News
New study to analyse choices in informal childcare
10 Dec 2009
Researchers will explore the extent to which class, locality, parental status and social disadvantage influence parents’ choices and whether the availability of higher quality formal childcare would influence their preferences.
Alison Garnham and Emma Knights, chief executives of the Daycare Trust described how no existing study offers a clear analysis of the reasons parents choose informal childcare options, nor do they often consider the views of the childcarers. We aim to fill these gaps and find out whether there is a real preference for informal care or whether other issues such as the cost, quality and availability of suitable childcare, also play a part.
The Daycare Trust will carry out its research through a series of focus groups, in-depth interviews, literature reviews and questionnaires, using a random sample of more than 1,000 parents. The results will be shared with the Government to determine what policies should focus on.
(Nursery World, 10 December 2009)
