Rising Cost of Childcare

The question

How to approach this two-part question question

A two-part question asks two direct questions. Answer both fully, one in each body paragraph.

1. Paraphrase the topic and say how you will answer both questions.
2. Body 1 answers question one with reasons and an example.
3. Body 2 answers question two with reasons and an example.
4. Conclude with a short summary of both answers.

How to plan this answer

Structure

1. Introduction: paraphrase the high cost of childcare that drives some parents out of work, and name the two reasons you will explore for the rise in costs.
2. Body 1: the first part, covering staff wages and qualification requirements, property costs for nurseries and limited supply in high-demand areas.
3. Body 2: suggestions for governments, such as funded childcare hours, tax-free childcare schemes and training more staff.
4. Body 3: suggestions for employers, such as on-site nurseries, flexible working and salary sacrifice schemes for childcare.
5. Conclusion: summarise the causes and explain that government and employers each have a role in keeping parents in work.

Idea bank

• Staff-to-child ratios in nurseries, which require more adults per room and raise the cost of each place.
• A parent who would earn less after nursery fees than from staying at home, which explains why some leave work altogether.
• A government scheme that funds a set number of hours of free childcare for working families, easing the cost for parents.
• An employer who provides a workplace crèche, which makes it easier for staff with young children to return after leave.
• Counter-argument: small employers may not afford on-site childcare, so government support must reach them too.

Useful vocabulary

• to be priced out of: Many families feel priced out of full-time nursery care.
• staff-to-child ratios: Strict staff-to-child ratios are a major reason nursery fees are high.
• to be offset by: Higher wages for staff may be offset by government funding.
• a means-tested subsidy: A means-tested subsidy targets support at families on lower incomes.
• to leave the workforce: Some parents leave the workforce when childcare costs exceed their earnings.
• salary sacrifice: Salary sacrifice schemes let employees pay for childcare from pre-tax income.
• to ease the burden: Flexible working can ease the burden on parents with young children.
• a childminder: A childminder can offer a more flexible option than a nursery.
• to take up a role: A parent may be unable to take up a role that starts before nursery opens.
• a training pipeline: A stronger training pipeline could increase the number of qualified childcare workers.

Common mistakes

• Answering only one of the two parts of the question, which leaves the answer incomplete.
• Addressing the solutions only to governments and ignoring the role of employers.
• Writing generic lists of solutions without explaining how each would help a parent stay in work.
• Confusing childcare for pre-school children with compulsory schooling.

Examiner tip: Keep the causes and the solutions in clearly separate paragraphs, and tie each suggestion back to the specific problem of parents leaving work.