BEST-PRACTICE

James Boddey, director at Busy Bodies Childcare in Shropshire and Angela Hodgkins, senior lecturer in children and families at the University of Worcester, explain how they are supporting their families through the cost-of-living crisis

The UK is currently experiencing a cost-of-living crisis, that is sadly only likely to get worse. With the shocking statistic that one in three children is currently living in poverty, there is an urgent need for support for children and their families. Here at Busy Bodies Child Care Centre, we have considered how we can support families and children through this crisis. We want to be proactive in offering support, but also be flexible so we can react to individual needs.

Our philosophy is based on a child centred approach, inspired by the philosophy of Ubuntu, a Zulu phrase that means: “a person is a person through other people”. Ubuntu has its roots in humanist African philosophy, where community is one of the building blocks of society. The idea is that it takes a community to raise a child, so here at Busy Bodies we aim to embed ourselves in the community.

Knowing the local community and the families within it helps us to offer the best support we can. The Ubuntu philosophy focuses on how we can only reach our full potential through the support of others.

Here are some of the ways we are supporting our families through this difficult time…

Community cupboard
For some time now we have supported our local food bank with regular donations and information sharing. In recent months, we have changed how we do this to be more flexible with our Community Cupboard, which is located just outside of the setting.

The cupboard is used by families and members of the community to donate items for the food bank. When it gets full, staff then take items to the food bank. Parents and carers also have an opportunity to take items out when they need them.
When times are good, families donate what they can and, if times get tough, they can take items out.

At Busy Bodies, we see ourselves as a community and the cupboard is a physical example of the way we are all connected and able to support each other. We now have plans to develop this approach to include a toy, shoes and clothes cupboard as well – this idea was suggested by one of our families.

Flexible fee approach
Parents and carers can choose the hours that their child attends and are not required to do set sessions. As we have a deeply embedded Key Person approach, whichever hours the child attends, their key person will be there. Every practitioner knows every child and their needs so parents and carers can choose to drop off and collect their child at whatever times they need to.

This means that our parents and carers only pay for the childcare that they actually need. If a parent works from 10am till 2pm, but has to pay for a full eight-hour day, they are paying for care that they do not need and may not be paid enough to cover the fees. This approach may not work for everyone, but we have been doing this for more eight years now and it does work for us.

However, times are very tough for early years providers as well as families and it is important to remember that we also need to be financially secure ourselves.

Welcoming parents
At Busy Bodies, we understand that raising children is a non-stop adventure full of ups and downs and we are always there to point out what a great job parents and carers are doing. We have regular meetings with families to celebrate children’s achievements.

Being a parent can be hard. Social pressures and financial worries result in stress and a feeling that parents are never doing enough. It is important to support families, to explain the progress their child is making and to provide praise and encouragement for parents and carers.

Staying strong
Some families are going to find the next few months stressful and financially difficult. The effects of worry on eating and sleeping habits is likely to have a big impact on families. At Busy Bodies, we want every child to thrive and flourish and we feel that it is our primary role to support them in every way we can.

We would recommend that other providers spend some time reflecting on what you do currently to support families and consider whether you can support them in other ways. We are all going to be heading through the financial crisis together and if we all support each other we can make it through and hopefully see better times ahead.

Find out more
The Alliance has launched a free Winter Toolkit full of useful resources to help you – and your families – to navigate this winter. Download your free copy at bit.ly/EYAWinter.