Wraparound care sector ramps up fight for more support

Junior Adventures Group UK, which claims to be the largest wraparound care provider in the UK, along with 250 before, after-school and holiday clubs representing 1,000 settings, told Nursery World that the situation had reached ‘crisis point’.

The group plans to launch a public parliamentary e-petition for parents and guardians across the UK to show politicians how vital this sector is.

In a letter to the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, the coalition wrote, ‘Without urgent financial support, our services are at imminent risk of closure, which would immediately remove much needed childcare support for vulnerable and key worker families, as well as other hard working families all around the country.’

Last week, the Out of School Alliance (OOSA), which is also part of the coalition, reported that nearly half (48 per cent) of the 313 after-school, breakfast and holiday club providers that responded to a survey about the impact of the pandemic on their business, reported that they were running at a loss - and more than half of them expect to be closed within a year.

Pre-pandemic, the wraparound care sector provided support for almost three million children. However, with more parents working from home, furloughed or unemployed, demand for these services has dropped dramatically, reducing income by around 70 per cent in most settings, Junior Adventures Group UK estimates, based on conversations with providers.

Commenting on the plight of the sector, Renee Bowman, chief executive of Junior Adventures UK, said, ‘Our sector’s ability to provide essential care for children of key workers and millions of families across the country is at a real and imminent risk. The Government must not sit back and allow our sector to collapse, potentially leaving more than 2.5 million working parents without childcare. We need the Government to step in to ensure we can continue providing our vital services.’

It is not known how many clubs have been forced to close permanently, but Ms Bowman said that increased operating costs due to strict bubbles, staggered drop-off times, PPE costs and staff training have meant that many have been operating at a loss and acquiring significant debt and have had to ‘simply close their doors’.

She added, ‘The position of many in the sector is becoming increasingly untenable. There is a risk that up to 60 per cent of services are not viable, our communications with the 250 providers in our coalition has found, and this will only become worse as time goes on.’

The coalition is calling on the Government to provide emergency funding to retain staff and keep services open while they have reduced demand.
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