Two Thirds of stay-at-home mums in the North East want to work, but can’t get the childcare they need

Two Thirds of stay-at-home mums in the North East want to work, but can’t get the childcare they need.

Save the Children reveals there are over 52,000 stay-at-home mums in the North East who would prefer to work if they could arrange good quality childcare which is convenient, reliable and affordable.

That’s two thirds of all out of work mums in the region, according to new analysis of the Department for Education’s Childcare and early years survey of parents in England.

Save the Children research has previously found that childcare issues are costing mothers in England £3.4 million in lost earnings each day. Recent evidence has shown that childcare costs are rising at twice the rate of inflation.

At the same time, almost half of parents say they have no idea or are confused about what childcare support they should even be getting.

Lucy Cairns, a mam of four from Jarrow, said:

"I can't afford to pay for private childcare. I have to arrange for friends to pick my children up when I'm at work. I only work part time, I don't get any housing benefit so I'm on full rent and could not physically afford childcare for my 2 girls who are 7 and 5.

"I really feel for parents being forced into jobs working for national minimum wage and having to pay childcare costs. I know tax credits do have a childcare element, however it only covers so much so parents are still being forced to dip into other income, money which they would usually use for food and bills - I certainly couldn't manage financially in that position."

Steven McIntosh, Save the Children’s Director of UK Poverty Policy, said:

“Evidence the childcare system in England is not fit for purpose keeps mounting up. This will come as no surprise to mums in the North East, where more than two-thirds of stay-at-home mums want to work but can’t get the childcare they need.

“We know that families with pre-school children are hardest hit. The cost and complexity leave them stressed and struggling to make ends meet at the most important time in their children’s lives.

“The government must urgently examine how to bring down childcare costs and ensure that families, particularly those on the lowest incomes, can get the support they need. It’s time to make childcare work for families.”

In the North East, families with children under the age of five make up half of all families living in poverty.

Altogether, Save the Children’s analysis reveals there over 870,000 stay-at-home mums in the England who would prefer to work if they could arrange good quality childcare which is convenient, reliable and affordable. That’s half (50%) of all out of work mums in the country.

Save the Children has a long history of working in England and has projects in communities across the country to help struggling parents access the basics they need at home. Working with local primary schools the charity helps busy mums and dads boost their children’s early learning at home - building their confidence and showing them how to make learning easy and fun for their children.

The charity is calling on parents to sign a petition to let the Government know reform is needed to fix the childcare system.