Conclusions

• Author: Ludwinek, Anna; Clevers, Franziska
• Pages: 31-33

31

The main objective of this report is to provide a

comprehensive overview of the state of OSC among the

different Member States, the UK and Norway. To that

end, the report examines the disparity between the

working lives of parents and school hours, provides an

overview of the national policies on OSC (where

possible), provides information on the take-up of OSC

services and identifies the main barriers to the provision

and the take-up of OSC in Member States, the UK and

Norway. The report then presents a review of policies

and measures that countries have implemented to

support the provision of OSC.

This report shows that, as of December 2019, in the EU

there is no single and agreed definition of what

‘out-of-school’ means, with individual countries each

defining the term their own way. Furthermore,

differences in national settings, including the duration

of school terms and the age of school admission, make

any meaningful comparison challenging. A clear and

agreed definition would help policymakers not only

conceive and introduce OSC measures but also evaluate

its success in terms of take-up by parents.

Research that focuses specifically on the provision of

OSC is limited, and there is also a lack of extensive

international comparative research. Available research

to date shows that most of the academic literature has

focused on the impact of OSC on child development.

Knowledge gaps therefore remain in, for example, our

understanding of the positive impact of OSC services on

work–life balance. Nevertheless, a renewed research

focus on work–life balance indicates that better

alignment of OSC provision to parents’ working

schedules has a positive impact, in that parents are

better able to plan their careers and to be more focused

at work. Improving the availability of OSC has also

increased leisure time for working parents.

While child development has historically been the sole

main driver behind development of OSC services,

women’s participation in the labour market specifically

and arguments around work–life balance more broadly

have come to dominate the debate in Europe in recent

years. Parental labour market inclusion and equal

employment opportunities for both parents, but with a

focus on mothers, has been at the core of the discourse

in a number of countries, including Austria, Czechia,

Germany, Ireland, Malta, Slovenia and the UK.

Another emerging issue within the discourse is that of

children’s rights, not only in Nordic countries such as

Denmark, Norway and Sweden but also in central and

northern European countries. In countries where OSC is

less established, such as Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania and

Poland, the focus is more on the potential impact OSC

can have on the improvement of children’s

socioeconomic circumstances.

The most obvious symptom of the gap in OSC provision

is the incompatibility between parents’ working

schedules and the availability of compulsory schooling

hours offered for school-age children. There seems to

be a gap in nearly all countries, with the largest gaps in

many of the central and eastern European countries and

the most pronounced gaps in Romania, Slovakia and

Croatia. Notable gaps in OSC provision can also be

observed in Estonia, Finland, Czechia and Greece. On

the other hand, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands

appear to have found a better balance between parent

and school schedules, and there are no gaps in Italy,

Luxembourg and Portugal.

There is a strong gender component when examining

the gap between working hours and compulsory

schooling hours, with women experiencing greater

difficulties in relation to the mismatch between the two

schedules. Looking at the working hours of mothers

compared to weekly hours of formal childcare, the

greatest gaps are in Slovakia, Croatia, Estonia, Finland,

Lithuania and Romania. The data show that on average

mothers work fewer hours, but still considerably more

hours than the child spends in structured childcare

programmes. The absence of available childcare

options can force working mothers to make alternative

arrangements, ranging from engaging informal care to

taking the decision to work part time. Women may also

make certain personal adjustments along with such a

decision in light of job security, financial independence

and career opportunities.

The majority of countries do have at least some data on

the take-up of OSC; only five Member States had no

information at all. In 12 countries, the share of pupils

attending OSC activities is over 50%, with the highest

take-up in Portugal, Slovenia, Denmark, France and

Spain. Countries where the take-up is 25% or lower

include Austria, Cyprus and Ireland. But the decision to

enrol a child in OSC is influenced by a wide range of

factors beyond the simple presence of OSC in a given

country. For example, parents may simply prefer other

arrangements, they may have concerns about the

quality of OSC services available, or they may feel

unable to overcome one or more of a range of barriers.

Information on the take-up of OSC during holiday

periods is scarcer. Only six countries (Austria, Belgium,

Cyprus, France, Malta and Sweden) have any

information or data on the number of pupils attending

OSC during the summer period. Nevertheless, in most

cases, take-up of OSC services in summer is much lower

than in the rest of the year.

7Conclusions