Childcare 'considered unaffordable' by many NI parents

Parents in Northern Ireland are paying over £540 a month on average for childcare

The majority of parents on low and middle-incomes "consider childcare to be unaffordable", though those on higher incomes also struggle.

That is according to a major childcare review by the Department of Education.

Parents pay more than £540 a month on average for childcare, though many are paying substantially more than that.

It also found that the number of vacancies for staff working in childcare has rocketed from about 820 in 2021 to more than 2,100 last year.

Low salaries and a lack of suitably qualified staff were the reasons the report gave for the rise in vacancies.

Many childcare providers said workers could be paid more elsewhere for jobs with less responsibility.

"We already are haemorrhaging staff to supermarkets," one provider said.

Emma Morgan, a teacher from Newcastle in County Down, pays £550 a month to send her son Tom to a specialist nursery three days a week.

"Obviously that is very expensive, it's the cost of a mortgage for some people," she told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

Tom with his mum Emma Morgan

Ms Morgan said that because Tom has autism and needs extra support the most suitable childcare she could find was a privately-run facility in Carryduff, almost 25 miles (40km) away.

"I'm coming at this from children with additional needs, which is probably the more extreme cost of childcare," she explained.

"There really are only a handful of organisations in Northern Ireland that have the support that Tom is offered where he currently is."

The UK has some of the world's most expensive childcare.

There are plans to offer the majority of families in England 30 hours of free childcare over the next few years.

And there have been calls for families in Northern Ireland to be offered the same.

Plans on ice

Separately, former Education Minister Michelle McIlveen had proposed that all three and four-year-olds in Northern Ireland should get a minimum of 22.5 hours in pre-school each week.

About 60% of children in Northern Ireland currently only get 12-and-a-half hours of funded pre-school education a week.

Pre-school is distinct from childcare but any move on that front is on ice until there is a Stormont executive and funding to enable it.

But before she left office Ms McIlveen commissioned an independent review of childcare services in Northern Ireland.

That wide-ranging review has just been published by the Department of Education.

Its findings are based on responses from 880 childcare providers, survey responses from more than 4,700 parents and interviews with organisations such as health trusts.

Informal childcare

There are various types of childcare available, including full-day care in playgroups or nurseries, after-school "wrap-around care" and childminders.

However many parents said they relied on unregistered "informal childcare" provided by friends or relatives because it was free or cheaper.

Parents who responded to the review reported paying between £421 and £952 a month for childcare, depending on which type of provision they used.

The lower figure was for after-school childcare or homework clubs, while day nurseries, approved home childminders or nannies meant higher fees.

The average spend on childcare per month reported by parents was £542, with parents of younger children mainly paying more than that.

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Most parents who took part in the research mentioned the affordability of childcare.

"Respondents with younger children were more likely to regard formal childcare as unaffordable," said the review.

The majority of parents on low (under £20,000 per year), medium-low (£20,000-£40,000) and medium (£40,000-£69,000) household incomes "consider childcare to be unaffordable".

Parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities reported particular difficulties in sending children to formal childcare.

The review also found that there had been a decrease in childcare places and providers between 2020 and 2022.

That was mainly due to an 11% decrease in the number of childminders, who can offer care to up to six to eight children.

Job vacancies

There are also 2,100 vacancies across the wider childcare sector, an increase of 165% since 2021.

The review said the majority of providers interviewed were concerned about difficulties in recruitment and retention, particularly for larger, groups settings.

"This stemmed from relatively low salaries across the sector, which were not considered to be commensurate with the responsibilities, and qualification requirements for their roles," it said.

"There was a perception amongst the majority of stakeholders, providers and parents interviewed that the sector was undervalued."

Aoife Hamilton says that the loss of skilled staff has been "devastating" to the sector

Aoife Hamilton of Employers for Childcare said the loss of trained, skilled and experienced staff has been "devastating".

"Families and childcare providers are feeling very much left behind. They are seeing an ever-widening gap between support available here and elsewhere in the UK and in Ireland," she told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme.

"What we want to see is proper ambitious funding ring fenced for childcare that enables the delivery of an ambitious childcare strategy. "

About a quarter of childcare providers who responded to the review said they were running at a loss.

More than half said they were "roughly breaking even".

"All providers interviewed raised concerns about the difficulty in generating sufficient revenues from childcare services to cover their running costs," said the review.

The average rate childcare providers said they charged per full-time child was £146 a week.

"Private day nurseries were the most expensive, charging an average of £44 a day, whilst sessional care and out of school care offered lower daily rates," said the department's review.

Investment recommended

More than half of childcare providers told the review team they were planning to increase their fees in the coming year.

Many said their bills for heating and light, food and insurance had increased.

The review was carried out by RSM Consulting and was delivered to the department in February but has just been published.

It included a number of recommendations, including more Stormont investment in childcare, better wages for staff and more staff training.

But without an executive it is not clear how any major changes could be implemented.