An oasis of choice for borough children

The annual Ofsted report, published in early December, has named Wokingham Borough as the best place for childcare, as well as having one of the lowest levels of children and young people missing school.

This report included research done with the Office for National Statistics, which looked at how easily families can access childcare in different neighbourhoods across England.

They examined the number of childcare spots available for every 100 children and labelled areas as ‘deserts’ or ‘oases’— with deserts having the least access and oases having the most access to high-quality childcare.

Wokingham Borough topped the table for neighbourhoods in local authorities with the highest proportion of oases in England, being spotlighted in the report in this landmark research.

Low school absence numbers

The report also looked at school attendance, in particular those children and young people who are persistently absent from school, described as those who miss more than ten per cent of their schooling.

Wokingham Borough has a persistent absentee rate of 14 per cent, which puts it at the fourth lowest area in the country, not far behind the lowest area which has a rate of 12.4 per cent.

This is reflected in the borough’s overall absence levels of 5.67 per cent, also the fourth lowest area in the country.

Fortunate families

Cllr Prue Bray, executive member for children’s services, said: “Families in our borough are very fortunate to have such a great selection of local childcare, and we are excited to be highlighted in Ofsted’s annual report.

“Like all authorities we would like there to be no persistent absenteeism in our schools. However our low numbers reflect the quality of schools and the support available for children, young people, and their families.”

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