Childcare: Ensuring Good Quality, Good Care, Good Value.

Here are some guidelines about what childcare is available and where you should look for it. It also gives you some pointers about how to ensure you get good quality, reliable care for your children, and care that you feel confident about.

For many single parents going out to work is a necessity, rather than a life choice, and selecting appropriate and accessible childcare can make this decision even more difficult. Find out about all the different Types of Childcare Available.

National statistics show that there is a shortage of childcare places with only one childcare place available for every four children under eight. There are also gaps in provision for wrap-around-care and those that cater with special needs and children who are disabled. This is against a background of generally high childcare costs. For tips on how to ensure you make the right choice for you and your child read Choosing a Childcare setting and Advantages of choosing a Childminder.

Finding affordable childcare is likely to be a real challenge for most single parents. This is particularly true since the Welfare Reforms that came into play in October 2009. All single parents with children aged 7 and over and claiming Income Support (IS) will automatically be transferred to Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) and be actively seeking work or face cuts to their benefits.  Find out about where you can get Help with Childcare Costs.

What childcare is or isn’t available is also a bit of a postcode lottery and very much depends on the age of your child and the area you live in. Read Where to look for local Childcare.

If you have never left your children before you can often worry, get some tips and useful questions to ask in the article Trusting Childcare Providers.

Read Abeje's profile, author of the Childcare articles.