Child Care Sufficiency Assessment
The Childcare Act 2006 makes it a statutory duty for local authorities to carry out a Childcare Sufficiency Assessment following a prescribed time cycle. The assessment is a comprehensive assessment of current and potential influences on childcare demand and supply and the implications for the strategy of the Early Years and Childcare Service.
The sufficiency assessment is based on consultation with parents, childcare providers, employers and the wider community. There are four stages to completing a sufficiency assessment: Anyalsing Demand, Mapping Supply, Mapping Supply to Demand and Securing Sufficiency. This comprehensive analysis of supply and demand will identify gaps in childcare provision which the local authority will need to strategically plan to fill. The DCSF guidance identifies the following categories of gap in the market:
Geographical Gaps – Where there is a general lack of childcare in an area.
Income Gaps – Where the cost of childcare is unaffordable for the local community.
Specific Need Gaps – Where there is a lack of childcare for children with special needs or disability, or children with other specific needs each as particular faiths.
Time Gaps – Where there is a lack of childcare at the times to suit the needs of parents.
Age Gaps – Where there is a lack of childcare for particular age groups.
Type Gaps – Where there is a lack of the type of childcare preferred by parents.
This webpage aims to support the Childcare Sufficiency Assessment by pulling together all the supporting information that will feed into the assessment. This information has been divided into different categories below and is available where possible at both Community Learning Partnership and Lower Super Output Level allowing professionals to drill down to identify any hotspots.
Demographic and Births Data
Follow the link below to access interactive maps and tables containing demographic data from Mid-Year Population Estimates and data on the number of live births.
Demographic and Births Data
Household Composition, Tenure and Accommodation Type
Follow the link below to access interactive maps and tables containing information on Household Composition, Tenure and Accommodation Type all taken from the Census 2001.
Household Composition, Tenure and Accommodation Type Data
Child Poverty, Disability, Child and Working Tax Credits
Follow the link below to access interactive maps and tables containing information on Child Poverty, Disability Living Allowance and information on Child and Working Tax Credits.
Child Poverty, Disability, Child and Working Tax Credits Data
Childcare Providers and Places
Follow the link below to access single interactive maps and tables which contain information on the number of Childcare Providers and Places by Community Learning Partnership (CLP). Currently there are 6 indicators available that cover the number, percentage change and net change of Childcare Providers and Places for each CLP.
Childcare Providers and Places Data
To access the same information on the number of Childcare Providers and Places by CLP in a comparison double map follow the link below:
Childcare Providers and Places Data - Double Map
Follow the link below to access information on the different types of Childcare providers by CLP. This data is presented in a spine chart allowing the user to view multiple indicators for each CLP.
Childcare Providers and Places by Type - CLP Spine Chart
Childcare Sufficiency Assessment
All local authorities have a statutory duty to carry out a Childcare Sufficiency Assessment every three years and to produce an annual update. The next full Childcare Sufficiency Assessment is due in April 2011. The last full Childcare Sufficiency Assessment was produced in April 2008 and the annual updates for 2009 and 2010 can be accessed through the following link:
Staffordshire County's Childcare Counts Webpage
For further information on the Childcare Sufficiency Assessment please contact:
Jag Singh - Early Years Quality Support, Strategy and Planning Manager
Tel: 01785 27 8216, Email:
jagtar.singh@staffordshire.gov.uk
