The childcare system is in crisis. Drastic spikes in care costs for children under three, along with rising cost of living bills and stagnant wages, have forced many parents to rethink their return to work.
We spoke to parents in Lincolnshire about the impact of rising childcare fees, ahead of an announcement of extra help expected in the government’s Budget tomorrow.
Parents across the county have received letters and emails in recent months from providers who have hiked fees in order to cover costs. Many parents have been forced into different job roles, to cut their hours or to give up working altogether, as they struggle to break even.
“I feel like giving up work every single day when all your wages go on bills it does not seem worth it,” said Charlotte Croft from Lincoln.
Charlotte with her daughter Awa (14 months)
A tax free childcare option is currently the only financial help available from the government for working parents of children under three.
To place a child under two in nursery full-time – 50 hours a week – costs on average more than £14,000 a year in the UK (in London, it is £19,000 a year).
Full-time nursery costs almost two-thirds of an average parent’s weekly take-home pay.
“I have to pay £1,053 a month for four days of nursery. It’s so expensive!” said Charlotte. “I get £200 a month from the government to help but it’s still a lot.
“I work from home full time. I used to work at the hospital in Leicester as a nurse but it was too expensive to cover my shifts as I had to get a private nanny and my wages wouldn’t cover that.
“I moved back to Lincoln so my parents can help me and my job has no flexibility around childcare now. If I need to be off I won’t get paid. My wages have definitely not increased to match the cost of bills especially nursery costs.”
Another mum from Lincoln said: “It cost us £750 a month for three days a week for our 20-month-old until he was three. Even with 30 hours free childcare when he turned three, it costs £350 a month for three days a week due to needing out of hours 8-5, meals and it being non-term time only.
“It’s hard and we are full-time working parents. We can’t afford any more days. We trialled four days a week when he was under three and it was almost £900 a month.
“We did not expect it to cost more than our mortgage.
“We have considered having another child but, after our ages, (I’m 38 this year and my husband is 40) our next biggest worry is being able to afford child care.”
A strategy to get hundreds of thousands of workers back into the workforce, is expected to be announced in Wednesday’s Budget. It will include more funding for childcare, thought to centre around people on Universal Credit.
It will also potentially change the eligibility for the free 30 hour scheme. Currently parents can apply for children aged three and above, but this could now also include one and two-year-olds.
What the scheme does not yet account for is the problem many parents of children with special education needs face in finding provision.
One Lincoln parent told The Lincolnite they were never able to return to work as there was no SEN childcare available to them.
“My experience is not at all unique and is very well known amongst SEN parents. If your child is too disabled in some way for mainstream childcare then there is no childcare at all.”
Critics also say that while the expansion of the ‘free’ childcare offer in the budget will be welcomed by many parents, it must also be joined by significant financial investment.
The charity Pregnant Then Screwed, is warning of the need for financial support for providers who may not cope with extra demand from ‘free hours’ applications.
CEO Joeli Brearley said: “We are pleased to hear the Government is taking the childcare crisis seriously – but the devil is in the detail. Simply expanding ‘free hours’ is not the solution. The Early Years sector is in such a mess that if you increase demand without increasing supply, it will fall over.
“The 30 hours ‘free’ scheme does not currently work for providers as it is knowingly underfunded by the Government. Providers must make up this shortfall by charging more for younger children.
“Extending this entitlement would mean providers are unable to cross subsidise, leaving them with no choice but to close.
“Any credible plan to fix our childcare system must include significant supply side financial investment otherwise it will fail.
“Childcare is not babysitting, it is imperative that quality of provision is central to this strategy and that means providers being able to pay childcare professionals a decent salary for the very valuable job they do.”
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