Childcare and Wellbeing in Times of Covid-19: Developing crisis-resilient care solutions

Government-measures such as lockdown and social distancing have proved successful in the spread of Covid-19 and its burden on healthcare systems. Yet, these policies have exacerbated intense childcare challenges for many families with young children, particularly for families in more vulnerable circumstances, with potentially long-term harm to employment, child-outcomes, wellbeing and relationships. There is urgent need for crisis-resilient solutions of high-quality childcare provision reaching all families in order to mitigate the impact of future waves of Covid- 19-infections. The objectives of this project are two-fold: firstly, it will collate an evidence-base providing the most comprehensive picture on how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected families' childcare arrangements and wellbeing in the short and longer term. This will include collection of rich new data (in-depth interviews with parents and stakeholders) identifying the specific childcare needs and challenges of families in different circumstances (including socio-economic background, protected characteristics and geographical area), and its triangulation with secondary analysis of a wide range of data-sources on Covid-19 impact (including nationally representative surveys and convenience samples). Secondly, in partnership with local and national stakeholders and policymakers, the project will develop a co-produced policy-toolkit providing community-based implementation and practice pathways to support Local Councils' crisis responses and to inform national early years and school-care policy. The innovative project-design combining a comprehensive array of data analysis with a collaborative co-production strategy for local service solutions will be pioneering in designing resilient childcare provision that protects family wellbeing during this pandemic and beyond.