The Out of School Alliance conducted a survey of its members and other providers of wraparound care (before, after-school and holiday clubs) from 5 to 20 November 2020. The aim was to follow-up on our previous two surveys, (conducted in the middle of May and in early August), to see how providers are faring now, following the re-opening of schools in September and after a half term or more of operating under a variety of different restrictions.
We found that providers of wraparound childcare are really struggling:
- 92% reported a drop in occupancy levels compared to this time last year
- For some clubs the drop was severe with 36% operating at less than 50% of their usual occupancy levels
- 51% reported that they had had to reduce the number of childcare places they could offer
- 48% of providers are currently running at a loss and 42% say that they are just breaking even
Providers are also suffering from the double whammy of a whole raft of increased costs, whilst faced with significantly lower revenue. Providers are also having to contend with difficult relationships with schools which are preventing them from operating more efficiently, as well as a lack of the targeted financial support enjoyed by other sectors (and by out of school clubs fortunate enough to be based in Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales). Unsurprisingly, providers are reporting high levels of stress and anxiety, and many clubs have already closed permanently.
Download the survey report
You can download a copy of the latest survey report (November 2020) here:
Impact of Covid-19 on OSCs: November survey
Previous surveys
You can download a copy of the report from our first follow-up survey (August 2020) here:
Impact of Covid-19 on OSCs: follow-up survey
You can download a copy of our first survey report (May 2020) here:
Impact of coronavirus on out of school clubs