You are here: News Response to the Children's Commissioner's 'Best Beginnings'

In response to the Children's Commissioner for England's call on Government to make early years central to COVID fightback with a new “Best Beginnings” guarantee, Megan Jarvie, Head of Coram Family and Childcare, said:

The Children’s Commissioner is right to highlight the urgent need for action to support early years services and childcare. Childcare is excellent investment: it enables parents to work and boosts children’s outcomes. Even before the crisis, too many parents were struggling to find and afford the high quality childcare that supports their children’s development, with our research finding that only half of local areas have enough childcare for working parents. Without action this situation is set to deteriorate even further. For too long, childcare and early education has been treated as the poor relation of school education, and now there is a genuine risk that families will struggle to find a nursery to go back to in September.

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For more information, please contact Emma Lamberton, Communications Manager, Coram at emma.lamberton@coram.org.uk / 0207 520 0427 / 07908 827908. For more information on childcare prices and availability, see our Childcare Survey 2019: https://www.familyandchildcaretrust.org/childcare-survey-2020

About Coram Family and Childcare

Coram Family and Childcare works to make the UK a better place for families by bringing together what we learn from our on the ground parent-led programmes and our research to campaign for solutions that parents want and need. We focus on childcare and early years to make a difference to families’ lives now and in the long term.

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