Tackling child poverty delivery plan 2022-2026 - annex 5: impact of policies on child poverty

Early Learning and Childcare (ELC), school age childcare and holiday childcare

To build on the expanded universally accessible offer of 1140 hours of high quality ELC to realise outcomes for children and their families long-term. Both funded ELC and the new school age childcare offer will make a contribution to child poverty through their impact on household finances and through help to support parents into employment.

• Income from employment
• Costs of living

Enhanced life chances (e.g. health, wellbeing, capabilities, longer term goals)

Potential size of impact

With the increase to 1140 hours of funded ELC, eligible households currently save up to £4,900 per child per year. It is estimated that around a quarter of children eligible for the universal ELC offer live in relative poverty.

Type of impact

Direct impact through reducing costs of living. Indirect impact on boosting income from employment.

Certainty of impact

Childcare policies make a contribution to reducing household costs and are an important enabler for allowing parents to work.

Priority families targeted by policy:

• Lone parents
• 3+ children
• Disabled
• Minority ethnic
• Mothers aged <25

Funded ELC is a universal policy for all three and four year olds and has a targeted element for around a quarter of two year olds (those whose parents are in receipt of certain low or no income benefits; for children in care and; children of parents with care experience). The development of a school age childcare offer will be available for all children, however the commitment that those on the lowest incomes will pay nothing will make a specific contribution to children living in poverty. The 2022 summer holiday programme providing coordinated access to food, childcare and activities is specifically targeted towards children from the priority family groups.

Tracking progress

The 1140 monitoring and evaluation strategy will set out the approach to evaluating the contribution that ELC makes to outcomes around parental employability. The economic evaluation of 1140 is also likely to focus on the impact of the policy on household income and parental employment. Evaluation of the new policy for one and two year olds will be developed alongside the policy design. Monitoring and evaluation plans for the school age childcare offer still require to be developed.