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Childcare Sufficiency Assessments
The Childcare Act places a duty on local authorities (LAs) to secure sufficient childcare for their community. In order to understand the needs of their community, LAs must undertake a childcare sufficiency assessment (CSA) every three years. This must be published on the Council website and made publicly available.
Childcare Sufficiency Assessment
Read our report about the availability and quality of childcare in Waltham Forest.
- Summer 2023 Childcare Sufficiency Assessment (CSA)
- Spring 2021 Childcare Sufficiency Assessment (CSA)
If you have any questions regarding the Childcare sufficiency Assessment please contact the Early Years, Childcare & Business Development Service.
The term 'childcare' covers children up to the 1 September after their fourteenth birthday or, if a child has a disability, until they reach the age of twenty-five.
Local authority's duties to secure sufficient childcare for working families, or parents who are studying or training for employment, includes the requirement to assessment the supply and demand in their area. The Childcare Sufficiency Assessment (CSA) maps the existing childcare provision in the borough and looks to highlight any gaps in the local market.
This final CSA report provides the local authority with clarity on the current offer and recommendations on how to:
- support local childcare providers to develop the local childcare offer to meet the needs of families
- support families to find childcare and take up any national childcare support schemes, such as those outlined by Childcare Choices
