PACE: a European cross-border project for families

Childcare is crucial in enabling many families with young children to combine work and family. Unfortunately, it is often insufficient, which is why families combine formal care provision with informal care by family and friends. Both types of childcare are far from universally accessible: formal care is sometimes too expensive or difficult to access, while informal care depends on the family’s network and specific needs among other things. In some cases, parents contend with a Catch-22 situation: it is harder for them to find work because suitable childcare is unavailable, and it is harder for them to access childcare because they are out of work.

In the PACE project, thirteen project partners from four countries tested new models of supporting parents into combining childcare and work. They created more flexibility in childcare and developed an integrated approach towards childcare and employment.

This map shows the 13 project partners in the PACE project. They include Belgian and UK local and regional authorities, French and Dutch community centres, and Flemish colleges. Over the next 4 years, each participant will contribute its expertise to develop solutions to improve access to childcare, enabling parents to develop, seek employment, apply for jobs, and ultimately find paid work.

How: PACE book

The demand for flexible and occasional childcare is not new: it has existed for as long as childcare itself. However, the reasons for that demand are changing. With governments taking the line that everyone should work and more and more families operating according to one-and-a-half- or two-income models, the need to combine family responsibilities with work is usually the underlying reason. The PACE project examined what is needed to make childcare more flexible and at the same time create comfort for children, families and staff.

The book ‘Flexibility in childcare’ relates why more flexibility in childcare is needed. It also looks into how flexible childcare can be organised, describing 5 prototypes. Finally, the book looks into what actions organisations can take to make flexible childcare sustainable on the business side, to assure pedagogical quality and a warm environment for the whole family, to support staff members and to cooperate with other stakeholders.

Supporting parents into childcare and employment

Integrating childcare and employment support was at the core of the PACE project. This integration turned out to result in diverse practices. Different models work in different contexts. Common in these practices is reflection. The implementation gained strength when they created opportunities for staff members to reflect on how they could support parents into childcare and employment and enhance their quality of life.

Researchers

• an.piessens@kdg.be
• dietlinde.willockx@kdg.be
• els.biessen@kdg.be
• mieke.jacomen@kdg.be