Introduction

This non-statutory guidance explains the role of schools and trusts educating primary school aged children in supporting parents to access wraparound childcare. It provides advice on how to deliver new or expanded wraparound childcare – supporting the government’s commitment to increase the availability of childcare for primary-school aged children – and outlines the support all schools should receive from their local authority, whether delivering wraparound provision directly or not.

Overview of wraparound childcare

Wraparound childcare is childcare that is provided around the conventional school day. It can also refer to provision in the school holidays.

This guidance focuses on childcare before and after the school day during school term time, rather than provision in the school holidays. Many parents rely on the invaluable support from wraparound childcare to enable them to work, and so it should be regular and dependable. Parents should not be required to pick up or drop off their children between the core school day and wraparound childcare. Schools’ existing enrichment and extracurricular offers can interact with, complement, and support delivery of wraparound childcare provision.

We support and encourage schools to continue to offer enrichment and extracurricular activities and to consider how these activities can be delivered in a way that supports working parents. If these activities were offered in a regular and dependable way, schools could support the delivery of wraparound in combination with enrichment and extracurricular activities

Wraparound childcare: guidance for schools and trusts in England (publishing.service.gov.uk)