Childcare is broken: is the UK failing its future?

The early years education system in the UK is broken. Soaring nursery fees are forcing parents - usually the mother - to give up quit work, yet childcare settings are so chronically underfunded they are barely able to stay afloat and underpaid staff are leaving in droves.
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The government has promised a childcare revolution with more free hours for families. The Guardian's Alexandra Topping speaks to parents and campaigners to find out whether this additional help for parents will fix the problems in the childcare sector or simply heap more pressure on an industry already on the verge of collapse.
00:00 - Intro
00:55 - A nursery closes down forever
02:17 - What do you do when your childcare disappears?
03:59 - Nursery fees and childcare reforms
04:43 - Pregnant Then Screwed and the March of the Mummies
06:34 - Childcare crisis in the UK
08:24 - Madcaps nursery: we need ministers who care about early years education
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#nursery #childcare #costofliving #guardian #earlyyearseducation #children

[@theGuardian]

We also went to Finland to see how much better things could be for parents, nurseries and other childcare settings: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6SklZypprCml68

[@utubeftw100]

You are talking about totally different population sizes and demographics

[@wd3987]

Yup and how do they treat non finnish kids. Or even weird finnish kids. Finns have a huge bullying problem. I babysat a kid who bite and beat up and even filmed a little girl naked after ripping off her clothes at day care. He wasn't stooped. No action was taken. They legally had to keep him in the group despite the fact he was mentally disturbed. Those poor other kids. They were not safe in day care with him.

[@lordwellingtonthethird8486]

Also Finland have much better education …

[@kathrinkaefer]

@@wd3987 That's obviously not okay and something needs to be done about that. Still, the system overall is a whole lot better than in the UK. My son has been in a Finnish public daycare for about a year and we have thankfully had no issues - and it's affordable.

[@dongmingzhu666]

It’s all because of privatization and the Tories!😂

[@JLili12]

Our tax money is so poorly and corruptly managed that we are taxed to death and get nothing back for it - that’s the issue!!

[@yourname7176]

given to sunaks friends 😭

[@e13kid]

I mean…That’s what happens when you vote for conservatives. They give the tax money to the rich. If you live in a rich area you’ve definitely noticed the gains from tax money.

[@TM_VI]

Still has to do with poor management. With public services (initially created with well intentions) too much money goes to administrators. @@e13kid

[@davestevenson9080]

@@yourname7176 do you mean the international banksters, or the invaders on our shores. either way you are right

[@whitneyanders5945]

Well.. how else do billionaires get richer if it wasn’t for us tax payers subsidising their lives and businesses. We must keep subsidising the rich to ensure we get to see the first trillionaire, and also so they can buy bigger and better super yachts to float about on in the Med.

[@junebenmesrouk]

The uk needs a reboot .

[@mauranolan843]

And so does the government and the boot as well.

[@robynmcsharry9611]

A revolution

[@pingping7594]

I think this is more of a factory reset situation.

[@MsKenzo7]

We won’t see an improvement in our lifetime.

[@Stavraetina]

Spot on!

[@katee67]

As a Mum in the UK you honestly feel you cant win no matter what you do.

[@A_pouringheart]

Literally!! You get prosecuted for having a child. You get prosecuted for asking for resources to be allocated accordingly and for schools to be better funded for us to be able to use afterschool clubs so we can go out and work. You get prosecuted for not working. I was just told "then don't be a single mum" , as if I could shove my 5 year old back into my vagina. We literally can't win

[@johnjones3813]

I'm somehow relieved it's not just my country having these issues.

[@truehappiness4U]

Can’t both parents work less so they can take care of their own child? Instead of giving your child to a stranger lol. As parents you need to connect with your child. The 4 grandparents can help as well with babysitting the child for few hours a week. Life is about family, happiness, love etc. not work or money. Better spend your time with your family

[@A_pouringheart]

@truehappiness4U Im sure people would love to spend more time with their kids if they could, but not every parent has that sort of support network. It life. You just have to make do with what cards you have been dealt with and try to find that balance.

[@chloesian5512]

@@truehappiness4Uwhat an ignorant comment. Not everyone can afford to just reduce their hours or force grandparents to give up their lives

[@WhiteWinds]

Ok so I live in Sweden. My 2 1/2 year old has just started preschool (15 hours a week). Preschools are heavily funded by the state and fees are income based. The max you will pay per month for 15 hours a week is around 100 pounds and the childcare is very good quality. You have 1 staff member for every 4 kids. Staff are paid much better than minimum wage, often have university education and the focus is on early learning.

[@juliebrooke6099]

In England 15 hours free childcare is available for some two year olds and for all three and four year olds and some three and four year olds can get 30 hours free if their parents both work. The problem is a shortage of places in some areas and the high cost of extra hours because what the government pays for the free hours doesn’t cover the actual cost.

[@neusb172]

In spain the teachers also have a university education but the ratio staff to child is really high 4 to 12 months, 6 babies per class 1 to 2 years, 12 toddlers per class 2 to 3 years, 18 toddlers per class 3 to 6 years, 22 children per class there is usually one teacher with higher education per class and one auxiliar teacher (but she is not full time) But we pay between 50€ to 300€ depending on how much you earn, for 30 hours a week

[@MeiinUK]

@@neusb172 : Many of the babysitters in the UK, and the ones being supported by the local councils as well. They were also actually qualified doctors back in their own home country, but never converted into the UK systems. There is a lot of hidden info which is not necessarily clarified or converted into the UK systems sometimes.

[@taiyah_byron]

The Swedes and the rest of the Scandinavian countries are taxed quite heavily. The minimum tax rate is 32 - 33%. That's why all educational institutions, including childcare are either free or very cheap. Through your tax system, Swedish residents and citizens has an ingrained communal approach and understand their financial roles in rearing and nurturing children. There is no way this system, 32 - 33% minimum tax rate will ever work in the UK, USA, AUS or any other country. But that IS the price of free or heavily subsidised childcare.

[@franckcolomb5579]

And how many of those 4 kids are real Swedes?

[@asahdo]

I worked at a nursery that was owned and run by the council. I was on decent pay, they trained me up for free and the cost for parents was affordable. Then the council sold the nursery to a private company. The first thing the private company did was DOUBLE the childcare fees and when they did this they sent out an email to all the parents saying the reason they were having to put the nursery fees up was because the government were raising the minimum wage. My wage actually went down when the private company took over - I was earning about 70p/hour above minimum wage before they took over and they reduced my wage to minimum wage.

[@UK-sm4co]

oh no!

[@leonie7754]

seems like everything is going private - we'll end up like America at this rate :(

[@flavianyende480]

That's there mission

[@Likes_Trains]

I worked as a teacher for a year so I can totally sympathise with the carers here who are at breaking point working mininum wage while having supposedly one of the most crucial jobs. It's soul destroying

[@JackieMackenzie]

Any “women’s” work like raising and teaching children and nursing etc is poorly paid. Men do not value this and so the monetary value reflects that. It’s crazy that you make money money ‘making money’ than you do influencing the next generation and working for the NHS.

[@asea1203]

I escaped teaching after one year of it. Since then, all the jobs I've had have paid me many times more with a fraction of the effort that teaching requires. Teaching is doable if parents and admin weren't putting so much pressure on the teachers and blaming them for everything.

[@AlbionTarkhan]

It’s only a crucial job because people aren’t looking after their own kids. Every other culture outside of the west looks after their own kids and they’re way poorer than us

[@os6078]

100% I was working as a TA - in nightmare schools with little support & an overwhelming behaviour issues from children. It was horrible & I do not recommend anyone go into that career - as many of the long time teaching assistant stated that they had horrific health issues as a result of the stress & terrible working conditions

[@mahmoudsahm8777]

​@os6078 That's why UK government is bringing teachers from Zimbabwe and other African countries.Those are tough people who are paid 100 times more than back home.With their Zimbabwean degrees ,they can go straight to British classrooms and even given 10 000 pounds boost if they accept to come That's how UK is falling .African educated teachers,doctors filling up positions because Brits don't want these jobs In few decades it will change demographics of the country.

[@davegrant22]

The thing i've never really understood is where all the money actually goes? 3 days a week costs more than our mortgage but the resources are terrible, the hardworking staff and managers are seemingly paid nothing. Over a thousand pounds a month and they can't afford to pay staff a living wage..? Where is all the money going and why is it not to the staff who care for my kid?!

[@theGuardian]

That's an interesting question. The amount that nurseries receive from the government for 30 hours "free" childcare is substantially less than an hour actually costs to provide. So childcare settings are left having to make up that shortfall by charging parents more elsewhere. So the cost is often passed on to parents of younger children. The 30 hours "free" also only covers term time, but most nurseries spread it over the course of a year to make their pricing consistent. Here's an article from 2017 that explains a lot of it (although the shortfall is even worse now than it was then because funding hasn't kept up with inflation): www.theguardian.com/education/2017/aug/27/uk-nurseries-30-hours-free-childcare-parents-providers-think-again

[@susanb4816]

Insurance and energy

[@MeiinUK]

14k is half a mortgage. And families are not moving to secure their education or anything. And estate agents don't follow their regulations... This is why without coordination. It floods. Most people know this. And why would a single city have both private and council offerings ? If they cared about supporting their councils to be solvent then they would indeed do the right things.

[@belledear54]

Ask the private nurseries. I was working in a private nursery which is family run and they refuse to pay more than minimum wage and keep asking why people are leaving and no one is coming for interviews etc. 😂 they are charging £92 for one day 8am to 6pm. But they have mostly apprentices so unqualified and pay them £5 or less an hour. They have staff that can't even speak proper English they're foreigners. They treated us like shit and complain and nothing is ever good enough, we'd only get 1 hour break the entire day and they expect us to have a load of energy the entire day. And even then the food is cheap that they feed the children, frozen fish they'd have not even once a week, supermarket brand cereal and toast for breakfast, potato, frozen veg, don't even use the quorn meat substitute. Also the ratio of children to staff, there's always too many children, one child ended up with a concussion because it was just one practitioner outside with all these toddlers. It's ridiculous just for minimum wage lol. It's a joke. And when I was pregnant I got treated like crap. It's just terrible. Yet the owners are rich and live in a big house and have a live in cleaner and they complain she doesn't empty the bin on the weekend 😂

[@carlwide6594]

Where does any of your money go when Governments are involved? Either into their pockets, or down the drain.

[@lilykearns6430]

Unpopular opinion: shouldn’t we as parents consider that perhaps a better solution would be to call for a society that supports the ability for one parent to stay home with the children (whether that be Mum or Dad). At the moment that’s just not an option for most people due to low wages and a lack of tax incentives for parents of children. Especially considering that children do best being raised by their parents. That’s not to disparage the wonderful nursery carers out there and sure not everyone would want this but I think a lot of families - if they could afford to live off one salary and have one parent at home with the kids - they would choose to do that. We’ve made it an impossibility in the Uk and I think it’d be better to make that possible. You only have little people once. We should empower parents to be able to raise their children and be present for them and form healthy attachments. Of course, tragically in some cases children are safer in nursery than at home and so of course I understand it’s not a perfect solution. Nursery and child care are of course absolutely necessary in some cases i.e. single parents with no extended family support.

[@ryansmith9138]

kids would socialise less. also its less efficient in terms of productivity when you consider a highly skilled parent who may be on 50k+ a year would then be looking after 1 or 2 kids. when child care workers can generally look after 4 at a nursery. the idea of nursary care is about economy of scale

[@louises7443]

​@ryansmith9138 This argument reduces the value of parents to purely economic productivity units who are interchangeable with strangers when it comes caring for their children. Socialisation is a myth, children don't even interact with each other until about three and a half years of age. Before that, they parallel play, which actually is just playing on their own but in proximity to other children. Also, if people have multiple children like they are supposed to, kids can interact and socialise with their siblings.

[@emmalouise8001]

I could not be a stay at home mum. I love my son to bits but I like working and having a life of my own as well. That’s not the solution to this problem, the solution is the government need to properly fund these nurseries.

[@ryansmith9138]

@@ianclose123 feminism? why is this an issue? surely OPs comment just means one parent. doesnt matter which

[@MUMSTHEWORDXX]

⁠@@emmalouise8001being a full time Mum is a job that we pay others to do and they can have their own lives too - speaking as one

[@ForestSchoolLou]

Since becoming a mum 3 years ago I have been wondering why raising children at home (or in a setting) isn't valued more highly - the way I see it, we are nurturing the future generations and the Early Years are the foundations of a person's life. As I see it there is nothing more important!

[@raisafrank8916]

I agree with you

[@ih2439]

Because capitalism doesn’t value any of that. Just extracting as much short-term profit as possible from every source.

[@harpsailorharp6716gg]

there is nothing more important than chilling whilst your husbands are at work

[@Hi-jw7oq]

​​@@harpsailorharp6716gghaha spoken like someone who doesnt have kids or isnt taking care of kids full time

[@A_pouringheart]

Being a single parent with no support is the most frustrating thing ever in the UK. We are not even considered😭 Every single school in the UK should have an afterschool club. Employers should also be encouraged to allow job sharing and they should have a percentage of staff who share jobs.

[@lifeonmars478]

Teachers already do enough, they also deserve lives

[@elzmelz]

​@@Im-du4qnnot always, schools often have to eat the cost of a club ran by external staff. Most clubs are ran by teachers

[@katyjayne09]

​@@Im-du4qnactually a lot of it falls on Teachers and Teaching Assistants

[@JediDarkForce]

Don't be a single parent in the first place

[@lordwellingtonthethird8486]

@@JediDarkForcewhat if one parent dies? Don’t be a moron.

[@JamesJones-ok7qu]

I live in Germany. My child is able to go to an income assessed private bilingual kindergarten from 1-6 years for 350 euros per months. She attends for about 7 hours a day. The teachers are well qualified and quite well paid here. It’s a million miles away from my friends kids in the Uk. The UK system is a joke by comparison.

[@blacklanton]

That’s crazy, becuase over here in uk I got quoted £1300 a month for less than 4 hours a day, 2 days a week!

[@nothanks1239]

It's crazy how vastly different the prices are. I decided not to go back to work, because it seemed pointless putting in so many hours, if the majority of my pay would go to the childcare costs. It didn't justify not being home to raise my own children.

[@amreens9987]

Hello how about not sending your child to childminders and looking after your own child at a push having family help If needed it should be dire to send the poor child away from its biological parents I don’t care how pretty you make the child minders sound! The poor child will suffer psychologically it’s devastating. Hope you can fulfil the rights of your beautiful child. All the best.

[@KarlaEmmerson]

@@amreens9987having children and knowing you won’t be the one raising them is just mind blowing to me 🥴

[@lynzannabel6990]

@@amreens9987 👍🏽

[@northernbohemianrealist1412]

Why are these children not working? In my day, we wouldn't have put up with this idleness. There were plenty of opportunities for little ones in the mines.

[@AndrewNyamuzuwe-dl6zl]

This is a joke, right?

[@danm8412]

​@@AndrewNyamuzuwe-dl6zlLol. Quite obviously.

[@elsaflora9181]

🤣😅

[@sharinaross1865]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@TheLampini]

Sadly I recently heard that the Tories DO actually have the child labour laws in their sights..

[@o13sweetboy]

Almost everything is broken in the UK, the society has gone to shits.

[@Stavraetina]

A society made for the rich.

[@kanedNunable]

thatcher in the 80s: "there is no such thing as society". and wonder why its collapsed?

[@freddieellis5144]

Haha yeah and you hear this BS from Kate and William about caring about early years but the early years are where all the issues are still at and nothing being done

[@freddieellis5144]

Is William and Kate going to take less taxes of the public money and put into early years??? Didn't think so

[@earnestequivocation6250]

Every service in Broken Brexit Britain is a mess. It’s like Tories but even worse.

[@cdylancarter9968]

Oh for god sake, just move on and stop whining. It’s the Tories and lockdown that created the problems, BREXIT HAS FU*K ALL TO DO WITH IT!

[@wft15]

Liebour will be no different, we need a new party.

[@TheFenfur]

We need people within the parties who are not self-promoting pigs at a trough.

[@kanedNunable]

@@wft15 bar the fact things were much better when they were last in. are you having memory problems?

[@wft15]

@kanedNunable no they weren't, we were in a war we had no part being in, Blair opened the floodgates, and we amassed a lot of debt. Starter can't even say what a woman is or even go an hour without flipfloping. What a joke

[@marjoriecash6685]

UK is just so broken over everything. 😢

[@yofinance1777]

Where isn’t? What country, policy and system should we aspire to be like? We’re acting like spoilt kids who don’t realise how good they actually have it.

[@randomcommenter7170]

​@@yofinance1777Sweden is a good example of living and is one of the best countries of most things in the world apparently

[@fab9037]

​@@randomcommenter7170but what about their taxes

[@sethnavabi6926]

​@@randomcommenter7170and look up their winters with zero sunshine 24 hours a day. Let's not pretend this is a UK-only thing like the Guardian are alluding to here.

[@20storiesunder]

​@@yofinance1777A sad way to respond. Hiding head in the sand about how badly the UK is doing helps no one.

[@saraha4660]

MINIMUM WAGE TO LOOK AFTER SCREAMING CHILDREN ALL DAY. All that stress is not worth it. They’ve got these “practitioners” for mugs

[@marigoldbeam5475]

It's the same with the elderly. Carers/healthcare assistants are paid minimum wage and given a huge ratio of clients per carer. Consequently the staff are chronically stressed and failing, and the clients receive substandard care. It isn't the carers faults, it's our society that neglects the vulnerable, children and adults. That's the tory legacy, Boris and Dave.

[@rayclam8079]

It's easy and requires no skill and is fun compared to a lot of other jobs. I used to do it.

[@klausschwab9828]

A lot of women actually like children, some will even choose to have some of their own and look after them for FREE. Crazy I know! 😂

[@randomness051]

​@@rayclam8079well I can guarantee you didn't do it well if that's your opinion

[@rayclam8079]

My employer seemed pleased and the kids seemed to like me so I think I did ok

[@lovepeace4065]

What isn’t finished in the UK would be an easier question. Years of failing politics and policies from all different parties but especially the conservatives

[@peterclarke7240]

The tragedy is the SureStart programme, implemented by New Labour, was absolutely revolutionary, and did so much good work. Such a shame everyone has so quickly forgotten how much better they had it. But I guess that's what the Tories have ALWAYS counted on.

[@Avasmith910]

Yet Labour closed a record amount of special schools as they believe in inclusion. One size don’t fit all , some of these children will have sen and made to struggle in a mainstream classroom

[@peterclarke7240]

@@Avasmith910 Yes. You know why? Because those students statistically do better at mainstream schools, as do their non-statemented peers, because, under new labour, statemented children were provided with appropriate in-class support from specialist teaching assistants. It was economically more cost-effective to do that, than it was to divert huge chuncks of a council's education budget to running great big institutions, when smaller, more focussed institutions for the kids who REALLY wouldn't cope in mainstream schools was infinitely more effective. It's utter bullshit to believe (and it is a belief, backed by little-to-no-evidence) that locking kids who're "different" away in "special schools" will be of any benefit to them except in extreme cases. It's certainly of no benefit to society at large. The PROBLEM, though, is when the government hacks away at the SEN and Mainstream Education budget simultaneously, which is precisely what the filthy fucking Tories have done consistently.

[@UniDocs_Mahapushpa_Cyavana]

The UK government is bad because of laziness 🦥. It doesn't matter whatever the ruling party has as its intentions, it doesn't have the willpower to achieve it without bleeding 🩸 so much money inefficiently it ruins virtually all the benefit.

[@UniDocs_Mahapushpa_Cyavana]

Knowing modern day politicians, it was probably due to laziness 🦥, not ideology. They couldn't be bothered to reform the mainstream curriculum properly, let alone a myriad of ones for special needs too. @@Avasmith910

[@MJane194]

As a mother who loves her job, I would much rather the government financially help me, the actual parent, to raise my child. Instead, most parents resort to outsourcing their care to complete strangers. It’s just not right. I’m privileged enough to be able to work partime and be a full time mom but without my husbands help it would be impossible. We are very very privileged. I would also argue that whilst the nhs recommends exclusively breastfeeding during the first year of life, that is simply just not a possibility for the majority of mothers who cannot survive on the mere £700 a month and have to cut their mat leave short. As hard as it is I love breastfeeding, but man, it’s a privilege in the dystopian society we live in.

[@bryonyrigby2468]

100% this!

[@maryalanger2537]

100%! 👏

[@stella9624]

Thank you 🫡

[@chrishan9138]

Major failing of the UK and it's an intentional choice. Other countries do it differently and let househoulds file joint taxes with 2x the taxable income at each bracket, meaning a single income is a viable choice for far more people.

[@user-bi8ko7kc6h]

My mum breastfed me and she worked full time when I was little. Put the milk in a fridge. It was back in the 1980s.

[@a6703]

I couldn’t afford child care twenty five years ago. It worked out that it was cheaper for me to not work. Going to work, being at work costs money, taxation is high. Decades ago ordinary workers used childminders but the government has killed that cheaper childcare off with ridiculous regulations & paperwork but over subsidised companies were incentivised to open many large nurseries which are unsustainable as you see now. Someone I worked with recently was encouraged to put her two children in nursery with the government paying her £1200 per month toward nursery but that’s what she earned from her job! Why not give parents support to stay home with their own children for a few years until they start full time school instead as now the government force single mums out to any old job with sanctions. There were too many nurseries opened in the past decade all looking to make profit.

[@kwameofori8947]

Fully agree with you

[@sammay9410]

Which job is only paying £1200 a month? That’s less than minimum wage.

[@helenluo2231]

​@@sammay9410 maybe 1200 is the net pay after taxation?

[@Jessica-gk4on]

Because they can tax the mum on her job .. years ago people got by on one wage as the mums job was at home with the kids.. they have now made it impossible to have kids and live off one wage.. that means they push mums in the work place to tax her and the dad!

[@chrishan9138]

Tax system penalises parents that want to raise their own children. Many parents would prefer to, but the entire system is geared at making both parents work in measurable jobs and value parents at basically zero. It's at the root of so many social issues as well.

[@soundseeker63]

This is not happening in isolation; Everything in the UK is broken and dysfunctional, our economy is in terminal decline. We are all having to work longer and harder, only to still have less and less at the end of each month. Life is becoming financially impossible for millions of people - EVERYTHING is so damn expensive! A far cry from the days when ordinary working blokes could support a small family on a single income, and the mother didn't actually NEED to work. Nowadays both parents working full time is the NECESSARY and even then, many families are barely getting by. How the heck did we end up here? 😣

[@ChampChamp2024]

Why is it broken? I agree with you but let’s look at the bigger picture. I went A&E last week before 12am and didn’t get Seen for 8 hours the man seeing to me a white British man said this wouldn’t have happened 30 years ago. So tell me what’s happened in the last 30 years to England and the uk I’ll leave that to you.

[@DanePavitt]

I quit my job as a forklift truck driver on an industrial manufacturing site, because it was more time & cost effective to be a stay at home parent than putting my kid in full time childcare. I'm scraping pennies together from freelance work, but I'd scarcely be any better off back in the workforce.

[@Pani.Kutas30]

​@@fact-o-pedio4603everything is super expensive atm 😢 I pay £150 for my family weekly shopping and after few days later there's barely something left

[@loopingstateofmind]

Nursery cost + housing cost = we had to leave the UK

[@yofinance1777]

Good luck on finding somewhere better. Cheaper childcare just means you pay more tax. The system has you by the balls, either become completely self sufficient of rely on it

[@halimatasy6625]

My nursery in France costs around 400euros per month.... And we can deduct 50% of the yearly costs to our taxes. I feel for you English mamas 🙏🏾

[@20storiesunder]

And papas!

[@elh3398]

I absolutely loved my job as a level 3 childcare practitioner but I had to leave because I was living independently at 19 and couldn’t live off £7.50 an hour. I studied 2 years are gained an A*, I felt daft earning so little while my friends who left school completely at 16 were earning more with basic GCSE passes. And now a ratio of 1:5? In my circumstance that would equate to me earning £1.50 an hour per child. A lot of childcare workers are within the 17yr-20yr minimum wage category and are being exploited for cheap labour.

[@purplerobin92]

7.5 pounds? In Italy as a childcare worker I make 6.5 euros!!! and it's sucha hard job, I am always getting sick and have constant back aches and the stress amount is no joke. Especially cause the parents make your life HELL.

[@emii36363]

My mum is an immigrant and she worked so hard to learn English and get a level 3 in childcare. Only to earn minimum wage! It’s horrible. She absolutely adores children so it’s sad she probably has to let that go 💔 For a service that’s in such high demand it doesn’t make sense for the workers to be paid so low

[@johnjones3813]

You can leave school at 16 years old in the UK? Jesus.

[@bakeymykakey]

@@johnjones3813you’re not technically meant to, there’s post 16 courses everyone is encouraged to continue on with however it’s not a requirement to complete them

[@user-bi8ko7kc6h]

@@johnjones381316 is the earliest. Below 16 your parents would get fine.

[@christopheabdulmosawwer35]

A country that is failing to provide basic and decent care for its children must be considered as a failed state

[@kanedNunable]

banana monarchy uk.

[@unicorn_sparkles_8945]

It's a fucking mess. No other way to put it - I've lived in the UK now for 11 years and it has become a collection of terrible road systems, sky high utility costs, and I live in East Sussex where no running water is now a common issue. Last Christmas, me, my husband and baby all had covid and no running water for 3 days. So the mess with childcare is just another symptom of a shambolic government.

[@twinclestick]

As a Japanese, watching this video, i thought the UK has the same problem as Japan and was surprised. It cost high to raise a child and the child carers get little wage in Japan,too. Our prime minister declared the revolution of childcare too😂 Bat the situation hasn’t changed.

[@Lily0bigday]

Same situation happening in Korea as well.

[@GJ-yl9wv]

It's embarrassing how so many governments are unwilling to invest in future generations. Solidarity ❤

[@DJPaulgee1]

Konnichiwa

[@laydeevixen]

I was a preschool teacher in Japan but was lucky to earn a decent wage. Coming back to the UK, the job has so many demands and the pay is so poor, I left childcare to work for a bank in the end 😢

[@DJPaulgee1]

@@laydeevixen I would have stayed in Japan. There is nothing worth living for in this country now, it's gone to the dogs.

[@shanahaim5935]

6.5 week summer holiday club for my six year old was over £800. Even between me and my husband we get 8 weeks off work between us. Schools have 14 weeks off a year. Which employers let you have 14 weeks off. Plus all the times kids get sick. It’s impossible

[@AdeleiTeillana]

It's honestly not just the UK. The cost of childcare is one of the driving forces behind the decrease in childbirths in many developed countries, especially in Asia. In the US as well, childcare can take up most of a parent's salary. But we also don't want to go backwards and stop providing educated and trained child care workers.

[@fentanyl34]

yup its why only sub-saharan africa has high birthrates now, because women are too busy working in europe (and more recently asia/middle east/latin america etc) to even withstand a replacement level birthrate of 2.1

[@maywalker997]

I've seen friends who earn very respectable incomes and yet are still seriously struggle to afford childcare costs. I'm currently watching one couple effectively working themselves into early graves in real time, the guy in particular regularly works 14hr days as a norm, he only gets about 3-4 hours sleep a night and has gone from being a guy who used to be in good shape, worked out and had a little time for hobbies, to someone who is now very overweight, has no time for anything, looks constantly exhausted and and doesn't look healthy at all, he's aging very quickly and could pass for someone 10-15 years older despite only being in his 30s. And despite all this hard work & sacrifice, they are still struggling to make ends meet! They're working as much as humanly possible and yet it's still not enough. I look at it all and think "It's not worth it". Having kids could be nice, but why trade in what I have for a life of extreme stress and constant struggle? The only people who seem to be having an easy time in raising kids are those on 6 figure salaries, but that's obviously not a norm.

[@Odd-Vegan-Singing-TFOL]

Well this is a wonderful thing. Less suffering!

[@ekaterinastaneva9922]

Absolutely false! Childcare in Europe is a fraction, A FRACTION which what it costs in the UK. We are talking about 2,3 hundred euro a month with 1.5 - 2000 euro salaries

[@AdeleiTeillana]

@@ekaterinastaneva9922 😂 I love how you're so adamant in declaring "absolutely false" while simultaneously showing your idiocy. Did I mention Europe? The only places I specifically mentioned are Asia and the United States, both of which ARE places where childcare is expensive, so your idiotic statement that this is "absolutely false" is patently incorrect. Even in Europe, childcare can cost up to 30% of a woman's salary in countries like Ireland and Switzerland, so again your claim is proven to be stupid.

[@destinedtodevinespiritualc119]

If the cost of housing wasn't so stupidly high this wouldn't be a problem

[@purplerobin92]

As a childcare worker in Italy, I can tell you it's the same here as well. We can barely stay afloat but the parents blame us cause the cost it too high. I and my colleges don't even make minimum wage! And with inflation and the cost of electrical bills rising, it's getting worse. Last winter was brutal. parents complaining the school was too cold, and we trying our best but unable to pay the bills.

[@monikaeducation6378]

Melloni prefers to spend money for boaties so what is the surprise that there is no money for citizens... The UK spends £8 mln A DAY...

[@Trebor74]

Used to be able to earn enough for 1 parent to stay at home and do childcare. Now it takes 2 people earning just to pay bills.

[@ACK333]

So why they don’t pay on time as per wrong contracts terms ?

[@ACK333]

That is HSBC risks management.

[@ACK333]

Oh I believe even HSBC , they can’t teach and educate the boss and leadership well even they don’t go to evenings classes in over 20 years.

[@ACK333]

And those leadership has no punishment even they made mistakes such long time haha

[@user-rd7ek9ve3r]

Yes unionise care work.... underpaid and over worked...need to be valued in society

[@teaandbiscuits7233]

Introduce the Scandinavian childcare model. Parents pay out of pre taxed income to subsidise their child care. They are then paying £200/£300 per month full time childcare. Providers are then not having to raise costs just to stay open. Or give parents a tax break so one parent can stay home until children start school

[@ali09killuminati]

Orrrrrr stop spending billions on wars we have nothing to do with and spend it instead on nurseries, schools, economy etc

[@etiennedelaunois1737]

Yep or the Belgian, the French, the Dutch,... Mmh I wonder why the UK is the only country to be such a mess economically. If only we could join a strong economic union.

[@Lo-to7zh]

⁠​⁠@@etiennedelaunois1737Uk is richer than France , Netherlands and Belgium. Uk has some of the best and more private primary schools for kids in Europe …

[@baardagaam]

@etiennedelaunois1737 here in Belgium the system is halfway between the British and Swedisch, and turning more into the British.. Unbridled capitalism and economic inequality ( mostly housing inequality because salaries are still quit good here) Have caused people to massively quid teaching/ nursing/ technical jobs... Society is slowly collapsing, not because of an aging population because we still have population growth,, but because of economic inequality...

[@etiennedelaunois1737]

@@baardagaam I'm Belgian and trust me, we have a lot of work to do before becoming like the UK privatisation of everything. I'm sure they will privatise the police as soon as they can.

[@superficialwannabe]

Paying these workers terribly- creates a domino effect. You pay people a more than liveable wage- a dignified wage enough to pay for housing etc then these nurseries will thrive. But the Tory ideology does not culminate in growth and life.

[@wft15]

How are we going to afford to pay for this?

[@elsaflora9181]

@@wft15 Simple:Tax the cooperations and the rich and implement stronger laws to avoid tax evasion

[@wft15]

@elsaflora9181 we already do! NHS, school, cost of living, immigrants, childcare, education - we can not afford to pay for it all.

[@carlwide6594]

We're at near 100% effective tax rate already and the number of people who give more than they take ate dwindling by the day. Socialism doesn't work. So you have any other ideas?

[@klausschwab9828]

​@@carlwide6594Maybe we should borrow more money to pay for it? We need to fund childcare dude, we need to allow stay at home moms the space to relax away from their 10 kids once in a while. Everybody should be allowed to have as many kids as they want and the state should pay for looking after them. Havibg kids is a human right that comes with no responsibility.

[@xxiloveitallxx]

The Huyton nursery at the start was my son's nursery before he started school. It was an absolutely gorgeous nursery, the children adored it, the staff were incredible and the bond they had with the kids was really special. It's so upsetting and actually quite heartbreaking they've had to close and future children won't get to enjoy such a fantastic setting

[@heidilady]

It’s just as broken here in the US. I have a masters degree in early education, and sanitation workers make more than me. Nearly everyone makes more than me, and I’m expected to pay off my student loans on top of it.

[@renarich4942]

Wow that’s horrible maybe a childcare business or soft play may be a good idea

[@caroldraper5017]

Awful! So sorry about bad pay and paying student loans on top of everything else.

[@stefkadank-derpjr1453]

Early Education is best done in the home with the mother whose DNA made the child. My children and I did gardenin, baking, art, we went to the park, the Museum's, we watched birds, collected insects, learned Latin.

[@tenniskinsella7768]

If possible why not stay home with your children if husband or partner earns enough What a radical idea. Of course I do know that not everyone can this if not on a good wage but I think some could but think it's beneath them don't want to be just a housewife but you can go back to working later on

[@paulhayes7972]

​@@stefkadank-derpjr1453how is that possible with the cost of living? A family is almost required to have incomes to look after themselves nowadays...

[@ShannonsBibleStudy]

Child care is taken for granted and not respected because the work is typically done by women.

[@jminsh463]

It shouldn't be private, they should have nurseries in schools, so their building costs are immediately covered. Receptionists are mainly covered in school hours (bump their pay a bit though). Supply costs are decreased as you can buy in bulk with the school, energy costs are decreased, you can share a website, share an accountant etc. Kids will get used to the school they might end up spending years of their life in AND it isnt for profit.

[@MeiinUK]

Exactly. These kind of models existed in different cities or towns. It's not the same people moving to different location making it work.

[@azfellcrowley5860]

Tbh nurseries/ early education should be a right, not a privilege ... Some children will get much more support at nursery than at home... starting with basic hygiene education for example ...

[@xxGuItArGiRLxx89]

That's a parents job

[@azfellcrowley5860]

@xxGuItArGiRLxx89 yes, unfortunately, it is well proven that many parents in this country have barely any interest in teaching their child basic hygiene, brushing teeth, potty train them and teach them to say thank you and please. I think that reception teachers could write books about how behind on basics some children are when starting school at 4... and children just don't out of a sudden land to doorstep at the age of 4, if there are state schools from age of 4, what is supposed to happen with children until that age? There is no support system to keep these children at home with parent, so why is it assumed that until the age of 4 everything is parents responsibility but magically from the age of 4 state takes control in the format of mandatory education in state schools.

[@Avasmith910]

@@azfellcrowley5860I disagree , I’ve worked in a primary school kids aged 4-11 the only children not fully toilet trained often had SEN . They’re also expected to be able to feed and dress themselves after PE , have basic social, written and verbal skills, when they start in reception. My daughters an August born baby , only just turned 4 starting reception

[@brontec9769]

yeah sure, but not all parents actually take care of their kids, so school or nurseries are better for those kids!@@xxGuItArGiRLxx89

[@peterclarke7240]

The councils had their budgets stripped out, the government then chronically underfunded the "free" hours, meaning nurseries had to either charge parents who couldn't afford to pay it or close their doors. Nursery workers get paid shockingly badly as it is. This is what happens when you let the "Free Market" off its chain and aim it right at the throat of normal people.

[@kwameofori8947]

Fully agree

[@ninawoods5985]

Stripped out? what are you on about? They get hundreds of millions a year, it's being misused and then overpaid to council workers who don't work or help the country

[@peterclarke7240]

@@ninawoods5985 Ah. Found the tabloid reader who'll believe anything they read so long as it's in a big enough font, or spoken loudly enough by the Man in the Pub who acts like he knows everything without providing any evidence to support his beliefs. I'd recommend you google "local government hollowed out under the Conservatives" for a very good summary by the Guardian of a major report published just over a year ago by the Institute for Government, but I suspect I'd be wasting my breath.

[@ninawoods5985]

​@@peterclarke7240 lol I think that's you, I am a solicitor who is a stay at home mother now who used to work with MPs so I know exactly what budget they get but you can believe whatever you want as you're clearly not that man with a loud mouth - funny because you NEVER SHOWED EVIDENCE

[@peterclarke7240]

@@ninawoods5985 Sorry, you caught me just as I was editing my previous post because I did actually realise I hadn't provided evidence and, unlike you, thought it a good idea to go back and provide it. EDIT: Also, I'm very glad you worked in a lucrative career getting paid taxpayer money to rub the egos of Tory MPs, and now are in a position to sit at home with your perfect little spawn and sneer at others like the council childcare or domiciliary care workers you claim are overpaid who are employed to look after the revolting peasants like me in our hour of need. How very NICE for you. You despicable snobbish Tory parasite.

[@MummaBear]

As a child my father in the 70's could afford to buy a house and provide for us all. Why do we now force both parents into work. And let the government drag our children up.

[@donfields1234]

When humanity realizes the accruance of wealth is intended for the growth and expansion of the species and caring for our societies infrastructure and our ecosystem and not the absurd uplifting of an individuals indulgences then humanity shall evolve again.

[@sharoncrowley304]

I’m a childminder - I’ve been in childcare for 32yrs. So far I haven’t accepted the funding because I’d be paid £1.87 LESS per hour for the 15 ‘free’ hours. So I would lose over £1,000 per child if I offered the 15hrs free funding for 38wks of the year. Now the Government are going to offer it to 9mth olds+ so I’ve got no choice but to offer the funding. How can I afford losing potentially up to £5,000 to £6,000 per year?! It’s a JOKE! I’d also be paid TERMLY. Honestly, I rage daily about this. The government haven’t got a clue with how hard childminders work. I’d be supporting parents earning up to £100,000 per year. I earn around £24k - ridiculous! I’m all for parents getting help. I’ve been there myself - having to pay for my two children in childcare but the system HAS to CHANGE!!

[@mondaysocks]

This is really important, I'd not heard how the policy would impact childminders. Thank you for sharing

[@HaggisMuncher-69-420]

Learn to code, Sharon.

[@Chloe-cg5ez]

Now imagine if ALL members of parliament take a PAY CUT, what an improve we’d have! Why on earth they need so much pay while our doctors, teachers, nurses, carers etc can’t afford to live or have to choose between heating or a loaf of bread! RIDICULOUS

[@lordsummerisle852]

The government have deliberately ruined childcare. My wife was a childminder and a very good one. The government reduced pay for funded children to about £3 per hour. They bombarded her with red tape and increased the amount of paperwork and workload per child. An offsted inspector then downgraded her to " needs improvement" over real petty and arbitory reasons. She has now gone out and got a job because childminding isnt worth the aggro.Many other local childminders have left for similar reasons. And then the government look all confused like " why arent there enough childcare providers?" Unbelievable🙄

[@allie54774]

It's ridiculous. I left my job in childcare almost 5 years ago to have my 2nd child. This is part of why I haven't returned. But also because as someone who was staff and could get 50% discount putting my own children into my nursery, I still couldn't afford childcare on my wages! It would have literally all gone on childcare. So I couldn't return to work whilst my two where under 5, which my son still is at the moment. Now I still can't due to disabilities but before then the lack of affordable childcare was a huge factor in not being able to return to work. Plus as someone who has worked in an overworked, underpaid nursery, I know what the reality of what those places are like and wouldn't want my children there. The list goes on sadly.

[@junebenmesrouk]

Everything in the uk is broken.

[@pepealexandre8815]

Corruption has never been better. 👌

[@wft15]

We need a complete reform of the whole country

[@georginahighfield1659]

No wonder the birth rate is falling so much. In this country, with both parents working full time, it’s still out of reach for them to afford a place to live and to have children without help. People get taxed on literally everything and the cost of living / child care services is extortionate and doesn’t add up. It is broken! What’s the future going to look like with far fewer people?! Who’s going to look after the elderly - now that people are living longer. It was a completely different story in the last century..

[@cecilianorris4449]

Parents need to choose the tried and true system of one staying home and caring for the children and one supports the family. Make it work. It's the best solution.

[@pragueexpat5106]

Childcare is very expensive, but at the same time those who work in childcare gets paid minimum wage and works 2 jobs?, so most of the money is going to the childcare center owners eh?..

[@ClaudiaSorvillo]

Landlords, too. Whoever owns the building is a winner.

[@jackiereape-moore4481]

Childminders are cheaper yet nobody seams to know we are under EXACTLY the same guidance and inspection framework as a nursery. The only difference is size. Nursery across my road £9 per hour, my early years is £5. Oh, and I'm a qualified nursery nurse at level 3 yet only at nursery is good enough?

[@usikd]

I think most people in the UK know about the problem, but it'd be more helpful to actually break down the issue and analyse what's going wrong where. It seems a bit of a paradox to me, how can childcare be too expensive and not pay enough at the same time? If parents are paying 14K on average for a child, find two kids and you should be able to pay a full time person 28k a year. Where's it going wrong?

[@randomness051]

You aren't taking running expenses into account. Also most nurseries are private unlike schools so it's a business to make a profit. It's not for the children, it's for profit

[@anastaciazara1787]

@@randomness051 Anyone who starts a business to make a high profit doesn't start a daycare. I don't think being for profit is the problem. No one is complaining about the heaps of profit the daycare owners are making - because they aren't making very much in profit, if at all.

[@randomness051]

@@anastaciazara1787 oh but they are. The owners of my previous place bought a tesla and a porsche within a year. This is in the UK where things are different here

[@whitneyanders5945]

Tell that to Peter Dutton, the leader of the opposition in Australia. He is a multi millionaire who made his fortune from investing in childcare centres. Lots of millionaires in Australia who made millions from profiting from childcare. It is heavily subsidised here too so the tax payer contributes to making these millionaires.

[@NoIdea68]

Orrrrr you could just raise your own child?

[@bakeryjam]

And they wonder why there is a birth rate crisis

[@marketan2990]

I’m from the Czech Republic, my husband is British and we’re living in the UK now, but we’re planning to move to Czech Republic once we have kids - nurseries, schools and universities are free of charge, great healthcare too. The total tax and charges burden in the CR is almost 48 % and 35% in the UK.

[@monikaeducation6378]

Good decision. The country is destroyed by corrupted politicians of any party (so vote has no sense and it will not fix the damage) and corrupted media with censorship and politicial correctness... They try to change the UK into a second US with its all problems...

[@embalmertrick1420]

Because you don't have uncontrolled immigration in the Czech Republic

[@marketan2990]

@@embalmertrick1420that might be a factor but I honestly think it all comes down to taxes…immigrants account for 10 % of our population which isn’t much less than in the UK 🤷‍♀️

[@jennivamp5]

This is the sort of concern that has made me and my partner put off having children for so long. If the government want to improve the birth rate and ensure a future for our country, things like housing and childcare need to be their top priority

[@carolynesimpson6070]

Nursery surely should be attached to schools. The Early Years. The staff then would be paid proper wages. The problem being Private Nurseries. Should be part of school life.

[@richheruk]

I'm a governor at a local authority nursery and there's no money for them either. We have mainly qualified staff - the nursery attached to the local primary school and they only have two qualified staff and the rest are unqualified helpers. It's much cheaper than our setting and our pay is already low so I imagine theirs is awful.

[@snsn7251]

My thoughts exactly. Doesnt take a genius. The government just doesn't care

[@maruf8273]

The situation in the UK is truly horrific. I'm a software engineer and I can't find a job.

[@ninawoods5985]

because the British cheated the money and moved to their British islands, alll they do is scam people, the work they do is fake

[@Anon1370]

Let me see im qualified in business admin and im a hairstylist and cant find a job whoever said do a trade you'll get work well they lied. Learning a trade these days dont mean jack all far as im concerned

[@HelenEk7]

I live in Norway (where all parents have access to affordable child care) so watching this is really baffling. For instance; is it legal to fire someone because they joined a union in the UK?

[@nwest2342]

No but the company will just close as there isn’t enough profit to pay. Minimum wage goes up more than you can charge to your customer. The cost of living changes way to quickly and unionising doesn’t help. The whole system needs to crumble in every sector and be rebuilt from the bottom preferably with no government at all. Imagine the money saved without government. Alternative ask for more government and get stupid prizes.

[@ajkang3472]

It is not legal to fire someone because they’ve joined a union. However, you would have to prove that is why you have been fired.

[@kristinesharp6286]

Company went under.

[@lucyfromsiberia]

Are nurseries closing because of unions? In Russia, nurseries are state-owned. I don't pay for the care of my child. My son gets a lot of activities and training. Apart from training classes, there is a day sleep in a normal bed, meals 5 times a day, the food is very good, better than in very good European restaurants. Such nurseries appeared in the USSR in the 1920s. And it has survived until now. The quality of education, nutrition is very high. Such a nursery works from 7am to 7pm. In our nursery there are free consultations with a psychologist, free classes with a speech therapist, a physical therapy instructor, teaching drawing, singing, salt dough sculpture, dancing, plasticine modelling, robotics, lego constructors. And it's really cool! So don't think that childcare is bad in all countries. In Russia, everything is really good.

[@OdachiRain]

its ALWAYS women having to give up everything for their child. if this crisis was affecting men the government would solve it in a heartbeat

[@saraha4660]

Facts

[@xxGuItArGiRLxx89]

Your child is EVERYTHING

[@carlwide6594]

You should be at home raising the next generation properly, instead of leaving it to strangers.

[@OdachiRain]

@@carlwide6594 i can tell you arent a virgin

[@sharinaross1865]

Some truth.

[@strangesocks]

After working in a nursery for 10 years and watching my community of beautiful hardworking colleagues through the covid lockdown with nothing extra for keeping the doors open waiting and waiting for some kind of recognition of the industries necessity and being met a good few years later with the only recognition being that it needs to be affordable for parents (which it does but) broke my spirits. When it went on to mean the ratios were relaxed and that you didnt need to be qualified - meaning my colleagues who just started that week would be on the same pay as a memeber of staff with years of education and experience. This basically nullified my lifes work and showed how worthless my career path was. They went on the offer the funding for younger children and I watched in dispair knowing that nurserys were closing down all around me and that parents were booking in to look around nurserys at 7 weeks pregnant (before even telling their own families they were expecting) just to secure places for their babies in over a years time... now there are more people expecting spaces that dont exist. This industry is crumbling in real time and its broken my heart. I quit. I am currently sat at home unemployed rather than carrying on down that path thats made me feel so undervalued as a person. I feel so much guilt for that choice but it was too upsetting to watch the parent's, children and my colleagues handle the stress and frustration at work only to be struggling financially at home too. I hope something changes but in the meantime I'm in the process of completely changing my life and career. Anyone whos still in it youre amazing and incredible ❤❤❤

[@christ-thekey3246]

Sending prayers. I'm sure you'll be missed

[@Jessica-gk4on]

Be a childcare provider for a couple of kids in your home?

[@strangesocks]

@@Jessica-gk4on I've been talking to a few families and am looking at Nannying but it's still disappointing to be in this situation. Thanks for your input though :) xx

[@strangesocks]

@@christ-thekey3246 thank you x

[@tourmelion9221]

Ever heard of vertical planters or green stalk planters, it can grow a lot of plants in a small space, helping food costs

[@greeneileen]

This is so difficult for UK parents and providers. FYI, not every country is better. In Barcelona, the state provided daycare puts 2 year olds at a ratio of 1 adult to TWENTY children. The daily ratio is usually lower (because children are out sick so often!) but UK ratios sound wonderful to those of us in Spain for whom the ratio is so much worse! In solidarity with daycare workers (and supermarket cashiers, too, whose job is no cakewalk as they deal with the public all day). I can't help but think government indifference is a product of men dominating the decisionmaking.

[@undead_corsair]

I used to be sure I would be a dad one day. Now I don't know whether I'll ever be in the right circumstances to raise a child or whether there will be the public systems in place to support that. Rent continues to take a bigger chunk out of income. Schools are overburdened, nurseries are closing, the NHS can't keep up, and even the bloody trains can't run reliably. What will be left of this country in ten years if we don't get some better people in charge? The Tories are the problem but Starmer's Labour won't be enough.

[@wft15]

Vote reform

[@marigoldbeam5475]

Starmer's New Conservatives certainly will not be enough.

[@wft15]

@marigoldbeam5475 stamer's not Conservative at all. He can't even say what a woman is 😂

[@marigoldbeam5475]

@@wft15 That sounds about right. There are plenty of conservatives who are just as silly as him in that regard.

[@wft15]

@marigoldbeam5475 they're not Conservatives if they think men can be women, hate to break it to you, that's a leftist way of thinking - maybe you're more Conservative than you thought

[@theGuardian]

There will be a second part on Wednesday where we look at one of the world leaders in early years education and see how different things could be in the UK.

[@baloodarling486]

You should try punctuation sometime, journo.

[@WhiteWinds]

Sweden?

[@Lo-to7zh]

@@baloodarling486Where was the punctuation wrong here ?

[@theGuardian]

@@WhiteWinds Close! Finland. Here it is: kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6SklZypprCml68

[@AlexRichie]

Ask him this, does he struggle to pay for nursery bills? And tell him to lower the cost of nursery fees. People don’t want an answer full of jargon and disguised lies supported via policies.

[@raquetdude]

Childcare should be nationalised… need a basic national standard that gets ppl of all wealth/faith involved.

[@edonslow1456]

No need to nationalise with the amount of regulations already in place that work. The government just need to adequately subsidise it.

[@rebeccaoprea9917]

Government run anything is a disaster. We need less government, not more. Maybe they’re the problem, not the solution.

[@tmoosy]

@@edonslow1456 if you're gonna 'adequately subsidise it' why not just have literal 'state nurseries' like primary and high schools?

[@edonslow1456]

@@tmoosy fair point.

[@edmundprice5276]

Wait a second, you want incompetent politicians to have more control over the situation?

[@Enceladus007]

When I was bring up my 2 girls in the 80's I wasn't required to work until they left school at earliest age 16. Now they want to get women back in the work force. It's fine for those who do want to work but many prefer to bring up their kids themselves which is every mother's right. It's totally outrageous to force mothers to look for work depriving kids and mother's of precious time of being together and putting a burden on mums having to juggle both home and work life. Plus the fact that financially it's just not profitable and has an adverse emotional effect on everyone. Who the hell gains anything. Why does the government put more money into childcare when when they could use the funds for better purposes instead of putting mothers. through agony. I was paid income support until my youngest left school. Which is far less than what the government pays for each child's childcare. Neither the government nor parents gain anything. Absolutely crazy.

[@vegetadbza4604]

The way they see it your not raising your kid from 9 to half 3 because there in school so mother can work

[@Enceladus007]

@@vegetadbza4604 Oh but you are because they benefit from your domestic work and when your getting your hair done at the hairdresser for your well being it contributes to your kids well being. There are many advantages for children with non working single parents or double parent families. Women in the work force is basically women being forced to work. Don't excuse the pun. And it adds chaos to an already chaotic world.

[@chrishan9138]

It's one of the biggest failures of successive governments - parents, and more often mothers are simply not valued. The work they do isn't measured in "the economy" so much better to have every parent work and pay someone else to do raise their children. The financial punishment and tax burden for being a single-income househould is ridiculous here now.

[@lululala-in1gk]

This is exactly why young couples are hesitant to have children: high cost of care, low paying jobs that aren’t raising their wages according to inflation/rising cost of living and elder /out of touch politicians who refuse to make way for better candidates…

[@shazanakhan9807]

There should be jobshares whereby mothers can work 9.30 to 2.30pm whilst someone else can do the other half day like students, single adults, or mature adults like 40 above. I wouldn't wouldnt work full-time. Caring for a child is a ft job in itself. School runs, shopping, cleaning, cooking, laundry, dishes, then homework, bathing, feeding the child, back to bed, early morning. The routine is more difficult than waking up for work or uni and getting back home with a takeaway lol, this routine is easier ive done it myself plus went to the gym after uni. Ive worked during my bsc it was hard, ive been pregnant during my msc and it was little difficult, but caring for the child 24-7 takes the medal, its unpredictable when a child falls sick, when going out or cooking u have anither person to constantly think about, its NOT just 1 person anymore.

[@kurtphilly]

Childcare is an investment in the future, not a short-term means of profit. There will always be some people that can afford “quality” childcare but we are seeing a system in the US and the UK that increasingly out of touch for even affluent households. The solution is to understand that childcare is intrinsically part of educational system and most economically viable and successful for the participants (parents, children and care providers) when nursery/school/daycare focuses on the enrichment of the children and not building costs, facility upkeep, regulations etc…Employers must also acknowledge that a parent that spends quality time with their child is a better employee. This means offering flexibility and support whenever possible. If we can afford to spend billions on the military, scientific innovations, infrastructure improvements and subsidies for every large industry that exists (Ag, Pharm, Energy etc.) plus tax breaks for the Uber-wealthy we can decide to properly invest in childcare that will either develop successful adults or those more likely to stray and struggle in life.

[@kristinesharp6286]

Children should be with their family. It’s mad. A person working pays taxes, housing, food, etc.. only a small portion can be used for child care. It’s math. 1 adult to 3-4 toddlers for longer than a working day given commuting time. Nothing wrong with taking a few years off and then going back. For either parent.

[@keyboarddancers7751]

The proportion of men who choose to work in these settings has always been *extremely* low. If the pay is so low, how are those who work in these settings expected to pay for THEIR OWN child care? This proportion becomes less acute but remains significant in almost ALL areas of employment within formal education settings up to age 18. Is it simply a question of remuneration? What message does this overall gender imbalance convey to children and young people? ALL industrialised countries, including those such as Scandinavia and Hungary whose child support policies are some of the world's *most generous,* are to varying degrees undergoing an existential demographic decline because people are making the economic decision to have no more than one or two children.

[@tuba6641]

It depends on how you perceive "teacher". I think it begins from there... Because in Finland, being a teacher is really valuable and respectful.

[@ali09killuminati]

Tax tax tax tax tax, everything goes to tax, tax the house, car, fuel, wages, inheritance. Theres no escaping these selfish bloodsucking elites

[@wft15]

Childchild would be payed for by tax if it was nationalised

[@Greenpoloboy3]

Everythings broken in the uk, isn't it?

[@23merlino]

sure looks like it...

[@Greenpoloboy3]

@@23merlino And yet, everyone seems pretty quiet atm. Other lands would see nationwide protests

[@kathleenmccrory9883]

The UK aren't the only ones who are having a childcare crisis. The US is also about to have a childcare crisis. It's insane that we can't do better.

[@okunrin3]

Let’s not mention the USA 🇺🇸, a country that openly declared they would rather people die than have a nationalised healthcare like the old NHS or Obamacare. Uk used to be truly great, the Tories (Us equivalent of republicans) have taken us back 100 years. I just really hope that they are ALL voted out

[@kwameofori8947]

​@@okunrin3damn right

[@yofinance1777]

Can the US blame Brexit too 😂

[@stephenaxon3673]

This has major implications for our society and the economy. An underfunded childcare system that costs half a parents salary (not feasible for a single parent) means one person leaves their job, then doesn’t add to the economy as much, then people have fewer children because it’s not financially possible to raise a child! Women can’t get back into the workforce if the costs of childcare are so high. It’s time to revolutionise how we prioritise childcare similar to Northern European countries. As someone who used to live in the US and lives in the UK, both of these systems are broken!

[@Pinkfluffybunny1007]

Let’s normalise paying one working parent enough to raise a family, buy a house, car etc and then the other parent can stay home and look after the kids.

[@yofinance1777]

That ended in 1972 when Nixon took us off the gold standard. Most won’t have a clue what that means and that explains why we’re in this mess.

[@philiphawkins4684]

like back in the old days.

[@maryalanger2537]

Yes! And let’s also normalise this again and not penalise those families where one parent is staying at home with kids.

[@bitsandblocks7826]

Various changes of policy have led families not to have a choice for one parent to stay home to bring up early years children. Joint earning multiples being relaxed on mortgages fuelling house price inflation from the 80s making two incomes a necessity to own or even rent a home. Child allowance is withdrawn if either partner earns £60K year but two working parents each earning £50K would still receive the allowance. Two incomes hasn't paid as costs, including childcare, have just risen to absorb the extra funds but staying home now for most is a financial impossibility.

[@chrishan9138]

By taxing familes as a household not as 2 individuals. It's completely wrong that a single-income household earning the same £ pays significantly more tax than a dual-income household with both parents earning half that each.

[@snsn7251]

This problem should have been tackled years ago. This is deliberate and it will come back to bite them in the ass. Utterly disturbing and disgusting. Something has to give.

[@ideaWorld403]

The state of the UK system looks the same as it is here in NZ. Childcare is so expensive here. As an example my 1 and 3 year olds attends what i would say is a very typical daycare. My 1 year old attends two days per week (7 hours per day), and it costs $194 for just those two days. My three year old attends 3 days (7 hours each day) and it costs $158 for those three days. In other words my kids are attending only PART time and im spending nearly $20k per year. Nuts.

[@LizardYup]

The UK doesn't really feel like a country which supports families anymore or even encourages people to start families. We're talking about the next generation

[@geoven]

Extremely disturbing considering how important good childcare is, in those early stages of development..

[@ACK333]

How about those seniors women have no child and relatives daughters around at flats ?

[@queersnowflake]

What is not broken in UK?

[@absolutetruths1245]

When we had a society where labour was divided between men and women, this wasn’t a problem, mother’s are the natural caregivers of their own children, it’s simple, but we pushed women into the work place, I’m dreading the prospect of ever having to put my future children into daycare, it’s so unnatural. But of course nobody wants to acknowledge this fact, instead they’re throw more and more government funding at it, more tax money. It’s all about keeping women in the workplace and convincing women we would rather be there than with our children…

[@VenomZerox]

How do you expect parents to juggle looking after a child full time, working, paying rent, etc.. the only way is to be lucky enough to have a partner with a high paying job

[@cosmic-creepers9207]

Maybe people should think about how they will cope financially BEFORE having kids. This is the bigger issue.

[@laure189]

I absolutely LOVED living in the UK and I miss it a lot, but with a 2 year old and another one on the way, I am SO happy to currently be living in Denmark. The child care here is fantastic.

[@augusteVFX]

Genuine question- what was there to love about it?

[@Anon1370]

​@@augusteVFX😂😂

[@slowie9999]

In the UK here I was paying roughly £1200 each month for full time 5 days a week in 2020, when my son qualified for 30 hours free (at the age of 3 years old) we was told we had to wait for a place in the classroom that looks after the free childcare group. I was gobsmacked to find out that they segregated the paying children from the state paid children regardless of if the parent was previously paying. this ment he no longer got to play with the friends he had made and the toys in the room were the old used ones which would have been thrown away from the paid classroom. I complained to the regualtor and got nothing back from them.

[@mayisms]

I can't believe what I've read. Are you planning to move your child or stay with the nursery? No child should be made to blatantly feel inferior to their peers. The whole point of nursery is to empower children, not make them feel lesser than they are!! This is messed up.

[@slowie9999]

@@mayisms he started school this September so it's no longer an issue but as you can imagine I won't be putting my 3rd child into that particular nursery

[@mayisms]

@slowie9999 I don't blame you! Hope they've found a better way of doing things. So glad that's not common practice..

[@janetenikuomehin5822]

😮

[@itsyunyun]

Wth?? That’s an awful way to run a nursery! Thank goodness your son has moved on and not been segregated in that way! Please name and shame the nursery!

[@ghostdemon7936]

The UK is finished. Systems are broken. Childcare is the least of the issues. Healthcare is diabolical. Yet resources are found to home imigrants arriving daily. I wonder where money is going? Or just donhave kids unless you want to and can afford to stay home and take care of your child full time. The knock on eff3ct for workers too when staff have childcare issues is thr pressure on staff to work harder to make up for absent staff. I personally resent it due to being stressed enough as itnis wothout having to carry an absent person from work who can't get childcare. It bores me. These probl2ms are workers problens too as more pressure mounts and it's just not fair.

[@absuhun00]

It’s broken indeed. They are cutting costs but as parents our costs are constantly increasing. The food is below standards, they are resorting to crisps and readymade stuff which is detrimental to children’s health… and all this is IF you can afford to OR your bubs finds a place in the nursery

[@stephaniehenderson6631]

It is exactly the same in elderly care, not enough funds. We need to pay more tax to properly fund these things but people vote for the tax cutters.

[@laurab4868]

I’m just a bit confused and possibly someone could shed some light on this, if parents are spending such a large chunk of their wage on childcare, and each nursery is at full capacity, then why are nurseries struggling financially? Surely two children at one nursery would cover one staff members wage, and another two children would cover bills, say if there were ten staff members, 20 children would cover the wages and if one staff member can have four children, half of those children would cover the staff members wage, another for bills, which leaves the fourth child’s fees as leftover / “profit” for the nursery.. or am I missing something?

[@SReads-dh4rr]

yes- what you're missing is the funding for the free childcare, infact not just you, all of the nurseries are missing the funding for the free childcare. The burden for the free hours is being placed on the paying children (under 2), the 'free hours' are effectively nonsense because you just pay a bulk at the start to cover the free years later. The tories aren't funding the free hours properly. Good rule of thumb: If you're ever questioning public services under a Tory government (who are there to represent and support people who don't rely on public services but instead pay privately for everything), the answer is always lack of funding. Tories don't want to pay "for poor people to have services", they think everyone should pay for themselves.

[@keepitpg6807]

When I was living in Portugal my son use too attend a nursery full time Monday to Friday . I paid just only 150 pounds a month . There you pay base in your house income and wages .

[@dianewalker9154]

Wages are too low across the board, in every sector.

[@MsKenzo7]

Only childcare is broken?

[@rayclam8079]

Abolish rent, make housing free (To Brits only), then people could afford to stay at home and raise their kids themselves.

[@aznsugarg]

Our childcare in Seattle is $26,800 USD annually for our 2 year old. It would be higher for infants. The daycare near my work costs even more, even with “corporate discount.” The daycares here still struggle to stay open and teachers are poorly paid as well.

[@lukeandmixpelosi8539]

I worked as nursery teachers for over 20 years, I have a degree in early childhood education and as a level 6 my pay was the same as a level 3 and for years it was incredibly low wage for the hours and level of work you are doing.

[@sillygoosegoose]

Let's be honest, everything is fucking broken in the UK.

[@wyntog]

Surely if the government invested in a decent, properly funded, public childcare service, it would more than pay for itself by allowing parents to go back to work whilst boosting the UKs productivity. It makes poor economic sense for a highly skilled parent to stay at home looking after one child.

[@chrishan9138]

Disagree, and this view is the fundamental root of the problem. You only consider the economic output and value the social benefit at zero.

[@wyntog]

@@chrishan9138 Wanting well funded public childcare is the fundamental root of the problem? Are you suggesting it should be more expensive in order to financially force parents to stay home? My comment was solely based on economics as a way to improve the UK's poor productivity. What suggestions would you have to improve the increasing costs of childcare provision over the last few years?

[@kelleymasters1522]

If things keep going the way they're going nobody's going to want to have kids anymore. So sad. Same thing is happening in the USA.