The role of informal childcare: A synthesis and critical review of the evidence. Full report

Authors: Caroline Bryson and others
Published by: The Nuffield Foundation, March 2012

This study explores what we do and do not know about the roles that 'informal childcare' play for different families.  The report combines new empirical analysis (of the Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents, the Millennium Cohort Study, the British Social Attitudes Survey and the Labour Force Survey), with a review of the published quantitative and qualitative evidence. It looks at:

• The picture since the introduction of the National Childcare Strategy
• The current picture of informal childcare use among working families
• Informal childcare for particular needs
• Why parents choose informal over formal childcare
• Grandparents' perspectives
• Informal childcare and children's educational and socio-emotional development
• Arguments for and against a role for state financial intervention

Also available from the Nuffield Foundation is The role of informal childcare: understanding the research evidence