Early Years (EY) childcare is foundational to the economy and to society given its positive impact on child development and wellbeing. Without provision of formal and informal childcare, parents will not be able to return to work during or after the COVID-19 crisis, exacerbating intra-and inter-household inequalities. This project will address the urgent challenges of:
Disruption to and sustainability of provision
Formal childcare faced financial difficulties before COVID-19. Now 1 in 4 nurseries may not reopen after the crisis. This project is generating empirical evidence on why and where these closures are occurring. It will look at what closures will mean for families and how the changing EY landscape and its sustainability will impact on returns to work. We will also examine the gender and socio-economic (in)equalities of closures and the ability to return to work.
Additionally, the project seeks to understand the impact on home-based and informal care. Pre-COVID-19, five million grandparents regularly provided childcare. We will generate knowledge of grandparents’ ability to provide care, parental responses to loss of informal support and the implications for EY provision.
Ensuring safe environments for workers, children and families
Childcare necessitates close physical proximity. Some social distancing and safety measures have been enacted within care settings and the project will investigate the challenges this poses for providing safe EY environments, as well as the additional financial pressures it brings. We will also look at staff, children and families who are clinically vulnerable, and may not be able to return to group settings to determine how they can be supported.
Research Aims
- To identify the challenges of the impact of Covid-19 on the EY sector in England and Wales and associated knowledge gaps
- To rapidly produce large-scale, detailed evidence on the nature of these challenges
- To generate policy measures and interventions to ensure safe, financially sustainable care and a more resilient future for this vital sector of the economy.
Research questions
- What are the key pressures on EY childcare provision in England and Wales as a result of COVID-19?
- How will the landscape of formal and informal childcare provision change during and after COVID-19?
- How can sufficient provision be ensured and made sustainable and safe for providers, staff and families?
- How can new knowledge about innovations in policy and best practice solutions forge a more resilient and sustainable future for the EY childcare sector in England and Wales?