Groundbreaking research pioneered in Wales is transforming how childcare provision is understood and delivered across England, as new evidence shows the UK’s most detailed analysis of ‘childcare deserts’ and ‘childcare oases’ is built on methods developed by Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD) academics.
The researchers at WISERD – a collaboration between five universities in Wales which has been designated by the Welsh Government as a National Research Centre – have spent more than a decade developing advanced geographical techniques known as Floating Catchment Area (FCA) models.
One application for these is to allow analysts to measure how easily families can access essential services based on supply, demand, distance, and available transport.
The multi‑modal methodology, created by University of South Wales (USW) Professors Mitchel Langford and Gary Higgs, who are part of WISERD, has become the foundation for a national childcare accessibility analysis.
In a formal statement, Ofsted confirmed that WISERD’s Multi‑Modal Two‑Step Floating Catchment Area (MM‑2SFCA) method was ‘instrumental’ in enabling the organisation to map childcare access across 180,000 neighbourhoods in England – identifying areas with serious shortfalls in provision.
Ofsted acknowledged the approach allowed it to ‘capture the complexities of spatial inequalities and the distribution of childcare resources relative to population demand’.
The resulting insights have directly informed national policy, with Ofsted confirming the findings have been shared with the Department for Education and 10 Downing Street, helping shape the evidence base behind the UK Government’s £14 billion childcare expansion programme.
The analysis has also reached the public through the Office for National Statistics, which incorporated the FCA‑based methodology into its ONS childcare accessibility reports and published interactive postcode‑level maps, giving parents unprecedented insight into local childcare access.
This work has captured national attention, with extensive media coverage, including from national broadcasters, raising awareness of unequal access to childcare and the challenges facing working families.
The significance of the project has been recognised through several major awards. The childcare deserts and oases work – built on WISERD’s methodology – won the Royal Statistical Society’s Campion Award for Excellence in Official Statistics in 2025 for providing ‘novel insights’ into childcare access across England. It also secured the Analysis in Government Collaboration Award, praised for the strength of partnerships across academia, government and industry, and the impact on real‑world policy decisions.
A commentary by Professors Higgs and Langford, recently published in The Geographical Journal, highlighted the project as a powerful example of academic methodology shaping national policy, noting that WISERD’s FCA techniques provided the ‘analytical engine’ behind England’s hyperlocal childcare accessibility modelling.
“WISERD’s work has become a leading example of how Welsh research can drive UK‑wide change – improving understanding, supporting families, and strengthening the evidence behind one of the most important social policy reforms in a generation,” said Professor Higgs.
“It’s good to see the projects we are involved in recognised for their innovation and results, and providing an example of how Welsh partnerships such as WISERD can bring benefits to policymakers not just here, but also beyond our borders.”
This news article appeared originally on the University of South Wales website.