This departmental advice from the Department for Education has been produced to help maintained schools and academies (including free schools) understand how to respond to:

a.  Parents’ requests that the school that their child attends considers establishing wraparound and / or holiday childcare,

b.  Childcare providers’ requests to use school facilities for wraparound and / or holiday provision at times when the school is not using them.

This advice aims to avoid imposing unnecessary burdens on schools and maintains school autonomy, whilst ensuring schools understand the basis on which they should be responding constructively to requests for wraparound childcare.

By ‘wraparound childcare’ the DfE mean before school childcare (for example, breakfast clubs), after school childcare (for example, regular provision that runs until 6pm or later). By ‘holiday childcare’ te DfE mean childcare that is available through schools during the school holidays.

The draft departmental advice, consultation document and how to respond on line can be accessed via the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/wraparound-and-holiday-childcare