Children's minister Dawn Primarolo said that the pilot schemes, for children aged five to 14, will run for one year and aim to give the Government and local authorities a better understanding of what works best for parents during the holidays.
Supported by charity 4Children, the DCSF will work with the 19 local authorities to help improve awareness of provision, increase take-up and improve strategic management and co-ordination.
The pilot authorities are Darlington, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockport, Warrington, Calderdale, Rotherham, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Shropshire, Telford, Walsall, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Portsmouth, Bristol, Cornwall, Ealing, Lambeth and Sutton.
Lee Partner, director of holiday and after-school club provider KOOSA Kids, said, 'I would support any extra funding to support holiday activities that ultimately make it more affordable and flexible for parents. However, it would be useful to see how local authorities intend to use the money and if it is genuinely intended to be made available for the long term. There is always the danger when you provide short-term financial support, that when the support is taken away, the fees naturally return to their original sustainable levels and the parents you attracted with the lower fees can once again no longer afford to use the care.'
Catherine Wrench, co-founder of the Out of School Alliance, said, 'We welcome this initiative, which could provide a much needed boost to holiday childcare schemes, and we hope it will lead to an improvement in delivery of holiday care at the grassroots level. However, it should be seen in the context of the Government's recently announced plan to cut £100m from the budget for extended services, which includes holiday clubs.'
The National Childminding Association said it was important that childminders be included in the holiday childcare pilots.
Ian Marratt, director of communications, said, ‘The majority of registered childminders already provide childcare throughout the school holidays and before and after school.
‘It is important, within these funded pilot areas, that the role of registered childminders in providing holiday care is recognised.
Childminders are also ideally placed to provide childcare for disabled children, as they often have smaller numbers of children and can cater for individual needs. We look forward to hearing more details about these pilots and hope that home-based childcare is included in the plans. This will enable parents to have the full choice of quality childcare during the school holidays.’
