Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Taking part in the survey
How do I take part in the survey?
If your household has been selected to take part in the survey, you will receive an invitation letter in the post. The invitation letter will provide you with the details you need to complete the survey online. If you cannot complete the survey online, please contact us using the details at the bottom of this page.
When you receive your letter inviting you to take part in the survey:
- Go to: Childcare Survey | Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. You can complete this survey on a desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone.
- Select the link to start the survey.
- Enter the access code unique to your household that appears on your invitation letter. This will be a 12-digit code.
If you need a new access code to complete the survey online, please contact us using the details at the bottom of this page.
If you need to, you can stop and come back to the survey later. Your responses will be saved each time you move to the next page. Please note, you will need to re-enter your unique access code.
Why have I been asked to take part?
We used administrative data to determine households where a child may have been active in the past 2 years. A list of addresses were then selected at random from the NISRA Address Register, which is a comprehensive list of addresses, primarily based on the Land & Property Services (LPS) POINTER database.
Completing the survey
I've received more than one letter. Which code do I use?
We will issue an initial invite and then a reminder letter to each household. Each letter will have its own access code unique to your household. If you have not started the survey by typing in the code on your initial letter, then you can use one on the reminder letter.
Who should complete the survey?
Ideally the survey should be completed by a parent or guardian of a child aged 11 or younger on 2nd July 2024. However, one person (aged 16 or over) can answer on behalf of the entire household.
Why should I respond?
The information taken from this survey will be used to inform the Department of Education about childcare needs in Northern Ireland. This is your opportunity to provide opinions on childcare provision in your area.
Is my response compulsory?
While your response is not compulsory, the results are used to inform the Department of Education about childcare needs in Northern Ireland and we would encourage those selected to respond.
What questions are in the survey?
The survey will cover a range of topics such as:
- Childcare cost, usage and perceptions
- Work
- Health
- Qualifications
What is the closing date of the survey?
Please complete your questionnaire as soon as possible, the link will close at midnight on Friday 13th December 2024.
How did you decide which questions to ask?
NISRA worked with a cross-departmental Task and Finish Group, consisting of policy experts from the Department of Education (DE), the Department for the Economy (DfE), the Department for Communities (DfC), the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and the Department of Health (DoH), to create the Childcare Survey.
How many questions are in the survey?
The number of questions will depend on the composition of each household and their individual circumstances. Most responses are completed with a simple tick.
How long will the survey take to complete?
The time taken to complete the questionnaire will depend on the composition of each household and their individual circumstances. We would approximate the average survey completion time as 18 minutes – this is based on 2 children living at the address.
My children live in another household most of the time. Do I still complete the survey?
The survey should be completed in the household where your child spends most of their time.
Will I need to enter my partner’s details if they are not related to my child?
At the start of the survey, we will ask for basic information in relation to who lives in the household. The survey will only continue to ask questions about those household members who are aged 11 and under or are a parent or guardian to children aged 11 and under.
I am having difficulty completing the survey, what do I do?
Your response is important to us. If you are having difficulty completing the survey, we would like to help you. You can contact us using the details at the bottom of this page
Definition of terms used within the survey
What is the school SEN Register?
The Education Authority states that a pupil on the SEN Register has a special educational need (SEN) that requires special educational provision to be made for them. It is the school’s decision to place a child on the SEN Register. More information is available at: General SEN Information
How do I find my qualification level?
If your highest qualification is not listed in our survey, you can visit: What qualification levels mean: England, Wales and Northern Ireland - GOV.UK and then select the level appropriate to you.
What do you mean by additional hours of childcare that were not required?
Some parents or guardians regularly pay for hours of childcare each week that they do not need or use. This may be because the provider has a set rate.
For example, if a childcare provider has a daily rate from 7am to 5pm but you only drop your child off at 9am and collect at 4 pm, this would be 3 hours of childcare in one day that you did not use. If this was the case 5 days a week, you would enter ‘15’ into the response box.
What is the Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme (NICSS)?
The Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme (NICSS) is a Department of Education initiative designed to reduce the childcare costs of eligible working parents by 15% for all qualifying children. The aim of this scheme is to help working parents with the affordability of childcare costs for children who have not yet started primary school.
More information is available at: Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme
What are ‘direct payments’?
Direct payments allow you to arrange care and services yourself instead of receiving them directly from your local trust and can be made to parents and carers aged 16 or over.
More information is available at: Direct Payments for Children with Disabilities NI Direct
What is the ‘Family Support NI’ website?
The Department of Health has developed the Northern Ireland Family Support website to create a comprehensive database of family support and registered childcare services across Northern Ireland. More information is available at: Family SupportNI
After the survey
When will I receive my £10 cash voucher?
If you have selected to receive your £10 cash voucher by email, this will be sent to you within 7 working days directly from the Post Office.
If you have selected to receive your £10 cash voucher by post, this should arrive within 28 working days.
What will you do with the data collected?
NISRA will collate and analyse the data. It is anticipated that a report will be published in Spring 2025.
Useful links
Select the links below for more information on some of the topics raised in this survey.
- For more information About NISRA
- For more information about Early Learning and Childcare Strategy 2024
Contact
If you need to contact us, you can email childcaresurvey@nisra.gov.uk. Alternatively, you can call us on 02890 255352, Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm.