Two-thirds of the poorest families in England are missing out on childcare, according to a report.
Analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and Save the Children has found that access to affordable and good-quality childcare is defined by class. Among the poorest fifth of parents with young children, only a third (36%) use formal childcare, compared with double that (73%) of the highest-earning families.
The report found that over two-thirds of the parents who worked in professional jobs, for example as lawyers, doctors and architects, used formal childcare, compared with less than half of parents in occupations such as cleaning, care work and hairdressing.
Researchers warn that the expansion of free childcare which is under way is therefore at risk of not meeting the needs of poorer families unless the government thinks differently about its delivery.
The report also found significant variation in regional access to childcare within a reasonable travel time. The more deprived or more rural a local area is, the fewer and lower-quality childcare options families tend to have.
The most deprived areas have 32% fewer places per child and 25% fewer places with “good” Ofsted ratings compared with the most affluent areas. Rural areas have 31% fewer places and 29% fewer “good” places compared with inner cities and town centres. For example, three in four children in Walsall, in the West Midlands, live in areas that have some of the worst access to childcare in England.
The researchers said these differences in levels of access could not be fully explained by the number of in-work households with children. They said part of the problem was due to falling numbers of childminders and warned that at the current rate, a drop of about 3,000 childminders a year, there may be none left by 2033.
The researchers also pointed to the issue of the lack of places in school-based nurseries. While the number of schools offering nursery provision has grown since 2018, the headcount of children in primary school nurseries has reduced by 14% between 2015 and 2024.
The report calls for a series of policies to boost England’s market of childcare providers, including establishing new not-for-profit nursery trusts to rival private equity-backed, for-profit chains.
Other policies it cites include:
Empowering local authorities to pool funding to secure new childcare in the areas of greatest need and organise the new schools-based nursery expansion.
Ensuring childminders are paid monthly.
Increasing funding for deprived areas and children living in deprivation.
Reforming the SEND funding system.
Jodie Reed, an associate fellow at IPPR, said: “The extension of funded childcare entitlements currently under way is unprecedented. But our analysis shows that if the government doesn’t think differently about the delivery, it could leave the poorest children and families far behind – without access to decent quality provision which matches their needs – and the government far from reaching its opportunity mission goals to reduce poverty and narrow gaps in early childhood outcomes.”
Ruth Talbot, a policy and advocacy adviser at Save the Children UK, said: “A new focus on children with SEND is essential and we support making better use of the standard two-year-old health checks to unlock funding. Local leadership and the development of not-for-profit childcare trusts is also something the UK government should consider, ensuring the poorest children are targeted.”
