Public Childcare Now

Early Years Education & Care for all

Successive governments have failed EARLY YEARS.

Decades of bad policy – funding childcare via entitlements – means Governments have not properly invested in public early years infrastructure, but instead relied on the market to provide.

Parents are left navigating an expensive, almost entirely privatised and increasingly chain-dominated and de-regulated sector, while childcare workers (many also parents themselves) on average earn less than the minimum wage (Social Mobility Commission, 2020)

Privatisation + underfunding = deregulation & FINancialisation

Chronic underfunding, has seen closures of smaller nurseries, and large private equity backed nursery chains buying up more and more of the sector, without necessarily creating more places or investing more in staff (UCL research, 2022).

This has led to fee rises and extra costs for parents, low wages for the childcare workforce, and now a recruitment crisis.

Childcare professionals – a 98% female workforce – continue to on average earn less than the minimum wage. There is ongoing reliance on underpaid apprentices, zero hours bank staff, and a system that prioritises profit over proper support.

Our inadequate and unaffordable childcare system means many lower paid key workers continue to have to make use of the only available option – juggling unpaid care – friends and family support.

REMAining public and community nurseries are closing.

Small, non-profit and public nurseries (council-run day nurseries, and maintained nursery schools), that serve deprived communities, support children with different learning needs, and those learning English as a second language, and try to keep fees affordable, have long been closing their doors.

The £4.1 billion+ childcare expansion is not universal.

70% of those eligible for the new expanded hours are from homes in the top half of earners (Sutton Trust, 2024). Families subject No Recourse to Public Funds, students, and those who earn under a certain amount are excluded.

DISABLED childrens' RIGHTS HAVE BEEN ABANDONED.

The early years are the moment that different learning support needs can be identified – and yet just 6% of councils report "sufficient childcare for children with disabilities" (Coram 2024).

Save our Nurseries! Early Years Education and Childcare for All

We say any expansion of early years support should save at risk public nurseries, invest in staff and be for all children.

Join the fight! We are building a national campaign for universal public early years education and care - join our mailing list, and contact us to get involved.