What action is the Welsh Government taking to improve the availability and affordability of childcare provision during the summer holidays, in light of concerns raised by working families, including public service workers who remain unable to secure childcare during school holidays despite both parents working?
Our childcare programme for 3-4 year olds, which targets working parents, provides 30 hours of funded childcare for 9 weeks of the school holiday. Parents can choose when to use these weeks and can save them to cover the longer summer holidays if they wish to do so. As we move forward with our transformational childcare programme, the provision of funded childcare during the school holidays will be extended to all children receiving funded childcare.
We provide flexible funding to local authorities through the Children and Communities Grant to help address gaps in childcare and play provision identified locally, including during holiday times. When assessing these gaps local authorities must consider the needs of families in employment or training. We also provide £1m funding annually to the Playworks Holiday Project to increase inclusive and accessible play opportunities during weekends and school holidays.
We also support the childcare and playwork sector through annual funding to Play Wales and the Cwlwm consortium, which includes Clybiau Plant Cymru Kids’ Clubs. Both organisations support holiday clubs, out-of-school activities and community groups promoting equitable access to play for all children. Additionally, we have developed bespoke National Minimum Standards for regulated open access play services to support more providers to register, helping to increase the availability of childcare and play provision for children aged 5 to 12 during the school holidays.