There are three main sectors of provision provided for children. These are statutory “a legal provision set out in an Act of Parliament or statutory instrument”, voluntary “an act of giving freely without demanding for pay back, that is wholeheartedly”. and private “denotes the availing of either goods or services by the private sector.”
An example of a statutory provision is children’s centres such as Sure Start. Sure start is a government run programme which provides a safe and secure service for pre-school children and their families, this children’s centre works to bring together early education, childcare, health and support for families. This specific company is solely paid for by the government and taxes, however there is a small fee charged for the actually childcare costs however this is on top of the child’s free 15 hours early years education entitlement. The fee depends on the Sure Start centre, for example the Sure Start centre in Low Fold is free for many things such as midwife and health visits. Most Sure Start centres are open 8am-6pm Monday to Friday all year round and a few also offer a weekend service. One of their main client groups is new parents; they supply parenting advice, advice on carrying on your education after your child, breastfeeding support and tips. They also support young parents in how to handle their money and healthy eating to ensure the child has a good life. A few job roles involved in a successful Sure Start centre are project workers, the managers, councillors and midwives. Sure Start centres are there to care for children and help educate new mums and dads on life as a parent. On a day to day basis they supply many different classes from finance help to breastfeeding classes. Most of the classes are aimed at parents and families. This service also gets support from the NHS who supplies them with midwives.
A good example of a voluntary provision is Girl Guiding for example Rainbows, Brownies and Guides. Girl Guiding provides a safe club for girls of ranging ages depending on the group they are a member of, where they can interact with fellow girl guides of their age. This service is provided by volunteers and a single paid leader, without the volunteers this free service would not exist. The funds needed to keep this service up are supplied vie donations and the small subs needed on the night from the members. There is a small fee of £1 which is known as ‘subs’ this goes towards running the club and the small drink and snack. You are also asked to pay for camp and trips away. The main client group is different depending on the actually club. Rainbows vary from 5-7 years old, Brownies vary from 7-10 years old, Guides vary from 10-14 years old and young leaders and the senior section range from 14-26 years old. Depending on the amount of members the amount of leaders will vary in each group there is also the maximum of 2 young leaders per guiding group. Due to Girl Guiding being a voluntary club the opening times vary depending on the leaders, most Rainbow groups start at 6pm and finish at 7pm due to the young age group, it is also common for the Brownies to be after Rainbows due to them having the same leaders, this means that they start at 7pm and finish at 8pm this also makes it easier for the transition into Brownies from Rainbows. Guides is normally on a different night and starts at 8pm and finishes at 9pm. All three clubs are on week nights and are often held in church halls. Girl Guiding’s purpose is for leisure and fun (recreation). Guides and Brownies have the opportunities to earn badges by doing different activities this can involve the parents, for example if the Brownie is wanting her entertainment badge her mum can help her to create a dance/ comedy piece.
An example of a private provision in the BD2 area is a dance school called ‘ND Dance Academy’ this academy is run by a woman called Natasha Graves; she is the manager and teacher at this dance academy.