Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of closures in the wraparound care sector due to financial unviability on the (a) learning and (b) development of children.

The department does not hold a central register of all wraparound provision or routinely collect data on closures of providers. The department does not, therefore, have a recent assessment of the effect of closures on the learning and development of children.

However, we recognise that before and after-school provision plays an important role in providing enriching activities for children and promoting their wellbeing, as well as being an important source of additional childcare for working parents and carers. That is why we have sought exemptions for this sector in The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020 to ensure that wraparound childcare is able to remain open at all tiers, and that parents can continue to access this provision for their children as normal. We have published further updated guidance for providers who run before and after-school clubs, tuition and other out-of-school settings for children on the protective measures that should be in place to ensure they are operating as safely as possible. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/protective-measures-for-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

We have also been encouraging schools to resume their breakfast and after-school club provision, where possible, since the start of the autumn term. As part of our guidance to schools on full opening, we have provided them with guidance to support them in reopening this valuable provision. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools#wraparound-provision-and-extra-curricular-activity.

In addition, our REACT teams, comprising education and social care staff from both the Department for Education and Ofsted, are working closely with local authorities and will act as a valuable source of intelligence on the sufficiency of wraparound childcare places in local areas. We have also been in close communication with several wraparound providers since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak and we will continue this communication over the coming months.