School age childcare: equality impact assessment

4. Key findings - Protected characteristics

This EQIA considers, at a high level, the impact of protected characteristics for users and potential users of school age childcare. It covers parents and carers as well as children. It does not cover the childcare workforce – that will be impact assessed as projects on workforce are taken forward.

The protected characteristics under the Public Sector Equality Duty that the Scottish Government has a duty to consider are: age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. The protected characteristic of marriage and civil partnership was not considered to be in scope of this EQIA.

For each of these protected characteristics, this EQIA assesses at a high level how the Scottish Government is giving due regard to the ‘needs’ of the Public Sector Equality Duty. The ‘needs’ are to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation; advance equality of opportunity; and foster good relations. Our people and place-based approaches to policy development, noted above, mean that as the Programme and individual projects progress, we will continually involve people to understand, and seek to overcome, the barriers they face in accessing or using school age childcare. In doing so, we will seek to involve people across all protected characteristics and will take proactive action where necessary to ensure we seek out the voices of people who share a protected characteristic and might not already use school age childcare or who we know face barriers and inequalities in accessing school age childcare. Our primary method will be through specific design and engagement project work such as the People Panel and Children’s Charter and with the design approach underlining the Programme, which will aim to identify user needs and ensure that these are centred in the design and implementation of the wider programme in line with our commitment to a people-centred and place-based approach.

Some inequalities relate directly to protected characteristics. Others are only indirectly related to protected characteristics, and in those cases we have also drawn out the link where they have relevance to this Programme of work.

4.1 Characteristic: Age

4.1.1 Children

Under the Equality Act 2010, age as a protected characteristic in relation to the provision of services and public functions does not include children or young people. However, it is worth noting that the Programme will particularly target primary school children (age range 4 to 12 years old), and therefore that particular age group, and their parents and carers, will see the most direct positive impact of the Programme.

It is very possible that older school age children may also benefit as school age childcare provision is expanded. Children who access school age childcare when at primary school are also expected to reap the benefits of those experiences as they move on to secondary school and beyond.

Regardless of age, evidence suggests that participation in activities and programmes within childcare settings can have positive impacts on a range of children’s outcomes^[3].

4.1.2 Parents and carers

The Scottish Government does not collect information on the age of parents or carers of children eligible for school age childcare, but this process has sought to identify whether families could face potential barriers to uptake of school age childcare based on the protected characteristic of age.

We did not identify any negative impacts from the School Age Childcare Programme relating to the protected characteristics of age for parents and carers. It is likely that the Programme may have a positive impact for young mothers in particular.

Families with a young mother (under 25) is one of the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan six priority family types which are being targeted by the Programme. These young mothers are more likely than other priority groups to be in poverty despite paid work or to be on benefits, and the generosity of benefits for under 25s is lower than for older age groups^[4]. Furthermore, a considerable proportion of young mothers are also a) lone parents, and/or b) have babies under one, and/or c) are part of a disabled family, all of which are further priority family types. Intersectionality – particularly age, sex, disability and lone parent status - is evidently a consideration here.

The Tackling child poverty delivery plan 2022-2026 evidence review associated with the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan concluded that making paid work an option is likely to positively impact on specific issues faced by young mothers, and that flexible and affordable childcare is an important part of this. The intention is that school age childcare provides a childcare infrastructure to, as part of a wider support package, allow young mothers with school age children to secure paid work, and/or^[5] study. These young parents and their families are likely to be particularly positively impacted by the School Age Childcare Programme.

4.1.3 Summary: Age

Our analysis of the evidence we have gathered through our early policy development work, including engagement with parents through the People Panel and tests of change that we have funded, along with our learnings from the tackling child poverty programme of work and its evidence base with regard age, specifically young people, shows that this programme may particularly positively affect young parents. It will do this by targeting them as a family type at risk of poverty, and by addressing the barriers, not least affordability and frequently single parent status, which they currently face accessing school age childcare. This will mean young parents will have some release from the constant demands of caring for their children, leaving them open to pursue opportunities to improve their own life chances and wellbeing, thus advancing equality of opportunity which is not currently available to many of them. It may also have a positive effect in fostering good relations by helping them integrate with parents of different ages using the same childcare systems either directly, or through the relationships between children attending the school age childcare service.

4.2 Characteristic: Disability

Families with a disabled adult or child are one of the six priority family types in Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan and Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022-2026 Annex 6 evidences that children in families with at least one disabled adult or child account for over two-fifths (42%) of all children in relative poverty and 30% of children in households with a disabled adult or child were also in a lone parent household. We also know that 2.8% of school age children are recorded as assessed or declared as having a disability (see under ‘children’ below). We do not routinely collect data about disability for parents or carers, or for children, using school age childcare but we have sought to identify whether families could face potential barriers to uptake of school age childcare based on disability.

We know from our policy development to date that more needs to be done within school age childcare settings to improve the experiences of these children and young people and their families. Further, through our work to develop a Children’s Charter, children themselves identified the need to ensure that activities were accessible to disabled children and that services and staff understand the needs and experiences of both disabled children and children living with disabled family members.

We did not identify any negative impacts from the School Age Childcare Programme relating to the protected characteristics of disability for children or parents and carers. It is likely that the Programme will have a positive impact for those with a disability, or with a health need which requires a child to need additional support before and after school.

4.2.1 Children

Accessing school age childcare can be challenging for families with children with disabilities and/or additional support needs across Scotland. This is evidenced in the out of school care consultation responses analysis in 2020 and in the Review of additional support for learning implementation: report 2020. The consultation analysis also showed the challenges the school age childcare sector face in providing diverse and sustainable services for these families, particularly those with children who have complex additional support needs. We continue to hear these concerns from providers in the sector and from parents.

A 2020 report commissioned by Shared Care Scotland on holiday activity provision for disabled children and young people in Scotland, found that disabled children and young people face significant isolation from their peers during the holiday period. It reported that where holiday activity provision is available, it plays a vital role in supporting both child and parental health and wellbeing and has a disproportionately powerful impact on the lives of disabled children and their families. This can be extremely positive when the system is working well, but problematic when it does not. The report included other examples of challenges accessing provision.

Statistics show around 2.8% of all school pupils are assessed or declared as having a disability^[6] (1.4% of primary pupils) and so we know this is an important consideration when designing a school age childcare system. We also know that 34.2% of all school pupils (28.3% for primary school pupils) were recorded as having an additional support need (ASN) in 2022 statistics^[7] and will require additional support in school to reach their full potential. Many of these children and young people may need additional support because of a disability or health need (but not all children with a disability will need additional support). The amount of support these children with ASN or a disability will need to help them in school, and possibly to access or attend school age childcare services, will vary considerably. Some with complex needs may need significant levels of support from a specialist provider, while others will be able to engage in school age childcare with minimum, if any, additional support required.

Many others are recorded as having additional support needs which arise out of barriers related to other protected characteristics. For example, where support is required because English is an additional language for a child, this might relate to their ethnicity.^[8]

As a result of the challenges we identified during our early policy development work, we have supported, and are supporting, school age childcare projects aimed at children with additional support needs, including those with needs related to a disability or health need. For example, over the period 2020-2022, several of the fifteen Access to Childcare Fund (see Access to Childcare Fund evaluation report 2022 and the School Age Childcare in Scotland Progress Report 2021) projects used their funding to support the inclusion of children with ASN in their services^[9]. We are continuing to fund two services that specialise in childcare for children with disabilities and complex additional support needs. And through our range of community tests of change work currently underway, including our Early Adopter Communities work, we are funding services that specifically support families with a child with a disability or an additional support need, supporting co-design with children and families. The Access to Childcare Fund Phase 2: Evaluation Report, 2023, explains more about the features of projects which have helped in delivering childcare that is accessible to those target families attending them.

4.2.2 Parents and carers/ families

Compared to non-disabled parents, disabled parents are far less likely to be employed, and those who are employed tend to work less hours.^[10] While health needs or caring responsibilities mean that employment is not a realistic option for all parents in families where they and/or someone else is disabled, many who are not currently in employment would like to be. The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan concluded that it was likely that offsetting additional living costs through, for example, non-means tested benefits, greater investment in children’s benefits, and stability combined with flexibility in work, care, support and income packages could be to be key to supporting families with a disabled adult or child, and for families with children of school age, school age childcare will have a key role here in addressing inequalities.

Importantly too, evidence from school age childcare projects shows that school age childcare can improve the quality of life for families with children with complex additional support needs. When children are at after school or holiday clubs, parents/carers and families have time for respite, work, study or care of other siblings^[11].

We will continue to review inequalities in access to a range of activities for children with disabilities and/or additional support needs and look at how, for example through tests of change, school age childcare can reduce and proactively promote information, advice and available support, to reach positive outcomes for children and their families.

4.2.3 Summary: Disability

Our analysis of the evidence we have gathered, from the Tackling Child Poverty work, our consultation, research, tests of change and other sources, shows that accessing school age childcare can be particularly challenging for families with children with disabilities and/or additional support needs, and that children in families with at least one disabled adult or child account for over two-fifths (42%) of children in relative poverty. The targeted approach of the Programme means it is likely to have a particularly positive impact for families with a disabled child of school age, or for families with a disabled adult and school age children, and our co-design and people-centred and place-based approaches will enable provision which meets their needs. Our tests of change to date have shown us that by developing services which meet the particular and specialist needs of these families, the Programme is advancing equality of opportunity for disabled children and families who otherwise are currently not able to use, or afford, existing school age childcare services and so miss out on activities and experiences and the many benefits, such as friendship, which come from them. Communities which are able to provide school age childcare for disabled children, or children with other support needs, alongside provision for children who do not share the characteristic, open the opportunity to develop good relations, particularly between children. This is important learning to take into account in our policy development.

4.3 Characteristics: Gender reassignment and sexual orientation

The Scottish Government does not collect data on gender reassignment or sexual orientation for school children of any age, or for parents and carers using school age childcare. We did not identify any negative impacts from the School Age Childcare Programme relating to the protected characteristics of gender reassignment and sexual orientation of children or parents and carers. It is likely that the Programme will have a positive impact for people who share these protected characteristics as the Programme does not depend on a person's gender reassignment or sexual orientation and it is intended that it has a positive effect overall.

4.3.1 Children

Under the Equality Act 2010 a person (in this particular context a young person) has the protected characteristic of gender reassignment^[12] if they propose to undergo, are undergoing or have undergone any part of a process for the purpose of reassigning their sex. The Scottish Government guidance Supporting Transgender Pupils In Schools: Guidance for Scottish Schools explains that recognition and development of gender identity can occur at a young age.

The guidance explains that some young people are exploring their gender identity in primary school settings and that primary schools need to be able to meet the needs of these young people to ensure they have a safe, inclusive and respectful environment in which to learn. It follows that some children attending school age childcare may be exploring their gender identity. Through the School Age Childcare Programme, we have the opportunity to explore how to support equality for transgender pupils in a new school age childcare system, and to ensure that, like schools, school age childcare offers safe, inclusive, supportive and respectful settings and experiences for children.

There is also much that we can learn from the experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI, or previously LGBT) school age children, in primary and secondary schools as we develop school age childcare policy. For example, a Stonewall resource, covering primary and secondary school age children across Britain, reported that 45% of lesbian, gay, bi and trans pupils are bullied for being LGBT at school - the figure was 64% for trans pupils - and 52% of LGBT pupils hear homophobic language ‘frequently’ or ‘often’ at school^[13]. More recently, LGBT Youth Scotland published their Education Report 2023 (following their Life in Scotland for LGBT Young People 2022 research) which made recommendations for change to improve the experiences and outcomes of LGBT children and young people in Scotland’s education system. A recent British Psychological Society article^[14] reported on research^[15] which showed that transgender children in the UK face discrimination even at primary school level. Also, given that sports activities can be a key feature in school age childcare provision, when developing policy we need to be mindful that research across the EU shows that transphobic behaviours and attitudes have a negative impact on trans people participating in sport^[16], and that Stonewall found that one in seven LGBT pupils (14%) in their Britain-wide research are bullied in sports lessons.^[17]

4.3.2 Parents and carers

The School Age Childcare Programme presents an opportunity to promote good relations between parents and carers of different sexual orientations or different gender identities, and their children, by ensuring school age childcare services are inclusive and meet the needs of diverse family types. This will be reflected in our people-centred approach, which will ensure that services can accommodate a wide range of family circumstances.

4.3.3 Summary: Gender reassignment and sexual orientation

We have a limited evidence base to assess the extent to which the policy will impact people who share these protected characteristics. However, the Programme does not depend on a person's gender reassignment or sexual orientation and the intention is that the Programme will have a positive effect overall for all families. If as we progress through the policy making process, particular barriers to access to school age childcare are identified as arising from gender reassignment or sexual orientation these will be addressed with the intention of eliminating discrimination and advancing equality of opportunity and so it is likely that the Programme will have a positive impact for people who share these protected characteristics. Also, by ensuring services are inclusive, the Programme could have a positive effect in fostering good relations between parents of all sexual orientations and regardless of gender reassignment, as well as children, as they use the same school age childcare services.

4.4 Characteristic: Pregnancy and Maternity

This protected characteristic was not considered to be in scope for this EQIA with respect to children - only on an extremely rare occasion would a child using school age childcare be pregnant.

We did not identify any negative impacts from the School Age Childcare Programme relating to the protected characteristic. It is likely that the Programme will have a positive impact for parents and carers who previously were adversely impacted during periods of pregnancy or maternity leave.

4.4.1 Parents and carers

We do not collect information on pregnancy or maternity for parents or carers using school age childcare, but this process sought to identify whether families could face potential barriers to uptake of school age childcare based on this protected characteristic. See also ‘Sex’ below.

Our understanding from engagement with parents through our consultation and the People Panel, is that parents can face challenges related to childcare provision, including school age childcare, at key touchpoints, including during pregnancy and during maternity leave. To enable return to work after maternity leave, a job and childcare, including school age childcare for older siblings, needs to be in place^[18]. While early years provision was seen as predictable and stable, and something which could be planned around, school age childcare for older children in the family was not. Parents, more often mothers, with new babies and school age children, could fall out of employment where they could not find reliable school age childcare.

4.4.2 Summary: Pregnancy and Maternity

A school age childcare system is likely to have a particularly positive impact for parents (mostly women) returning to work or study after pregnancy and maternity leave. This is because it will make available reliable and dependable childcare for school age children which is flexible and responsive enough to fit around job opportunities and changing family circumstances, thus supporting parents after maternity leave. In that way it can help advance equality of opportunities for this group, for example in access to job and study opportunities, should they want to take them. A further benefit for children is that where parents benefit from funded school age childcare, they will be less inclined to give it up during maternity leave and so their children can continue to benefit from school age childcare experiences advancing their equality of opportunity.

4.5 Characteristic: Race

As with other protected characteristics, there is no obligation for parents to declare their race when using school age childcare services, or share that data about their children, and so gathering data on race in respect of school age childcare services is not easy.

Minority ethnic families are one of the six priority family types in the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan. Through our policy work to date and from evidence gathered in the Scottish Government’s tackling child poverty work and other research and reports, we are seeing some of the issues and barriers related to childcare facing families and children from minority ethnic groups. To date, minority ethnic families have been underrepresented in our engagement work which is consistent with under-representation of these families in relation to childcare provision generally. We recognise that further work is needed to engage with minority ethnic communities to develop trust and reassurance that they are being listened to and that their needs in relation to childcare policy will inform the development of policy.

Around 79% of primary school pupils in Scotland’s schools are recorded as ‘White – Scottish’, or ‘White – Other British’, with the remainder identifying with another ethnicity or ‘not known’ or ‘not disclosed’^[19]. Research has found (see 4.5.2 below) a low take-up of childcare among some minority ethnic groups. We consider there is potential to make a positive impact on minority ethnic children and families by developing a more inclusive school age childcare system which recognises, and meets, their needs.

4.5.1 Children

What children want from school age childcare may be influenced by their ethnicity. For example, Active Scotland evidence shows that sport participation rates tend to be markedly lower amongst non-white minorities, although there is significant variation across and within different diverse ethnic groups^[20]. As noted for other protected characteristics, in developing policy we will need to consider the implications of variations in user demand for different types of activities. Providing a wide range of activities, both within services and across the school age childcare sector, or engaging local parents and children when designing the offer, could encourage a more ethnically diverse group of school age childcare users.

4.5.2 Parents and carers

The Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan reports that minority ethnic families are much more reliant on income from employment than from social security. Therefore, policies that help tackle in-work poverty, including childcare polices which support parents to work, are expected to benefit people from minority ethnic backgrounds^[21], and in particular ethnic minority women.^[22] A TUC analysis of people working in the UK also found that BME workers were far more likely to be trapped in insecure work.

Ensuring that childcare policies reach minority ethnic families when needed is essential. A 2016 Joseph Rowntree Foundation report, Poverty and Ethnicity: Key messages for Scotland, found that lack of knowledge and information about childcare or support for carers is an important factor in low take-up among some minority ethnic groups, and cited evidence of a lack of inclusive services (both childcare and other care services) that take into account cultural and religious differences.

A more recent report by Close the Gap echoed and added to these findings and suggested that the lack of cultural sensitivities in formal childcare may be putting some families off using this type of childcare^[23] and preventing migrant minority ethnic women without alternative informal networks entering the workforce or increasing their working hours.

Work to establish our People Panel suggested that ethnic minority families were underrepresented in childcare settings, and on the People Panel. Through that work we have begun to explore this with providers and community representatives to understand this more deeply and help increase participation. We recognise that we need to actively target and involve ethnic minority families as we develop policy, so as to encourage them to use school age childcare, improve their experiences of the service, and maximise the benefits the policy brings to these families and children. Addressing language barriers and better understanding of cultural norms are examples of ways to address such barriers as we develop policy. Ensuring we have a diverse school age childcare workforce is also important as evidence suggests the lack of diversity in the workforce can impact take up.^[24] 2021 data shows that the childcare sub sector workforce (as a whole) is 89-94% white^[25].

4.5.3 Summary: Race

Our analysis of the evidence we have gathered through our early policy development work, based on the extensive research and evidence base, not least around the tackling child poverty work, as well as engagement with families, for example through the People Panel and tests of change, is showing an underrepresentation of ethnic minority families using school age childcare. Through good design of an inclusive system and inclusive services, we can make a positive impact and address this imbalance and help advance equality of opportunity by doing so. In on-going policy development, we need further engagement to demonstrate commitment to listening and responding as necessary to the different wants and needs of different ethnic communities. It will be important to invest in building trust, engagement, participation and capacity for co-design with these communities. Proactive engagement with parents and carers across a wide mix of ethnic groups, particularly these underrepresented as providers or users of school age childcare, will be important. Supporting families to mix within inclusive school age childcare services can have a positive effect in fostering good relations.

4.6 Characteristic: Religion or Belief

We do not collect data about religion or belief from users of school age childcare (parents/carers or children), so cannot measure its impact on uptake of school age childcare. We do collect data on number of pupils by school denomination in the Pupil Census^[26]. In 2022, this data shows 82.4% of primary pupils attended non-denominational schools, 17.5% attended Roman Catholic schools, and a small number attended schools of other denominations. There is no data we could find to evidence what this might mean for school age childcare services. It is possible that religious communities may offer clubs for their members before or after the school day, or in school holidays. Those which are required to register and be inspected by the Care Inspectorate will be included in Care Inspectorate data but will not be distinguishable as a subgroup within school age childcare data.

4.6.1 Children and families

There is very little we could find to show whether religion or belief might impact school age childcare services. SportScotland research has indicated that there are lower levels of participation in sports from people identifying with a particular religion, than those with no religion^[27], and this could influence the type of activities some children will want to take part in or affect parents' choices when selecting school age childcare services.

Input to the 2019 Consultation suggested that school age childcare could provide an opportunity to promote good relations between different religious, and non-religious, groups. Respondents suggested using food as an opportunity to learn about different religions and noted that building friendships with those from different ethnic or cultural backgrounds was a positive impact of school age childcare on children^[28]. Respondents also commented that a workforce of more diverse religions and beliefs would also be a positive step, and this will be addressed under one of the Programme’s projects.

A further consideration for developing school age childcare is that denominational schools usually have catchment areas that are significantly larger than non-faith schools.

4.6.2 Summary: Religion or belief

We have a limited evidence base to assess the extent to which the policy will impact people who share this protected characteristic. However, the Programme does not depend on a person's religion or belief and the intention is that the Programme will have a positive effect overall for all families. If as we progress through the policy making process, particular barriers to access to school age childcare are identified as arising from religion or belief these will be addressed with the intention of eliminating discrimination and advancing equality of opportunity and so it is likely that the Programme will have a positive impact for people who share this protected characteristic. Also, by ensuring services are inclusive, the Programme could have a positive effect in fostering good relations between parents of all religions and beliefs, as well as children, as they use the same school age childcare providers.

4.7 Characteristic: Sex

4.7.1 Children

No information is currently available on the sex of children accessing school age childcare. However, the annual school pupil census shows a 48.9% to 51.1% split of girls to boys in primary schools (the target population) and does split some more detailed data, for example on ethnicity or disability, by sex.

Boys appear to be disadvantaged in a number of ways linked to other protected characteristics, and so intersectionality comes into play here. This suggests that, while girls and boys will both benefit from school age childcare, boys may have more to gain as they are starting from a less advantageous position.

For example, the 2022 pupil census data shows that the rate of male primary school pupils who are assessed and/or declared as having a disability is 19.4 per 1,000, which is much higher than for girls at 9.3 per 1,000, and that the rate of primary school pupils with additional support needs is higher for males than females at 32.3% and 24.1% of pupils respectively.^[29] We also know that there is a long history of boys doing less well than girls in terms of educational outcomes, and that the rate of exclusions (which link closely with behaviour) continues to be much higher for male pupils than for female pupils^[30].

Through pilot projects, such as ones undertaken through the Access to Childcare Fund, we are seeing benefits of school age childcare associated with targeted support for children with disabilities and/or for children who have additional support needs, including for children who need support because of their behaviour. The data above shows that more boys than girls are recorded as having a disability, or having an additional support need, or facing behavioural challenges. Therefore, it is likely that as a group, boys may stand to benefit most from this type of targeted school age childcare provision.

Fifteen of the Access to Childcare Fund projects used their funding to support the inclusion of children with additional support needs. They did this by, for example, extending opportunities within mainstream services, by adapting approaches, bringing in additional staffing, or providing specialist services specifically designed for children with support needs, including those arising from social, emotional and behavioural reasons.

4.7.2 Parents and carers

The burden of childcare falls disproportionately onto women rather than men, and this has an associated impact on women's capacity to take up work, education or training^{[31] [32]}. Women are twice as likely as men to give up paid work in order to care^[33]. In Scotland, 86.9% of men in employment are in full time employment compared to only 57.5% of women^[34]. Without affordable and flexible childcare, women with children may leave the workforce, work part time or work in inflexible employment which under-utilises their skills and pays less^[35].

Women are also far more likely to be lone parents which contributes to gender inequality, as underlined by the size of the gender pay gap and high poverty rates of single women with children^[36]. The Scottish Government Out of School Care Parent Survey: Report 2019 showed that single parents and those living in the most deprived areas were more likely to use term-time and holiday care for the provision of free or subsidised food.

To summarise, we can conclude that given the interconnections between single parenthood and low income, more common for women than men, a targeted funded school age childcare system with food provision is very likely to reduce household costs and reduce food insecurity for single mothers and open up the potential to increase household income. Accessible and available school age childcare, even when paid for, could have a particularly positive impact for all women with childcare responsibilities for school age children, whatever their income, working hours or family circumstances, enabling them to take on roles which had previously been out of reach or to increase hours worked.

The protected characteristic of sex also intersects with other protected characteristics. Ethnic minority mothers and disabled mothers face particular challenges accessing childcare. For that, and other, reasons, these mothers can struggle to access, or sustain, quality paid work. Mothers’ responsibilities for disabled children also impact their job prospects and income.

4.8 Summary: Sex

The policy will be available to all parents and children regardless of sex and so all sexes will benefit. Our analysis of the evidence we have gathered today shows that, under this protected characteristic, childcare responsibilities particularly disadvantage women compared to men. This Programme is very likely to have a particularly positive affect for women as it is expected to advance opportunities for those who, because of childcare responsibilities, are currently not able to work, or only work a few hours, or are limited in the type of work they can secure. It also opens opportunities to study to improve job prospects. It may also have a positive effect in fostering good relations, as more women are able to enter the workplace and advance their careers and take up roles where they have more influence over workplace policies and culture.

There are also opportunities to foster good relations between girls and boys by developing a policy that ensures school age childcare services are inclusive, non-gender biased and co-designed with the children who attend to ensure they meet their particular needs. The Programme provides the opportunity, through a workforce focussed project, to impact the gender mix of the childcare workforce currently heavily dominated by women.