After-school childcare consultation for providers

This consultation has now concluded and a new policy passed by the Islington Council Executive.

After-school Childcare Funding in Islington Executive Report, October 2022

Consultation

Islington Council subsidises out-of-school childcare in schools and voluntary sector settings to make sure we have enough affordable childcare for low-income working and studying families.

The Council has increased funding to subsidise out-of-school childcare for working parents despite reductions in core funding of over 70% from central government to the Council budget between 2010 and 2020. 

We are proposing a new model for allocating after-school childcare funding to make sure it is fairer for families across the borough.

Currently, funding goes to only some schools and voluntary sector providers for after-school childcare places for children aged 4-11. We would like to:

• better target the subsidy to low-income families
• increase access to the subsidy for low-income families across the borough by making funding available to more providers
• support providers to deliver after-school childcare which is affordable for working and studying parents, while being financially sustainable
• support providers with the quality of provision
• complement and enhance the wider package of financial support for childcare available through other local and national schemes.

The proposals are based on the principle that council funding will be targeted to families in most need of financial help towards the costs of childcare, in line with our ambition to support residents out of poverty through work. Having enough affordable childcare allows parents to make a real choice about work and training and will help residents into high quality jobs. The evidence is clear that poverty impacts on children's health, wellbeing and educational attainment and the families which need most help with the cost of childcare in order to sustain work are those on a low income.

The proposed model has been developed following discussions and information gathering from schools and voluntary sector providers, as well as what parents have told us makes a difference for their children and families.

What we propose

• To redistribute after-school childcare funding across more providers so that the subsidy is more widely accessible.
• To allocate funding to schools and settings according to the relative income levels of the populations they serve. Funding allocations will be calculated using free school meals data, weighted by the number of pupils at each school and deprivation (base on the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index) information about the locality.
• To establish a supportive model for providers, reducing the level of set conditions, administration and reporting requirements for providers while supporting a focus on development and quality which will ensure that after-school childcare in Islington is affordable and of high quality across all providers.
• To allow providers to set their own charges within the pricing structures recommended by the Council. These are outlined in the Pricing Structure table. Providers should charge no more than £5 per day for families with household incomes of £30,999 or below. Families with incomes above £30,999 should be charged at providers discretion but no more than the inner London average, currently £12 per day.
• The charging structure also recommends a sibling discount for low-income families.
• To allow providers to continue to use the funding to offer reduced rates at after-school enrichment clubs where they form part of and/or complement the after-school childcare offer for working and studying families.
• To provide two funded places per after-school setting, to be allocated by the school/provider for the most vulnerable children, where the allocation of a free place is in the best interest of the child or to support parents who are training and preparing to move towards employment.
• To provide up to 12 months of financial protection on a case-by-case basis to any schools and settings adversely affected by the redistribution of funding. This is in order to ensure any fee increases for parents can be phased in gradually and with sufficient notice, and to support the financial sustainability of providers as they move to a new model.
• To introduce a direct commissioning arrangement between schools and voluntary sector delivery partners used by schools.
• Where schools have indicated that they do not wish to take part directly in the new model, we are proposing to ‘passport’ the school’s allocation of funding direct to the voluntary sector provider on a case-by-case basis.

Other sources of financial support for after-school childcare

The after-school childcare subsidy is part of a wider package of support for the costs of childcare for working and studying families. The Council is committed to supporting parents to access the financial support available through raising awareness of what’s on offer and how to apply. We do this through the outreach and engagement work of our Family Information Service and we encourage all providers to talk to parents about what is available to them.

Islington Council offers a Childcare Bursary which supports parents with the costs of childcare as they move into work or training.

Parents can also get support with the costs of childcare through the following government schemes:

• tax-free childcare
• Universal Credit for Childcare
• Care to Learn (under 20)
• Discretionary Learner Support
• Childcare Grant

Have your say

If you provide an after-school childcare service please fill out this consultation:

After-school childcare consultation for providers

Consultation key dates

• Consultation Monday 6 June to Friday 15 July 2022
• Report published, early autumn 2022
• Proposed new model implemented, subject to the outcome of the consultation, second half of autumn term 2022

We are also currently consulting with parents on after-school childcare.