Research reveals child care lottery

New research reveals that there is only one registered child
care place for every four children under the age of eight in
Britain, writes Amy Taylor.

The paper, written by child care charity the Daycare Trust, also
finds that many families are unable to access quality affordable
child care in their area, with a typical nursery place for a child
under two costing £134 a week – nearly £7,000 a year.

The trust says access to child care is a lottery dependent on
where families live, their income and employment.

The paper comes just weeks before the publication of the
government’s 10-year plan for child care and early years services,
due in November.

It urges ministers to give parents more freedom in how they use
services for children and families and calls on them to start a
public debate on what such services should look like over the next
decade.

The trust particularly wants the distinction between care and
education of young children to be removed, and access to services
not to depend on whether parents work.

– A new era for universal childcare? from 020 7840
3350.