Childcare sufficiency assessment
Contact officer: Jan Gallagher, principal officer, Childcare and Families' Information service, Sure Start
Tel: 0151 225 4906
Email: Jan.Gallagher@liverpool.gov.uk
Start date: 1 October 2007
End date: 31 March 2008
Purpose of the exercise:
Section 11 of the Childcare Act 2006 introduced a duty for all local authorities to conduct a regular sufficiency assessment at least once every three years. This duty comes into force during 2007, and Liverpool's assessment will be conducted in 2007/08 and published in 2008.
This consultation exercise will focus on identifying sufficiency, affordability and accessibility of day care provision, including out of school provision. The consultation will also examine whether the current provision meets the demands of working parents, or parents wanting to work and identify any gaps.
Who will be consulted and how:
The sufficiency assessment will collate the views of:
- parents/carers
- children
- employers
- other stakeholders
Consultation with parents/carers is taking place through participating schools and all children's centres. If you are a parent/carer of a child, or children, aged 0 to 18 years, and wish to take part in this consultation, please download the survey and return it to your local children's centre or school. Alternatively you can post it to Liverpool City Council, Marketing Research, Municipal Buildings, Dale Street, Liverpool L2 2DH
Download the survey for parents/carers![(PDF [78.3Kb] opens in new window)](/images/PDF.gif)
The views of employers will be collected via a questionnaire that will be distributed through BusinessLiverpool or by the completion of this online form
Who will the results of the exercise be reported to:
The results of the exercise will be reported to the executive board and fed into the childcare sufficiency assessment. The draft document will go out to consultation in April 2008.
What were the findings of the exercise:
The respondents to the consultation generally agreed with the council's assessment of provision as outlined in the childcare sufficiency assessment. It was also mentioned that the assessment document is very complex and can be difficult to understand, unless the reader is very clear about its objectives and findings.
What are the changes to the service brought about as a result of the consultation:
The childcare sufficiency statement is being redesigned into a user-friendly summary version for wide distribution. The assessment identified the need for the city to develop childcare provision for 0 - 2-year-olds, and to reduce surplus provision for 3 - 4-year-olds. It also made clear the need to develop additional holiday provision, and to consier the needs of children with special educational needs or a disability. and to address affordability issues. An action plan is being prepared to clearly outline development plans and actions in order to meet the needs identified by the sufficiency assessment. This will be published alongside the user-friendly version of the assessment.
For further information visit the childcare assessment web page