Let ALL parents access free childcare
WITH PARENTS LOCKED OUT, CHILDREN MISS OUT.
No child living in the UK should be denied opportunities simply because of the colour of their skin, how much money their parents make or where they were born. But thousands of parents are being locked out of childcare support, forcing them to give up work, denying children vital opportunities to develop and pushing families into poverty.
This Government promised to build a better childcare system. But instead of including all children, they want to keep some families locked out of support with the cost of childcare because of nothing more than the fine print on their visas.
Being locked out of childcare stops parents working and pushes families into poverty. With parents locked out, children miss out too. Without access to education in their early years, children often start school well behind their classmates, and they may never catch up.
With thousands of current and future citizens held back from achieving their potential from such an early age, our communities suffer as a result.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. We can come together to demand this Government gives all children in the UK a fair start in life. Today, we’re calling on this government to open up help with the cost childcare to all families, no matter their immigration status. This will move us a step closer to a truly universal childcare system that includes all families.
The Government must make the childcare system truly universal - and not exclude children because of the fine print on their parents’ visas.
Yasmin’s story
Yasmin’s first born son didn’t get the chance to go to nursery simply because of nothing more than the fine print on her visa. This Government's exclusionary rules locked Yasmin adn her son out of this support. However, her daughter did get the chance because by the time she was old enough, Yasmin could benefit from government support with the costs. The impacts on her son have been long-lasting. His teachers have told Yasmin how her son struggles more to make friends and interact with his peers than her daughter because he was robbed of this vital early years support. No child should be deprived of opportunities that are so important to their start in life, and no family should be forced into poverty because of government action.
Yasmin is a member of Praxis’ campaign group
A discriminatory system that hurts us all
Many parents of 3- and 4-year-olds get 30 hours of free childcare from the Government. This Government has also pledged that by 2025, parents of children from 9 months will be able to get 30 hours of free childcare per week, subject to criteria relating to how many hours you work and how much you earn. With the average cost of a full-time nursery place an eye-watering £14,000 per year, this help is vital for many parents. But huge numbers of parents and their children are excluded, including people who are subject to the No Recourse to Public Funds condition - an immigration policy that prevents migrants from accessing the welfare safety net and other vital services.
The impact is costly, both financially and emotionally. Parents - and single parents in particular - struggle to find work or increase their hours, making it hard for some to make ends meet. Families are forced into poverty. And, locked out of opportunities, children fall behind their classmates.
What do we want?
Ultimately, we want to see an early years education and childcare system that is truly universal and includes ALL families. More immediately, we want this government to open up help with the cost of childcare to all families, no matter their immigration status.
Read our full briefing here.
The campaigners behind #ChildcareForAll
This campaign is co-produced with the No Recourse to Public Funds Action Group. No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) is a government policy which means you are denied access to any kind of welfare safety net, even if you’re working for very low pay, on a zero hours contract or facing a crisis, like having an accident at work. It targets migrant communities who are mostly communities of colour and further reinforces existing structural inequalities and patriarchal structures, disproportionately impacting single mothers, children of colour and disabled people.
"We are a group of migrants fighting for equality, justice and fairness for all. But above all, we are human beings. We come together to tackle inequality created by the No Recourse to Public Funds rule. We have lived experience of this policy, this is why we campaign against it. It opposes human dignity. The treatment we are receiving is the consequence of hostile immigration policies, including the No Recourse to Public Funds condition. These ignore our humanity and are putting people’s mental and physical health at risk. We want to be treated fairly, we have human rights too. We want to support other people affected by this rule and stop the ill-treatment of migrants. We want to change the laws and the political system to a human rights-based system.