Childcare in England isn’t working, for children, parents, or providers. A patchwork of government-funded support leaves parents battling against eye-wateringly high costs, while providers are struggling to keep their doors open across the country as running costs rise but funding continues to fall short.
As gaps in school readiness widen between disadvantaged children and their peers, and as soaring living costs pull more families into financial insecurity, or deeper poverty, action on childcare is urgent.
This paper is the second of two exploring the case for a childcare guarantee in England.