Difficulty accessing early years provision has left more than a quarter (27 per cent) of parents with under-fives struggling to balance work and childcare, according to a poll by the Early Years Alliance.
Parents in disadvantaged areas were most likely to feel unsupported by Government policies, the survey said.
The poll of more than 3,000 parents, carried out in July and August 2021, found:
- Parents in deprived areas were 22 per cent more likely to say they were struggling, with four out of five (80 per cent) saying the Government was not doing enough to help them access affordable, accessible childcare.
- One in six (17 per cent of) respondents said problems accessing childcare had resulted in poor mental health, with stress and anxiety the most frequent complaints.
- More than a third (36 per cent) of parents surveyed said that difficulties accessing childcare had negatively impacted their work life, with nearly half of those (47 per cent) reporting that it had negatively impacted their mental health.
- Nine in 10 (92 per cent) respondents were mothers, suggesting childcare issues continue to adversely affect the female workforce.
- One in six (16 per cent) reported having to reduce their working hours with the average number of hours falling 41 per cent, from 36.7 to 21.7 hours per week.
- Single parents were twice as likely to be forced to change jobs, or to leave work entirely as a result (11 per cent versus 6 per cent for dual-parent households).
Neil Leitch, Early Years Alliance chief executive, said, ‘This Government has repeatedly told the public it is on the side of working families, but cuts to crucial early care and education tell a different story. Early years settings deliver vital learning and development opportunities to young children, but also provide the quality childcare that parents rely on to work, bring in additional income and further their careers.
‘With budgets becoming ever tighter in the face of rising costs and stagnant funding, many nurseries, pre-schools and childminders have been forced to make tough decisions about the days, hours, and flexibility they can offer. As our survey shows, this in turn is forcing parents to make their own difficult choices about their working lives. For settings and families in more deprived areas, these challenges are even more acute.
The survey also found that parents who previously attended a childcare setting that had permanently closed often found it challenging to secure an alternative, with just one in three (29 per cent) saying it was easy to find a new setting.
One parent said, 'There are limited places for babies in my area. The nursery we attend is due to close due to the landlords not renewing the lease – it’s an outstanding nursery. This will be the fifth one to close. I and other parents have had to move 3 times chasing here and there before work and older children’s drop offs.'
Another respondent said, 'I have episodes of stress and anxiety as I struggle to balance childcare needs with work and my marital relationship. Being less able to access informal care for prolonged periods has also put much more of a strain on us.'
According to Government data, the number of settings on the early years register has dropped by more than 2,500 settings in the last 12 months, equivalent to 4.5 per cent of the overall sector.
The Alliance has called on the Government to carry out a full review of early years funding ahead of the spending review this autumn.
Documents received by the Alliance following a two-year Freedom of Information battle, showed that in 2015, the department estimated the cost of providing a funded place for a three- or four-year old would reach £7.49 per child per hour by 2020-21, compared to the £4.89 on average they actually received (£4.89), less than two thirds of the estimated cost.
Mr Leitch added, ‘We have seen the Government documents: ministers are fully aware that early years underfunding is driving up childcare costs – and that this is keeping parents, and especially mothers out of the workplace – and yet they continue to insist that all is fine and refuse to even review what is clearly a broken system.
‘We urge the Government to seize the opportunity of the spending review this autumn to finally show it has the interests of children and families at heart, something it is yet to demonstrate in any meaningful way.’
Tulip Siddiq MP, Labour’s shadow minister for children and early years, said, 'Working parents are under incredible daily pressure as a result of the Government’s failure to deliver affordable childcare for all.
'A decade of underfunding has driven up childcare costs and reduced availability, with nearly 3,000 providers lost since the start of this year alone. As so often is the case under the Conservatives, it is the poorest families who are bearing the brunt of this failure.
'This Conservative Government has been all talk and no action when it comes to supporting parents with childcare. Ministers need to wake up to the huge difficulties facing families and put their needs first as we rebuild after the pandemic.'
A Government spokesperson said,'We have made an unprecedented investment in childcare over the past decade, spending more than £3.5 billion in each of the past three years on our free childcare offers. We have also announced a £44 million investment for 2021-22, to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers for those free offers.
'We are further improving children’s outcomes through our investments into early years recovery, including the Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme, which has to date supported 60,000 four and five-year-olds to date with their language, communication and speech.'
