Nursery World - Childcare is scarce for special needs

Nearly half a million children with disabilities and special needs are missing out on a childcare places, according to a report published last week by the childcare charity Daycare Trust. The report, Ambitious for All, said parents of disabled children found it almost impossible to access childcare, with the result that they were unable to work, study or train. Meanwhile, the children missed out on education and social benefits.

The report, Ambitious for All, said parents of disabled children found it almost impossible to access childcare, with the result that they were unable to work, study or train. Meanwhile, the children missed out on education and social benefits.

The report called for more inclusive approach and suggested that access to childcare was critical in enabling these families to escape poverty. Families with disabled children were particularly likely to have low incomes and to be headed by a lone parent, while they faced high living costs and high levels of unemployment. They suffered from shortage of appropriate childcare and prohibitive costs.

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