The Childcare Act 2006 requires local authorities to secure sufficient childcare provision to meet the needs of working parents in their area for children up to the age of 14 (or 17 for disabled children). The last full (three year) report for Shropshire was published in 2017, further to which and in line with revised government guidelines (2018) we started the termly collection of sufficiency data in order to report annually to elected members on how the authority is meeting its statutory duty.

This process also allows us to understand and monitor the likely impact on demand for childcare and the sustainability of childcare provision across the county.

The full 2017 assessment and termly report for spring 2018 are attached to this page.