Increasing Childcare Take-up - Disabled Children
The Childcare Act 2006 requires local authorities to pay particular attention to the needs of families with disabled children when addressing their duty to secure sufficient childcare, so far as is reasonably practicable, to meet the needs of working parents in their areas.
Good quality childcare is needed for disabled children, just as it is for all children and families. The Government wants to ensure that all families have the same access to appropriate childcare provision.
The provision of good quality childcare will allow parents to return to work, if this is what parents choose; reducing poverty and increasing employment opportunities. Good quality childcare can also improve children's outcomes and general wellbeing.
As well as facilitating parental employment, childcare will benefit disabled children in the same way as it benefits non-disabled children: the provision of high quality education and care at an early age reduces the risk of developing special educational needs at a later stage, from 1 in 3 to 1 in 5.5
There may also be additional benefits to disabled children in terms of helping them feel included in mainstream provision, and by facilitating their transition to inclusion in mainstream education provision when they reach school age.
With this in mind, in May 2007, the Government announced additional funding of £35 million over the period 208-09 to 2010-11, as part of the Aiming High for Disabled Children programme, to develop pilots to improve access to childcare for families with disabled children, and to reduce the attitudinal barriers that currently inhibit such access.
The first wave of pilots will begin in September 2008, with emerging good
practice being rolled out more widely thereafter.
This page was last updated on 02 June 2008
