A loss of after-school and breakfast clubs, plus the looming crisis, means 41% of working mothers say they don’t have the childcare they need to work.
As children start to return to school this month, much has been made of parents’ (ok, let’s just say it, mums’) glee in being able to concentrate on the working day again.
But the loss of breakfast and after school clubs means that realistically many parents are still not able to commit to pre-lockdown hours free of childcare constraints – and women are adversely affected.
A survey for the TUC found that 41% of mothers with children under 10 cannot get, or are unsure whether they will get, enough childcare to cover the hours they need from this month. 45% do not have their usual help from friends and family, 35% said they cannot get places at after-school clubs and 28% have lost childcare provided by school breakfast clubs. 28% also do not have their usual nursery or childminder available.
The survey also found what most of us suspected – that while 43% of women say they’ve had to combine working from home and childcare, only 29% of men said the same.
Shockingly, 1 in 6 mothers – mostly in lowpaid jobs – have no choice, they said, but to reduce their working hours.
And in news that most will relate to a third said they had to work pre-8am or post-8pm to make the balance work.
Sarah, a mother of two, said her son’s school day was going to offer them little relief – and more stress. ‘There are no breakfast or after-school clubs because of covid bubbles, so school finishes at 2.30pm. How can I work 9-6 if one of my son’s school hours are 9-2.30? I’ve also got to do nursery drop-off for the other child at a totally different place. The idea that thanks to school starting, we can all commute to the office and work full days is a joke.
‘The only option is paying nannies and childminders. But most parents are relieved they finally don’t have to pay for childcare once their children go to school. If these conditions continue, you’re essentially saying parents have to pay to go to work until their kids are 11, or older, and can look after themselves.’
Some schools are starting with staggered hours and half days, which is going to only make things tougher for parents of more than one child. And that’s before the possible closures of schools from cases of covid might happen.
On top of all of this, those who are trying to actually stick to social distancing rules won't be able to have help from friends and family - and those worried about older parents don't have that option either.
Frances O’Grady, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress: 'Women workers have borne the brunt of this crisis – both on the frontline and at home. But this can’t go on. If we don’t take this childcare crisis seriously, women will be pushed out of the workforce.'
In more grim news for parents, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said that many nurseries – who rely on feed from parents – could be forced to close, creating a national shortage of childcare places.
The study suggests 25% of nurseries are vulnerable and 70% of nurseries say they’re expecting to make a loss in the coming months.
So Rishi, now Eat Out To Help Outis over, how about some help for the parents that make up a huge chunk of your workforce? It could be called something like, ‘Make It Possible For Mothers To Go To Work And Therefore Don’t Screw Over Women By Trying To Sort Out Our Childcare System’… or more of arude pun like last time to get everyone tittering? You choose. Admittedly it’s not as sexy a policy. But we just need it to happen.