Y Pwyllgor Deisebau / Petitions Committee

Bae Caerdydd / Cardiff Bay

Caerdydd / Cardiff

CF99 1NA

Thursday 3rd May 2012

Dear Committee members

I am a working parent with two young children living in the Vale of Glamorgan, and I would like to support P-04-346: Petition on provision of early years education. I did not sign the petition as I was unaware of its existence. I understand that although the petition is now closed for signatures you are still collecting evidence.

I understand that you are interested in three main areas:

1) Are you able to access early years education for your 3-4 year old in a way that is convenient to you?

Unfortunately not. I am a freelance writer and small online business owner. As a writer I need a lengthy amount of time to work, and the 2.5 hours each day provided by nursery is not sufficient. By the time I get home after dropping the children off, I have little time to get into work before I need to pick them up again. It would be much more useful for me to utilise the time in longer blocks through a nursery where I could use the time in two blocks for example, giving me two days to work efficiently.

2) Does the provision of early years education for your 3-4 year old enhance or hinder your opportunities to work or study?

Absolutely it hinders my chances to work. I had to quit my job after having my eldest child as childcare was too expensive to justify it. I was fortunate enough to be able to work on a freelance basis from home but this has significant drawbacks i.e. no sick pay and no benefits or pension contributions. However, this is my only option until the children are older as there is no job that I know of that is happy for you to work for only two hours in the mornings.

3) Have you declined to take up provision for early years education for your 3-4 year old as it is inconvenient for you to do so? If so, what childcare provisions have you made instead?

I did have my eldest child in a nursery and so utilising the free provisions, but as I mentioned before, this was not conducive to a good working routine for me. I had to change my arrangements and placed her in private nursery for two days a week instead. My youngest daughter is only one, and it would be great if the entitlements could change so we did not have this difficulty with her.

Thank you for taking the time to review this issue

Yours sincerely,

Alina Davies