Wraparound childcare allowing parents to "drop their children off at 8am and collect them at 6pm" has been successfully introduced in Hertfordshire, with most primary schools offering the support, a meeting heard.

A meeting of the county council's Education, SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) and Inclusion Committee was held on Thursday, September 11, where councillors discussed the implementation of wraparound childcare.

Wraparound childcare was announced by the previous Tory government in spring 2023 as a means of removing "significant barriers" for parents to return to work, by offering more accessible childcare.

The scheme is fully-funded by the Department for Education (DfE), which set aside £289 million nationally for the project and has created 10,728 childcare places in Hertfordshire from a combination of school-based provision, cluster model (with multiple schools using one site) and childminders, with an additional 517 places expected to become available this month.

Of the county's 406 mainstream primary schools, 352 now have wraparound childcare that meets the DfE's expectations. Of the remaining schools, 39 have wraparound provision that meets the needs of their families but does not meet the DfE definition, while five primary schools "without sufficient demand" have no wraparound childcare at all.

Reflecting on the figures, Cllr Paula Hiscocks asked: "We have got 352 schools providing wraparound. Is that in line with our targets and what is expected by government? Do they expect every school to actually have this?"

Strategy manager Pablo Benvenutto said: "Obviously, the schools are Ofsted-registered, they deliver a variety of activities throughout the day, and not all provision starts at 8 and finishes at 6. Some providers have a staggered finish to their day, and some in the county are not delivering until 6pm because that's not what the need is in that school.

"So, it's varied across the county, equally so it's varied in the provision itself. There's not a one-size-fits-all, and it certainly isn't a continuation of the school day.

"In terms of, are we expecting every school to have it? Of course, the DfE would wish that every school had an 8am until 6pm model, but they are fully aware that not all schools need to have that demand, hence why over the course of this programme, they have brought in different models… ultimately, it's about what meets the demand in that area."

The report, which Mr Benvenutto co-wrote with Melody Knowles, head of early years, stated: "[A] survey went out across Hertfordshire to invite families to feedback. It had over 7,000 responses and will allow us to gather a picture of the demand to allow us to identify where the programme can be most effective to support.

"The survey also asked about children with SEND and will allow us to incorporate these findings into a plan to strive towards giving all families the same opportunity to access wraparound childcare.

"91% of SEND families who completed the survey stated they would use wraparound for their children. Reasons it is not currently utilised by some families [include] a lack of confidence in current provision, no sufficient SEND provision; and parents feeling their child would struggle.

"We will work with a training provider to provide inclusive training for staff offering wraparound provision. There will be ongoing support through the wraparound childcare team to support with applications, questions, and general support needs."