A recent poll conducted by Common Wealth, Pregnant then Screwed and the Women’s Budget Group found that almost 66% of voters in ‘red wall’ constituencies either somewhat or strongly support a policy of free universal childcare.
Letitia McCalla, Early Years lead at Community trade union, said:
“Whoever is next Prime Minister must sit up and take notice of this poll. Far too often the early years workforce has been overlooked and treated as the poor relation by politicians. Yet as early years professionals and parents know, early years education is crucial to children’s learning and development.
As a result of the current system, many settings cannot afford to retain their experienced staff or invest in their training and development and are experiencing high staff turnover as a result. Parents, children and those who work in early years deserve better than this broken system. We need a new system that enables parents to re-enter the workforce and provides early years settings with the funding they need to pay a decent wage and provide professional development. The public are behind this, it’s time our politicians caught up.”
If you are a member of Community and need help or advice, please contact us at help@community-tu.org or on 0800 389 6332.
© Community Trade Union 2023