Families asked if local childcare offer meets their needs

Rutland County Council is asking residents to take part in the latest Childcare Sufficiency Assessment to help determine if early education and childcare is meeting the needs of parents and carers who are working, studying or seeking employment.

Annual Childcare Sufficiency Assessments help councils to gather important information about childcare availability, accessibility and affordability in their area. The aim is to build an accurate and up-to-date picture of the current childcare market, based on the first-hand experiences of local families. This includes their experiences of using financial entitlements like Tax-Free Childcare.

In addition, Rutland County Council will be engaging with local businesses to understand how sufficiency of childcare places impacts their recruitment and retention of staff. This information will then be used to inform the childcare market, to support providers in planning and responding to family requirements.

“Rutland County Council would like your help to better understand the needs of parents, carers and businesses in providing childcare services. We are therefore asking residents to please take part in our latest Child Sufficiency Assessment which will help us improve our early education and childcare in general.”

Councillor Tim Smith, Portfolio Holder for Children and Families at Rutland County Council

Rutland’s Childcare Sufficiency Assessment asks for feedback from parents and carers with children of all ages, as well as early education and childcare providers, providers of wraparound or holiday childcare and local employers.

The consultation runs from Monday 28 April until Friday 23 May 2025 and will be available online during this time via the link below: