Accessing school age childcare in rural and island areas: research

4. Research findings: Insights from parents

Key points

Parents/carers in rural and island areas face several key challenges – availability, cost, transport, and lack of specialist services – in accessing affordable and consistent school age childcare.

This negatively impacts their employment opportunities, causes them to rely on precarious informal arrangements, and creates feelings of guilt and frustration.

To tackle these challenges, it is necessary to address parents' key needs of: flexible childcare, school holiday provision, childcare for children with additional support needs, and childcare for children under 3 years old.

4.1 Introduction

In this chapter we outline the key challenges and needs of parents/carers accessing school age childcare in rural and island areas. Though many of these findings are unique to rural and island areas, some do mirror challenges faced in urban areas.

4.2 Challenges accessing school age childcare

This section explores the primary challenges of accessing school age childcare highlighted by parents in interviews and through the parents' survey.

4.2.1 Gaps in availability

Many parents we spoke to feel there are gaps in available school age childcare offered in rural and island areas. Though this was raised about all types of providers and models, the most common gaps parents highlighted were after school clubs, breakfast clubs, and holiday care.

The most common concerns parents raised around availability were:

1. Opening times and booking models can be inflexible, and often do not fit around parents' work or education.

2. There are no formal wraparound or holiday services in their area, and informal options are too inconsistent to rely on.

3. Childcare options for their younger children are limited, and this impacts access to care for their school age children.

Opening times and flexibility

Parents and carers in rural and island areas are often employed on a seasonal basis, do shift work, and have unreliable or inconsistent schedules. Many parents we spoke to highlighted that the opening times and booking requirements of many services do not align with such working hours and conditions. This was particular true for parents in Shetland and Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles).

As parents in these situations cannot provide advance notice, or guarantee consistent booking, they often have to pay for childcare they do not use, or find alternative arrangements.

"I've used the nursery, and it was a bit stricter about what you could and couldn't book, a minimum of three sessions a week - and I only worked two days a week. I didn't need the third session, which meant that I had to work to pay for my childcare. I was worse off working, using a private nursery." Provider, PRO10

Wraparound care

In areas where they have some provision, but lack wraparound care (such as breakfast and after school clubs), parents still face challenges.

Gaps between the end of school and the start of other activities leave gaps in provision. This can prevent parents fully participating in employment.

To cope with these gaps, some parents we spoke to leave work early to transport their children between school and activities, while others look after their children at their place of work. This is more common in areas where parents rely on informal out of school care provided by clubs and leisure centres.

School holiday care

The majority of parents we spoke to said there are little to no options for school age childcare during the school holidays in their area, and over half of parents who responded to the survey said school holiday provision would increase the accessibility of childcare.

In many areas, the only options are informal sport and outdoor activities, often provided by charities, leisure centres, or day care centres. Parents told us that these activities can have limited spaces, and they found themselves under stress every year trying to secure bookings.

In areas where holiday provision does exist, parents told us that services usually do not cover the entire holiday, and often only run for part of the work day. This is a regular source of stress for parents in these areas, particularly felt by working parents who were unable to take enough time to cover the entire school holiday.

"Holidays are just...I'm already anxious about the summer, you just have this ball of anxiety a lot of the time." Parent, PA03

Many families expressed that they cope with this by taking turns using their annual leave in order to provide childcare themselves. Interviewees stated this can create emotional burdens for parents, as it reduces their time together as a family.

Care for children under 3 years old

Childcare provision for children in early learning settings or that are under 3 years old are outwith the scope of this research. However, a gap many identified, particularly in the survey, was the lack of funded provision for children under 3 years old. This was pointed out as a factor that can indirectly impact access to school age childcare.

For parents of school age children with younger siblings, even where school age childcare is available and accessible, parents may have to limit or stop work, or rely on informal arrangements to meet their childcare needs for both children.

"Currently we struggle to find any childcare for between the ages of 1-2. My daughter has just turned one and I have just started back at work, following my maternity leave. There is no provision for her to be cared for by anyone else but a family member or friend." Parent, survey

Other parents suggested that lack of access to childcare for children under 3 has longer term economic impacts. By the time their children become old enough to access funded childcare, some parents, particularly mothers, will have been out of work for several years. This can limit what employment they can find, or limit their long term career and economic prospects regardless of their access to school age childcare later in their child's life.

These gaps in availability create a great deal of frustration, stress, and worry for parents. Though some expressed that childcare tailored to their family needs would be great, the majority said any childcare options would have a positive impact on their lives.

4.2.2 Cost

Cost was mentioned as a barrier to accessing childcare (both formal and informal activities) by several parents. This particularly affects lower income families, families with multiple children, and those with children who have additional support needs.

"The costs are huge for our local breakfast and after school club and the service isn't even very good. It is the only local option for working parents so we have no other choice." Parent, survey

Cost of childcare combined with low wages in rural areas means some parents are financially worse off working. This was evident in a 2019 report, which found that some families in Scotland were spending the majority of their salaries on childcare.^[26] Though many parents we spoke to saw this as a necessary expense in order to stay in work, some had chosen to stop work altogether in order to provide their own childcare.

4.2.3 Limited transport

Many parents we interviewed see public transport in their area as infrequent, unreliable, or poorly connected, which creates barriers to accessing consistent and affordable childcare. This affects working families, those who have children with additional support needs, those who don't drive, and those who lack informal support networks the most.

"I've considered the bus, but the buses are a bit hit and miss, the timings don't always align with the timings of the classes, you're either too early or too late." Parent, PA06

This is a key issue in many rural areas, where transport needs are 'particularly acute'.^[27] This is primarily due to the greater geographical population spread in rural and island regions, and the associated greater distances many parents have to travel in order to access childcare.

Many parents we spoke to feel as though they have to travel far in order to access childcare, and that distances become greater as more local services shut down or limit their services. Parents who choose to send their children to schools outside their catchment area, which some do in order to access school-offered childcare, may face additional challenges as they are not guaranteed places on school-provided transport.

This lack of consistent public transport means the majority of parents drive to access services. For some, especially those without family and friends to offer support with transport, this creates additional financial barriers to accessing childcare. Some parents cite fuel costs as a barrier, while others would have reduced pay from being forced to leave work early.

Among parents who don't drive, some feel guilty about the impact missing out on activities has on their children.

"My children are socially isolated because we can't afford to drive them to and from evening clubs." Parent, survey

For these reasons, location is a key consideration for parents when choosing childcare. This is reflected in our survey, where parents picked location as the most important factor when selecting childcare.

4.2.4 Lack of options for children with additional support needs

Many parents we spoke to see accessing childcare for children with additional support needs as a 'postcode lottery' (PA12), in relation to whether there will be any local provision, and whether that provision will have staff who are trained and confident looking after children with additional support needs.

"Children with additional support needs, often they are forgotten, and you have to fight all the time, and keep motivated, and keep pushing for those children [to get provision] as well." Parent, PA03

Staff training and good facilities for caring for children with additional needs was a key area many parents feel is lacking in rural and island regions. For example, one parent noted that lack of investment in accessible outdoor spaces is a particular barrier for children with additional support needs to take part in activities outside, which was particularly frustrating given the current focus by the Scottish Government and many local authorities on outdoor play.

Several parents also noted that access to provision for children with additional support needs has become worse since the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which led to many specialist services closing or limiting their offerings.

This gap was also identified in Scotland in 2019: 'Some parents noted that there was very little out of school care locally which provided appropriate support for their child and in some areas parents noted that waiting lists were very long for specialist provision'.^[28] This suggests that this is an ongoing problem, and more support is needed for families who have children with additional support needs to be able to access childcare.

Access to childcare for children with additional support needs is also of key importance to parents. Some parents we spoke to are full time carers for their children, and specialist care gives them the opportunity to spend time with their other children, or have time for themselves.

4.3 The impact of limited availability

4.3.1 Limited employment opportunities

As the availability of a lot of school age childcare provision does not always align with rural and island working patterns, many parents limit their working hours, turn down work, choose employment which offers more flexibility (which is often lower paid), or choose employment which does align with available childcare (such as school work, nursery work, childcare provider work).

Many parents feel the employment choices they have made to cope with a lack of childcare options have limited their career prospects. This causes frustration amongst some parents.

"I feel like my career prospects have really declined since I've had to prioritise the kids." Parent, PA07

Several parents also raised how this impact on employment is felt more by mothers. This finding was previously discussed in 2017, where lack of access to childcare in rural areas was described as part of the 'sticky floor' of daily life which acts as a barrier to women's employment and careers.^[29]

"There [are] very little options as a full time working mum." Parent, survey

Though this was referring to families working in farming and agriculture where family life can be heavily gendered,^[30] a few parents' situations highlighted how this may also be common in remote rural and accessible rural areas, where 3% of those employed work offshore or overseas.^[31] This situation is likely for families in Aberdeenshire, Shetland, and Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles), where it is common to work in the oil and gas industry.

4.3.2 Reliance on informal care

The most common option for parents who cannot access school age childcare is informal arrangements with family and friends. The majority of families rely on grandparents for childcare, though many also rely on older siblings to look after younger children, or leave their children home alone when they are old enough.

Those without family for support rely on an ad-hoc patchwork of other arrangements. These are often informal childcare services such as out of school clubs and activities, favours from friends, or flexible arrangements with employers.

Reliance on informal care, or a patchwork of options, can create stress for many parents who feel as though their childcare arrangements are precarious.

"There's not a lot of slack in our childcare system, the balance of it, everything needs to be working well in order for it all to work. Living where we live and knowing there's not a lot of other options for childcare, always makes me think 'what would I do if something was to go wrong?'" Parent, PA08

Some parents linked this to the fact that several after school care providers in rural areas are charity run and their board members alongside being volunteers might not always have knowledge needed regarding the nature of the business. They are also less likely to have robust contingency plans if service providers are unavailable, which means cancellations can be frequent. Meanwhile, other parents feel that flexible arrangements they have made with their employers (such as leaving early, compressed hours, or working from home on some days) could break down if a manager were to leave or retire and be replaced by someone less accommodating.

Limitations of informal care

Some families living in rural and island areas face additional challenges which create barriers to using informal childcare or social networks for support.

Several parents we spoke to who have children with additional needs feel as though they can't ask friends to look after their children or support them with transport, due to their child's additional support needs.

"My five year old boy is autistic which adds another dimension to everything, including childcare and what's available to him for his needs." Parent, PA09

This can create additional barriers for parents in areas where there is no specialist respite or formal provision, which is often only available in larger urban areas, and even then may be difficult to access due to demand.

As another example, parents or families who work in farming or crofting may not be able to look after their children at home due to the often unsafe conditions of farm life.

4.3.3 Feelings of guilt and frustration

Many parents have an overall sense of frustration about the lack of childcare available to them in rural areas, and frustration towards the accommodations they have to make in order to cope with this. Where parents rely on informal childcare arrangements with family, or take time off work to meet their childcare needs, there is a feeling of guilt or worry of 'taking too much' from friends and family providing childcare, or placing additional pressure on colleagues.

"I feel bad, I'm always apologising for giving them stuff to do on top of their own caseload, and people do understand but you don't always want to feel...or them to think that you're taking advantage." Parent, PA03

4.4 Parents' key needs

The following needs have been identified and should be addressed in order to improve parents' access to school age childcare. They centre on four priority areas: flexible childcare, school holiday provision, childcare for children with additional support needs, and childcare for children under 3 years old.

Flexible childcare

• "As a parent, I need flexible school age childcare so that I can fully participate in employment."
• "As a parent, I need flexible school age childcare so that I can reduce my childcare costs."
• "As a parent, I need flexible school age childcare so that I can ensure my childcare arrangements are stable and reliable."

School holiday provision

• "As a parent, I need childcare over the school holidays so that I can work as normal."
• "As a parent, I need childcare over the school holidays so that I can use my annual leave for time with my family.
• "As a parent, I need childcare over the school holidays so that I can rely on my family less."

Childcare for children with additional support needs

• "As a parent of a child with additional support needs, I need access to well-trained or specialist childcare providers so I know my child is getting a good quality of care."
• "As a parent of a child with additional support needs, I need access to well-trained or specialist childcare providers so I know my child is having the same opportunities as other children."
• "As a parent of a child with additional support needs, I need access to well-trained or specialist childcare providers to give me time to rest."
• "As a parent of a child with additional support needs, I need to be consulted on what my and my child's needs are so that we are properly catered for."

Childcare for children under 3 years old

• "As a parent of more than one child, I need childcare for my children under 3 years old so that I can access childcare for my older children more easily."
• "As a parent of more than one child, I need childcare for my children under 3 years old so that I can stay in work."

4.5 Conclusions

The main challenges parents have accessing affordable and consistent school age childcare are around availability, cost, transport, and lack of specialist services. For some, this negatively impacts their employment opportunities, causes them to rely on precarious informal arrangements, and creates feelings of guilt and frustration.

In order to minimise these challenges and improve access, parents' key needs of flexible childcare, school holiday provision, childcare for children with additional support needs must be addressed. In addition, childcare which meets the needs of parents that also have children under 3 years old would help address the challenges in a more holistic and integrated manner.