New legal definition for school age childcare: consultation

Introduction

High quality childcare that is flexible, accessible and affordable plays a critical role in our society. It is vital to giving children the best possible start in life, to supporting families to thrive, and to ensuring that parents and carers can work, train or study.

The type of childcare needed by families will change over time depending on the age of the children and individual family circumstances. Broadly, there are two different types of childcare:

• Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) covers care for younger children who haven’t yet started school. This can be babies, toddlers and also includes children who are receiving the funded 1140 hours.
• School Age Childcare (SACC) covers care for older children who have reached school age. This childcare usually takes place before or after school, or during school holidays.