Joeli Brearley, founder of the campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, is hoping to get 1,000 responses from childcare providers to her survey.
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It forms part of her campaign to ensure childcare is ‘properly’ subsidised so mothers can return to work and adds to an earlier survey the group carried out of over 1,700 parents that Ms Brearley says ‘paints a bleak, but insightful picture’ of how childcare costs are affecting mothers and fathers.
With the survey of childcare providers, she said she hoped to inform MPs of the ‘whole story’ rather than just the ‘parent story’.
The survey includes questions on the recruitment of childcare staff and financial pressures.
Ms Brearley (pictured) told Nursery World, ‘The childcare system in the UK is in tatters. Research by the OECD has revealed that we have the second most expensive childcare system in the world, yet our childcare workers are badly paid and overworked and childcare providers are being forced to close their doors due to financial pressures.
‘We believe that parents, childcare providers and childcare staff need to work together to ensure the Government hears our message loud and clear - early years funding needs to increase before our children suffer, parents are forced to leave their jobs, and nurseries are forced to shut up shop. Good quality, properly subsidised childcare is a critical component of a well-functioning society.
Following a successful petition on the parliament website, MPs will soon debate whether free childcare should be provided to children from nine months old; in advance of this debate, we are collecting data to ensure MPs have all the facts from the different stakeholders. Our survey for parents has been completed by over 1700 people, we now want to hear the challenges faced by providers.’
Click here for the survey for childcare providers- open until Monday 13 May.
