I am a mother to two young children who are 1 and 3. I live in the South West of England. I feel compelled to submit evidence for this inquiry because I do not feel that the current system supports women returning to work after having a child. This does not make economic sense and further increases the gender pay gap. There is a labour shortage, yet there are thousands of mothers who want to work but cannot afford to work. It makes sense to incentivise women to go back to work and to invest in quality care for our children.
Section One: Childcare Entitlements
1. How affordable and easy to understand is the current provision of childcare in England and what steps, if any, could be taken to improve it, especially in relation to families living within the most deprived areas in England?
Childcare is completely unaffordable. I was made redundant just before having my first child in 2019. I had planned to return to my job as a buyer 4 days per week. When searching for new part time work I could not find a job to match my level of skill that would enable me to work 4 days per week and make it financially worthwhile going back to work. I am lucky that my partner supports us, I don’t know how families in lower pay brackets are able to afford childcare because money is tight for us on my husband’s salary and he is considered a high earner. The 30 free hours system is complicated and difficult to understand.
2. Are the current entitlements providing parents/carers with sufficient childcare, and to what extent are childcare costs affecting parents/carers from returning to work full-time?
The cost of childcare has prevented me from going back to work since the birth of my first child in 2019. My second and youngest child will receive his funded hours in 2024 and I plan to return to work then. I will have been out of the work force for 5 years. I am a university graduate and have years of work experience but the gap in my CV will mean a drop in pay from when I left the workforce.
Top up fees in our area are around £3 per hour, and the 30 free hours are term-time only. Barely any jobs are term-time and very few nurseries offer term-time only places which means the actual total number of free hours is much fewer than 30. This makes nurseries still very expensive even with the “free” hours. Nurseries also have very long waiting lists of over a year and not being able to get all the days with one provider means I will probably have to use more than one.
I plan to use breakfast and after school clubs when my children attend school, I hear that the spaces are in demand and not always available when you need them.
3. Whether the current Tax-Free Childcare scheme, and support for childcare from the benefits and tax credit system, is working effectively or whether these subsidies could be better used within other childcare subsidies
There should be childcare support from the end of maternity leave until school. Women are not incentivised to go back to work. The system is still based on a 1950s model when the woman would usually stay at home with the children. I am a student, the NHS childcare grant helps but is only £2,000 when nursery fees for my two children are £12,000 per year. I am re-training for a new career, part of the reason is that healthcare roles offer more part-time jobs without penalising people financially for being part time.
Section Two: Early years provision
4. What challenges do early years providers face in terms of workforce, including recruiting, and retaining qualified staff, and the barriers faced by individuals joining the profession? To what extent has the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated workforce challenges?
My son’s preschool has struggled to recruit and retain staff. They are sometimes very close to having to shut for the day, if a member of staff is unwell. The manager does a lot of extra unpaid work for the preschool in her own time to keep it running. Places are in demand and it is hard to get extra days.
5. Whether the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) system is meeting the needs of pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN), and the improvements that could be made to better support young children with SEN within early years provisions
n/a
6. To what extent does the early years system adequately prepare young children for their transition into primary education, particularly children from disadvantaged backgrounds
Childcare staff are so important for our children’s development, they should be paid more and given opportunities for progression. They need to feel valued to provide this crucial support to our children.
7. The extent to which the reduction of Sure Start Children’s Centres has affected children and families, particularly children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and the role of Family Hubs
There was very little support in terms of free groups or places to meet other parents when my children were babies. Motherhood can be very lonely, a support network is crucial for mothers and for the well-being of their children.