Families save more than £2m thanks to flexible childcare
New research by social enterprise Flexible Childcare Services Scotland reveals how flexible, book by the hour early learning and childcare helps parents return to work, increasing their income and lifting their families out of poverty.
- 81% of respondents are in full or part time employment thanks to flexible childcare
- 83% of respondents said flexible childcare allowed them to work more
- 100% said flexible childcare had helped to increase household income, 21% by more than £5,000 a year
- 97% of parents would encourage other childcare providers to offer flexible booking options
Childcare remains one of the highest costs for British families, and according to Coram Families and Childcare Scottish parents pay almost twice that of their English counterparts, £120 a week for 25 hours of care for under-threes compared to around £70 in England.
Thankfully one Scottish social enterprise is balancing the books by offering a flexible model that allows parents to book childcare by the hour and change their bookings weekly so that they can remain in employment or increase their working hours.
According to Flexible Childcare Services Scotland (FCSS) 81% of the parents that use their services are in full or part time employment thanks to their unique model and 100% said that their household income had increased due to a combined saving in costs and increased income generation, 21% said their household income had increased by more than £5,000 a year.
Susan McGhee, chief executive officer at FCSS said,
“These figures show the transformative power of flexible childcare. When we remove the barriers that prevent parents from working, we don’t just help individuals – we help entire families and communities to build more secure financial futures. The £2.13 million in savings represents real money that families can now spend on essentials like housing, food, and clothing.
“The UK has a significant child poverty problem with 4.3 million children living in poverty. We have a fully costed, sustainable and proven solution in our high-quality, flexible early learning and childcare, and school-age childcare model, where families can book and pay as they go, change bookings in line with their work, education, or training, and use funded nursery hours flexibly. This flexible approach frees parents to enter, remain, or progress within employment, increasing their earnings and moving them away from a life in, or on the edges of, poverty.”
By removing traditional barriers to employment – such as rigid childcare hours that don’t match shift patterns or part-time work – FCSS has opened new opportunities for parents who were previously unable to access the job market.
According to one parent in their Dundee setting,
“The traditional route for childcare is not compatible with modern working and living. The traditional route of non-flexible childcare costs the service users more money which is not cost effective in a cost-of-living crisis.”
Another parent from their Kilmarnock nursery said,
“I work shifts and set childcare doesn’t work for me so the flexibility saves money because we don’t pay for nursery when we aren’t needing it.”
Another parent in Aberdeen using their Tillydrone Setting said,
“I went for a promotion at work as I was confident I could manage the additional workload with the support of flexible childcare.”
FCSS delivers flexible early learning and childcare services across Scotland, supporting almost 1,000 families each year. Over the next 5 years the organisation plans to open more settings, specifically in areas of high deprivation where families are at the greatest risk of falling into poverty and where their services are needed the most.
