Families and friends are bridging the childcare gap for over two thirds of working mothers, a report from two leading childcare charities has found.
Seventy per cent of employed women use informal childcare and 42 per cent of working lone parents use only informal childcare during term time, rising to 71 per cent during the school holidays.
But the report points out that there is only one formal childcare place for every five children under the age of eight, and that a typical nursery place for a child under two costs £128 a week.
Families in disadvantaged areas use other relatives and friends to meet their childcare needs more than families living in less disadvantaged areas, the report adds.
The authors of the report, the Daycare Trust and One Parent Families, have called on the government to enhance schemes to allow relatives and informal carers to register as childcare providers and to ensure that children’s centres provide support to informal carers.
They are also asking the government to provide opportunities for parents to experience formal childcare through a series of taster sessions, and explore childcare packages to support the transition to work for lone parents.
“Informal Childcare: Bridging the childcare gap for families" £5 from the Daycare Trust on 020 7840 3350.
