Childcare costs hold parents – and particularly mothers – back from getting into or getting on in employment, and heap significant pressures on families navigating the challenges of parenthood. For children, access to high quality early years education can play a role in narrowing inequalities between disadvantaged children and their peers.
Despite these high stakes, England has no coherent early years’ infrastructure: there are currently seven different schemes on offer to parents in England
It’s time for a childcare guarantee to lower barriers for parents getting back into or getting on in work, to reduce costs for families with children, and to ensure every child has access to high quality early years education.
