The study of more than 2,000 workers and students showed that many had a firm desire to be stay-at-home mothers once they had their own families. These women revealed a great reluctance to contemplate using childcare other than relatives for their children. They also believed that employment should fit round school hours.
With such a high proportion of the childcare workforce being young women of childbearing age, these findings have worrying implications for recruitment and retention. If the Government wants to attract the 150,000 extra childcare workers needed over the next three years, it must tackle the issue of family-friendly practices, as well as low pay.
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