Publisher's Synopsis
This report looks at the day care needs of ethnic minorities who form a small but diverse population in Hull and Scunthorpe. Interviews with minority ethnic families and community groups show that where day care is known about, affordable and felt to be comfortable and appropriate, it is used.;Apart from school nurseries, much day care provision is not used by ethnic minorities. Barriers to use described by the families are explored here, along with the views of day care providers. Providers suggested a range of training both to meet their own needs and to help address what they saw as barriers: training on cultural awareness, anti-racist strategies, and the use of multi-cultural resources. Use of day care provision is set in the context of major experiences in daily life for ethnic minorities, of racism (faced by adults and children) and isolation. Apart from school nurseries, much day care provision is not used by ethnic minorities. Barriers to use described by the families are explored here, along with the views of day care providers. Providers suggested a range of training both to meet their own needs and to help address what they saw as barriers: training on cultural awareness, anti-racist strategies, and the use of multi-cultural resources. Use of day care provision is set in the context of major experiences in daily life for ethnic minorities, of racism (faced by adults and children) and isolation (especially for women).;The small and diverse minority ethnic populations of Hull and Scunthorpe are not unique, so this report should be useful reading for all policy makers and practitioners for early childhood services. It should be of interest for local authority managers and other professionals in social services and education, for voluntary sector agencies, and particularly for day care providers and all those concerned with children's welfare, learning and development.
