The Childcare Affordability Programme (CAP) was launched in London in 2005 to address what mayor Ken Livingstone called a serious lack of affordable childcare in the capital. Now, as it heads towards the end of its £33m funding period at the end of November, a question mark hangs over its future.
As Denise Burke, head of childcare at the London Development Agency, says, 'If the existing mayor is re-elected there will be a commitment to the programme, but neither the Conservative nor Liberal Democrat candidates have made such a pledge yet.'
Providing quality places
The programme represents the largest childcare investment programme designed specifically to address the childcare affordability issue in London.
The key objectives were to:
- Make childcare in London more affordable for lower income families
- Enable parents on lower incomes to remain in, or return to, full- or part-time work and flexible work
- Provide parents with greater access, choice, flexibility and childcare provision.
The programme has aimed to create a total of 10,000 affordable and flexible places for children up to the age of five, through subsidising Ofsted-registered and approved childcare providers. To date, more than 7,000 families have been helped by the programme.
Full daycare providers and accredited childminders who are charging more than £175 a week for a place have had the opportunity to offer up to 50 per cent of their childcare places with CAP subsidies. The subsidy provides up to £30 a week, to bring the cost of each individual place down to £175 a week. These places have only been open to lower income families in receipt of the Child Tax Credit at a rate higher than the family element.
CAP has also made provision for flexible places, designed to help those parents who need childcare outside of the six hours a day, five days a week. A subsidy of up to £68 a week has been offered, depending on the additional hours needed.
Innovative pilots
Phase two of the programme is looking beyond the cost implications of childcare as a barrier to getting into work, and targets families with children up to the age of 14. It is underpinned by four themes:
- Transitions to employment
- Making affordable childcare available to children with special educational needs
- Developing home-based childcare
- Providing emergency childcare.
Denise Burke says, 'This phase of the programme has invited local authorities to deliver innovative pilots, which help people access training and get back into work.
'We wanted to see working across boroughs in order to meet the needs of parents who do not necessarily live and work in the same borough. It's great to see this has been happening.
'Where one London borough takes the lead and others follow, the scheme has been incredibly successful. Across the boroughs, transition to work has been the most successful of element of phase two. At the same time, some boroughs, such as Enfield and Southwark, have been extremely effective in helping families who have children with special educational needs.'
Research highlights that more than 1,400 children are currently being supported as part of phase two and the bulk of these are from families in transit to employment. One of the beauties of the transition-to-work strand is that the full cost of the childcare comes direct from the local authority to the provider, making payment much swifter and easier for them to manage.
Mrs Burke says, 'The programme runs until November this year and we are already feeling there are many aspects of the programme we don't want to stop. The DCSF and the mayor are pleased at how we have been able to support so many parents, and it is in the mayor's manifesto to continue.
'Feedback from parents and providers has helped us to learn a lot since the programme began, and there may be some adjustments made to the programme based on that experience, if it continues. But at the moment we don't know what it is going to happen, so it is a case of "watch this space".'
The local authority view
Brent has provided one of the biggest success stories so far for the Childcare Affordability Programme, securing 76 per cent occupancy in flexible childcare places, offering 332 places and filling 252. Brent's take-up for full-time places was 54 per cent, twice as high as the London average at 23 per cent.
Raymond Whyte, business support officer for Brent Early Years Service, has been right behind the programme from day one.
He says, 'From our viewpoint, the bids represented £1.5m being introduced into the community over three years, and we were determined to make it work.'
Brent spent more than £11,000 out of the General Sure Start Grant on advertising and promoting the programme, with a mix of leafleting, posters, bus advertising and coverage in the councils' Brent Magazine.
'Phase one gathered momentum quickly, with providers seeking out eligible parents,' Mr Whyte says. 'A good relationship with providers has been really important. A lot comes down to trust. Local providers have welcomed the financial input and recognise that it has brought new families into their settings.'
He emphasises that providers were made aware from the start that there were risks as well as benefits involved. 'Settings are paid for the number of places that they bid for, but at the end of the programme, where these are not all filled, the money will be clawed back,' says Mr Whyte. 'Businesses should already be anticipating any money that they have to give back, and making adjustments.'
The provider's view
The CAP programme has been 'moderately' successful for Asquith Day Nurseries, according to the nursery chain's regional director Steve Fairway, with 82 places having been taken up out of the 152 places that were allocated.
He says, 'It has been very successful in the less affluent areas of London, particularly in Enfield, Lambeth and Peckham, where demand outstrips supply. In the more affluent areas we have not seen a huge take-up - in some cases only one out of the ten places awarded has been filled.
'The local authorities put a huge amount of money into getting it started, but since then, promotion has been variable. Overall, much more work could have been done across the board to open this up for the parents it has been intended for.'
But, Mr Fairway adds, 'The scheme is a very good idea. It gives children and parents the ability to choose really high quality childcare. It allows children to play, learn and grow in environments that they may not normally have access to.
'The phase two scheme is being promoted well by Camden, and as a provider it is significantly better that we receive the money direct from the authority, rather than the grant getting mixed up with the parents' other earnings.
'In our view the grant should be extended across all parts of the country at a single rate less than the London allowance. This way the Government's, and ultimately the taxpayer's money is likely to be spent on the children and parents it is designed to help.'
FURTHER INFORMATION: www.lda.org.uk.
