Decision details

The Adult and Community Learning (ACL) team work closely with residents and local organisations to develop courses for adults with no or low qualifications in areas of high deprivation to help them re-engage with learning. The courses are aimed at developing knowledge, skills, behaviour and attitudes for independent living, improved community cohesion and progression to further learning and employment. Many ACL learners also have childcare responsibilities which are a barrier to attending courses. The provision of free mobile creche services that take place in the same venue as the course removes the barrier and increases accessibility to courses.
The cost of mobile creche services is fully covered through the Adult Education Budget granted to ACL externally from the West of England Combined Authority. In 2022/23 academic year 31% (60) of all ACL courses offered a creche supporting 679 learners to attend courses. Within this almost half of all learners on accredited courses such as functional skills English and maths, ESOL and employability awards were supported to learn through the provision of a free, onsite, creche.

Approval for the Adult and Community Learning team to re-let the mobile creche framework contract that expires in August 2024.

1. Stop the provision of mobile creche services: rejected as this would have a negative impact on our target learners with childcare responsibilities. This is an equalities issue as childcare falls predominantly to women and affects progression into work and progress within work.
2. Only using creche and nursery facilities as provided internally through local children’s centres: This option has, in previous years, always been considered first before calling off against the framework. However, local children’s centres no longer have creche co-ordinators and so it is no longer possible to jointly plan a creche that will support the activities across different teams. This efficiency has therefore been lost.
3. Setting up an internal ACL mobile creche service: The staffing costs are not viable.