The role of home-based childcare in supporting young children’s care, learning and wellbeing

Home-based childcare, or family day care as it is also known, plays an important role in supporting young children’s care and education. It offers early learning opportunities as well as crucial childcare support for working parents, particularly for those with children in the early years. This paper reviews research undertaken over a decade, including the author’s own work and that of other researchers, on the role of home-based childcare in delivering early care and education. Evidence from research in the UK and internationally has consistently shown the positive associations between quality home-based day-care provision and young children’s development (Ang, 2019; Ang et al., 2017; Fauth et al., 2013). Research has also indicated that professional childcare educators working in a home-based setting play a vital role in building strong partnerships with parents and families by offering added social and family support (Garrity and McGrath, 2011). This paper argues that quality home-based childcare, as shown through the evidence base, is an important and unique model of childcare provision that can have a beneficial impact on parents and families as well as on young children’s care, education and overall development.