Childcare and Covid-19: Impacts on opening, child attendance, staffing and income

Childcare and Covid-19 : Impacts on opening, child attendance, staffing and income

The Covid-19 pandemic and accompanying lockdown has presented an enormous challenge to the provision of childcare in England.

Not only has social distancing and safety measures required changes to how care is delivered, but the combinations of instruction for parents to look after their children at home where possible with the request for settings to remain open for children of key workers and vulnerable children raised an almost unique challenge to continue delivery with substantially reduced demand and income.

Working in collaboration with NatCen Social Research, Frontier has analysed survey data collected in the midst of the crisis in July to provide new insights on how providers responded to this challenging situation. The findings indicate substantial adjustments in opening hours and staffing during the lockdown, alongside notable variations in child attendance and losses in income. We also looked at how provision may recover over the coming year.

Some of the key questions we seek to answer in the report include:

  • How did Covid-19 affect childcare in England?
  • How many settings closed or reduced their opening times?
  • How many children still attended childcare?
  • What happened to the workforce?
  • What happened to childcare providers’ income?
  • How confident are providers for 2021?

 

Click the link below to read our full analysis.

Childcare and COVID-19: Impacts on opening, child attendance, staffing and income