Excerpts from the report:
Changes in the economy, most notably the growth of the service sector and the requirement for 24/7access to services, have led to a culture where employees are increasingly required to work outside of the standard working hours of 8.00am-6.00pm. With only 17 per cent of working families with dependent children working exclusively standard hours, this is a pressing issue for those parents who need to access childcare during atypical hours. There is much evidence to suggest that formal childcare is rarely available to meet this ‘non-standard' demand.
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This study assesses the demand for atypical hours childcare at different times (that is, early mornings, overnight and so on) and investigates the reasons for the difficulties faced by parents at these times.This was achieved through online surveys and interviews that were conducted with parents.Those providers who had delivered childcare at atypical times and national childcare organisations were interviewed to discover what could be done to improve availability.