should not be regarded 'merely as something to bolt on to existing services'. Instead, it should be tackled as part of the process of integrating services now being developed through the Neighbourhood Nurseries initiative, Sure Start and the programme proposed for children's centres.

GOOD PRACTICE

Healthy option for hospital staff

* The Abacus Children's Centre at the University Hospital in Lewisham, south London, cares for six children of employees on shift work, although it could accept up to 12 children aged from three months to 12 years. It was created a year ago by the local NHS trust with funding through the NHS Childcare Strategy.

'The scheme is designed to help with retention of staff, particularly those working outside normal hours,' says deputy manager Coral Hayes. 'We are making progress, but it's still slow.' The centre operates standard hours of 7am to 6pm every weekday and offers evening sessions from 6pm to 10pm.

An NHS childcare co-ordinator works with hospital managers and holds surgeries with employees to develop childcare strategies which can include care at the centre or in the wider community. The service is available to all NHS grades and may eventually open to users outside the hospital.

Flying high at Gatwick

* The Cranbrook Group's nursery near Gatwick airport in Sussex has been providing overnight and weekend care for the children of pilots, flight attendants and other airport shiftworkers for the past eight years.

The Farmhouse at Charlwood accommodates up to 48 children. Director Cabby Luxford says, 'The care is relative to the individual needs of the child.

There is no set formula. We have to take account of their age, whether they are coming with their brothers and sisters, and their sleep patterns.'

She says that, while successful, the nursery is hard to run because of organising staff rosters to ensure continuity for the children. 'These are also unusual hours for our staff,' she adds.