Post Pandemic Childcare

Cabinet Office
70 Whitehall
Westminster
London
SW1A 2AS

Dear Vicky Ford MP (Minister for Early Years), Gavin Williamson MP (Secretary of State for  Education), Mims Davis MP (Minister for Employment), Elizabeth Truss MP (Minister for Women and  Equalities), and Rishi Sunak MP (Chancellor of the Exchequer),

Re: Early Years Policy – Protect All Childcare Workers and Support All Children – directly fund  nurseries and guarantee provision for all disadvantaged children 

We are parents, early years workers, childminders, lone parents, and guardians. We are childcare providers, babysitters, nursery school teachers, SENCos and nannies. We are grandparents, key workers, NHS workers, critical support.

We are citizens and we are undocumented. We are people that care.
We write because early years policy now impacts public health.
We write because early years policy has always impacted public health.

Successive governments have failed women – who undertake the majority of unpaid or underpaid  childcare work, and right now are once again shouldering the burden of a public health crisis and  papering the gaps created by the lack of a coherent early years policy. Schools have closed but early years settings remain open to all. No evidence has been published to  show that early years age children transmit the virus less. Early years workers health is being put at  risk. Yet both parents and childcare workers fear closures because there is inadequate support for  them to stop work.

Key workers who are parents, often earn under minimum wage, and have been required to work  throughout the pandemic. Yet with the early years sector fragmented, and increasingly dominated by  multinational chains, providing little flexible and affordable support, they are forced to rely on  “informal” (unpaid) childcare arrangements. These arrangements now put family members – frequently grandparents – at risk. With increased transmission rates and covid-19 cases leading to  whole nursery closures, the situation only gets worse.

Likewise, the importance of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) support at the earliest  age, and the exploitations resulting from the hostile environment, are too often overlooked in terms of  sector demands to address what is not a singular childcare crisis, but a number of crises. The remaining quality early years infrastructure, the small, non-profit, community and cooperative  nurseries, council-run day nurseries, and maintained nursery schools are at the point of complete  collapse. These settings provide affordable childcare, support for disadvantaged children, children  with SEND, and children learning English as a second language. They are struggling due to the culmination of years of underfunding, and insufficient support from government in the face of the  pandemic.

If these organisations shut their doors forever, it will cause redundancies of predominantly female  workforces, increase unjust employment practices, and mean children lose out on education during  the most important stage of their development. There will be dire consequences for the human rights  of disabled children, gender equality and the economy.

We call on you to:

1. Close Early Years settings to all but key workers’ children, vulnerable children, and allⁱ children  identified with SEND, during this new national lockdown, in line with schools.
2. Prioritise Early Years and Special Educational Needs staff for vaccinations in the next round.
3. Stop relying on parents (especially lone parents) to get us through the public health crisis by  working two, or more, jobs at once.

• Ensure a legal right to shared and flexible furlough for all parents/carers in case of childcare due to  school or early years settings closures, or because of the need to shield (for worker, or member of  worker’s household). Currently this is at the employer’s discretion, and TUC research shows 71% of  requests from women during this recent lockdown have been refused.
• Adjust furlough so that it doesn’t fall below Real Living Wage (80% of minimum wage is a starvation  wage).
• Make furlough a legal right for allⁱⁱ nannies/childcare workers based in the home, as for setting-based  workers (unless supporting vulnerable children, children with SEND, or key workers families), if larger  early years settings are closed for public health.
• Clearly communicate these rights, to all employers.

1. Improve the Self Employment Income Support Scheme so that all parents (including those who are  recently self-employed, a limited company, or have recently taken maternity leave) are properly  supported when they can’t work due to school and early years closures, and so that childminders stop  falling through the gaps.
2. Change and increase the funding of Early Years entitlements – so all Ofsted-registered childcare  providers (including childminders, public nurseries: nursery schools and council-run nurseries, private  and voluntary day nurseries), get a direct payment from DfE (as schools do) to cover the actual costs  of staff and overheads. Instead of the current system of payments attached directly to children and  allocated based on inadequate costs per childcare place.ⁱⁱⁱ
3. Quickly roll out a significant, urgent, and conditional, funding injection for the whole early years  sector, which increases local democratic control of settings, with no bailouts of big childcare chains,  unless they ensure Real Living Wage, and no dividends or share buy-backs while in receipt of  funding. ^iv
4. End No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) – or we will continue to see migrant workers forced to  choose between risks to their health and putting food on the table.
5. Improve the rights of those on an Overseas Domestic Worker visa to enable them to renew after six  months and change their employer. Many on this visa are victims of ill treatment and these  adjustments would stop them from having to stay with bad employers and from becoming  ‘overstayers’ – undocumented and at a greater risk of exploitation and abuse.
6. Increase Child Benefit. This benefit used to be universal and once functioned as a small  acknowledgement of unpaid childcare work. It is now means-tested and has not risen with inflation  since 2011, despite the fact it is a crucial income source for many families.
7. Remove the two-child cap for Child Tax credits and Universal Credit. Stop making parents on  Universal Credit pay for their childcare costs up front. Or completely scrap it and come up with a  system that actually works for people.

Yours sincerely,

Nirupama Naidu, parent campaigner, SEND Crisis Tower Hamlets

Veronica Deutsch, nanny, co-founder of Nanny Solidarity Network

Louise O’Hare, parent campaigner, SEND Crisis Tower Hamlets

Lee Shannon, parent campaigner, National Public Day Nurseries campaign and Fight For The Five,  Salford

Miranda Critchley, nanny, co-founder of Nanny Solidarity Network

Lucie Stephens, Parent/Guardian, Nursery Director, Friendly Families Nursery, Deptford Cllr Caroline Woodley, Lead Member for Early Years in London Borough of Hackney, Hackney North  and Stoke Newington

Miranda Hall, Researcher, New Economics Foundation

Maud Perrier, Parent/Guardian, University lecturer, Bristol West

Helen Pankhurst, author, campaigner on women’s rights and grand-daughter of Sylvia Pankhurst  Pippa Weaver, Early Years worker, Bath

F Benham, Early Years worker, Pre-school SENCo and deputy manager, Croydon Central Laura McGuire, Early Years worker, Nursery School Teacher, Makerfield

Lisa Davis, Early Years worker, Nursery practitioner, Spelthorne

Michelle Hurren, Early Years worker, Nursery manager, South Suffolk

Sarah Banthorpe, Early Years worker, Pre school assistant, Ipswich

Vanessa Roberts, Key worker, Primary School Teacher, Bethnal Green and Bow Clare Phelps, Early Years worker, SENCo, Bournemouth East

Lynne Segal, Academic/Writer, Islington North

Clare McNeil, Parent/Guardian, Associate Director, Institute for Public Policy Research  Cllr Gabriela Salva Macallan, St Peter’s Ward, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Bethnal Green  and Bow

Dr Paul O’Hare, Professor of Medicine, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire and  University of Warwick

Candace Reading, Tower Hamlets Mums, Parent/Guardian, Bethnal Green and Bow Kerry Bateman, Early Years worker, Nursery Practitioner, Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle Deborah Francis, Early Years worker, Childminder, Brecon and Radnorshire

Ben Wiedel-Kaufmann, Dulwich and West Norwood

Jayne Hooley, Early Years worker, Director of Independent Nursery – Tissington Kindergarten,  Ashbourne, Derbyshire Dales

Teresa Snape, Early Years worker, Deputy, Burton

Rebecca van der Westhuizen, Early Years worker, director Early Years setting, Derbyshire Dales Elizabeth Vigar, Early Years worker, Pre-school manager, Chichester

Georgia Newnham, Early Years worker, Deputy nursery manager (primary school teacher QTS),  Brighton, Pavilion

Kelly Ashmore, Early Years worker, SENCo, Southampton

Erika Turner, Early Years worker, Day nursery deputy room leader, Orpington Amanda Adams, Early Years worker, Manager, Compton and Shawford Preschool, Winchester Gemma Guerrero, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, Social worker, Dulwich and West Norwood Vicky Harper, Early Years worker, Grandparent, Nursery teacher, Stalybridge and Hyde Alex Heslop, Bethnal Green and Bow

Hannah Krepski, Early Years worker, Primary school nursery practitioner, Lichfield Samantha Adams, Early Years worker, Senior Key Person and SENCo, Peterborough Michelle Fordham, Early Years worker, Pre-school Assistant, Arundel and South Downs Claire Dicken, Early Years worker, Childcare practitioner, Portsmouth South

Vanessa Roberts, Key worker, Primary School Teacher, Bethnal Green and Bow Catherine Gardner, Early Years worker, Teacher & Lead Practitioner – PVI, Maidenhead Emma Courtman, Early Years worker, Preschool practitioner, East Surrey

Victoria Penson, Early Years worker Winchester

Martine Browne, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Key worker Early Years practitioner, Reading  East

Beatrice Hatton, Early Years worker, Head of department –private pre-school, Cirencester Marilyn Hargraves, Early Years worker, Nursery school manager, Basingstoke Julene Baugh, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, SENCo early years practitioner,  Ilford South

Penny Dogan, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian Chipping Barnet

Amanda Bentham, Key worker, Support for Learning Service (SLS) staff, NEU Rep, NEU District  Committee member, Hackney North and Stoke Newington

Gill Oliver, Early Years worker, PVI setting sessional, Bermondsey and Old Southwark Natasha Mason, Early Years worker, Tissington Kindergarten, Derbyshire Dales Anna Yianni, Early Years worker, Preschool team leader, Edmonton

Leanne Lenord, Key worker, Social worker, Wythenshawe and Sale East

Vera Jane Radford, Early Years worker, Nursery nurse, Poplar and Limehouse Emma Green, Early Years worker, Key worker, Safe guarding and preschool practitioner, Ipswich Lisa Lord, Early Years worker, Playgroup Manager, Ashton-under-Lyne

Rafia Ahmed, Early Years worker, Key worker, Nursery school – nursery nurse, Poplar and  Limehouse

Rajan Naidu, Lewisham West and Penge

Stacey Jamieson, Bolton South East

Charlotte Mason, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Early Years Practitioner, Bolsover Jessica Axon, Salford and Eccles

Sarah Goodlad, Key worker, Customer Assistant – retail, North East Derbyshire Kim Doherty, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, Grandparent, Nursery Manager,  Bognor Regis and Littlehampton

Annette Law, Early Years worker, Key worker, Preschool teacher/manager, Central Suffolk and North  Ipswich

Olivia Shambrook, Nursery Manager, Abbey Wood Grange Day Nursery, Croydon Emily Smith, Early Years worker Cardiff North

Fiona Lancaster, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, Day nursery worker, Liverpool,  West Derby

Anne Barlow, Children and Families Officer, Salford and Eccles

Martin Franklin, Grandparent, Retired teacher, Labour Party member, Islington North Sharon Green, Early Years worker, Childminder, Barnsley East

Ruth Pearson, Grandparent, Norwich South

Maria Chrysostomou, Teaching Assistant, Mitcham and Morden

Michelle Hopkins, Parent/Guardian, Bethnal Green and Bow

Fallon Clemans, Blackley and Broughton

Kersten Williams, Early Years worker, Montessori Teacher, Braintree

Isabelle Parkinson, Key worker, Teacher, NEU member, Bethnal Green and Bow Marc Lancaster, Parent/Guardian, Bethnal Green and Bow

Rachael Lloyd, Parent/Guardian, Salford and Eccles

Kate Beck, Early Years worker, Early Years Educator, St Albans

Grace Linden, Bethnal Green and Bow

Rowena Meaton, Early Years worker, Bristol West

Louise Renney, Early Years worker, Nursery Support at lunchtime, Brookhill Nursery School, Barnet Ryan Ready, Primary Teacher, Glasgow North East

Sandy Paul, EC Member, Poplar and Limehouse CLP, Unite the Union, Poplar and Limehouse Emma Dancey, Early Years worker, Maintained Nursery School, Nursery nurse, Hertsmere Sue Quinlan, Grandparent, Liverpool, Walton

Gail Morrison, Early Years worker, Grandparent, Teacher, Poplar and Limehouse Alena Ivanova, Glasgow South

Martin Powell-Davies, Lancashire NEU Branch, Westmorland and Lonsdale

Amanda Elliot, Hackney Special Education Crisis, Hackney

Caroline Hughes, Early Years worker, Key worker, Grandparent Salford Council Nursery Worker,  Salford and Eccles

Nicky Downes, Grandparent, National Executive Officer NEU, Coventry North East Arielle Bennett, Stevenage Labour Party Secretary, Stevenage

Ele Lamb, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, Secondary teacher and parent of two under 5s, Leyton and  Wanstead

Jessica Leschnikoff, CLP Secretary, Maidstone and The Weald

Anna Wolmuth, Key worker, SENDCo and teacher in a Pupil Referral Unit, Walthamstow Julia Voce, Key worker, Primary Teaching Assistant, Brighton, Pavilion

Lyn Prendergast, Administrator, Bethnal Green and Bow

Gary Fowles , Secondary school teacher retired, West Worcestershire

Sandie Jeetoo, Early Years worker, Early years educator council nursery, Enfield, Southgate Owain Gardner, North West Durham

Julie Ward, Unite Community, North West Durham

Cam Rose, NHS workers, Student, Bethnal Green and Bow

Mary Griffiths, Grandparent, Woking

Kirstie Paton, Key worker, Teacher, Lewisham West and Penge, Assistant Secretary and Health and  Safety Officer, Greenwich NEU

John Austin, Grandparent, Former MP, Hove

Rose Seabury, Grandparent, Retired teacher, North Durham

Dawn Judd, Unite Community, Preston

Deborah Curtis, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, The House of Fairy Tales, Hackney South and  Shoreditch

Donald Harding, Hackney North and Stoke Newington

Colleen Molloy, Leicester West

Julia Voce, Key worker, Primary Teaching Assistant, Brighton, Pavilion

Rachelle Loftus, NHS workers, Nurse, Bury South

Gary Freeman, Retired member of UNISON, Gedling

Helen Davies, Key worker, UNISON representative, Tottenham

Jane Wratten, Early Years worker, Day nursery worker, Sheffield Central

Cheryl Brown, Key worker Secondary teacher, South West NEU rep, Bristol South Brenda Coulson, Grandparent, Wigan

Aysan Alba, Key worker, Primary school teacher with a 2 year old at nursery, Lewisham, Deptford Helen Coulson, Parent/Guardian, St Helens North

Julie Thomas, Early Years practitioner, Gosforth Preschool, North East Derbyshire David G Lees, Labour Queers for Public Nurseries, Glasgow South

Sian Stokes, Parent/Guardian, Podiatrist, North Warwickshire

Pamela Calder, Grandparent, Honorary President Early Childhood Studies Degrees, Vauxhall Judith Secker, Grandparent, Oxford East

Farah Hussein, Parent/Guardian, Uxbridge and South Ruislip

Dr Julia Moody, NHS worker, General Practitioner, West Ham

Lorna Jones, Early Years worker, Key worker, Early Years nursery worker, Derbyshire Dales Rebecca Winson, Basingstoke

John Brissenden, Romsey and Southampton North

Professor Beverley Skeggs, Professor of Inequalities Analysis, Lancaster University  Aidan Harper, Islington North

Dr Anna Livingstone, NHS worker, Grandparent, GP, Officer in UNITE Barts Health and Tower  Hamlets BMA, Bethnal Green and Bow

Jo Littler, Parent/Guardian, Professor, Sociology, Walthamstow

Nicky Road, Grandparent, Former Early Years adviser, Tooting

Dr Naomi Beer, NHS workers, GP, Camberwell and Peckham

Daisy May Barker, PhD Researcher, St Helens South and Whiston

Alpa Shah, Associate Professor and Convenor of ‘Global Economies of Care’, International  Inequalities Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science

Sheena McKerrell, Key worker, Retired Teacher, Calder Valley

Karen Reissmann, NHS workers, Grandparent, Nurse, Manchester Central Christine Berry, Parent/Guardian, Stretford and Urmston

Anton Borg, Bethnal Green and Bow

Gavin Everall, Parent/Guardian, Unite and Labour Party member, Bethnal Green and Bow Dr Jackie Applebee, NHS workers, Chair of Doctors in Unite, GP, Poplar and Limehouse Dr Mohammad Kayes, NHS workers, GP, Bethnal Green and Bow

John Ingham, Grandparent, Retired local government worker., Plymouth, Moor View Shahana Uddin, Parent/Guardian, NHS workers, practice manager, Poplar and Limehouse Dr Neil Douglas, NHS workers, Doctor, Lewisham East

Nicola Quinn, Poplar and Limehouse

Susan Gratwick, Retired teacher, Bethnal Green and Bow

Sundar Joshi, Bethnal Green and Bow

Bronwen Evans, Key worker, Secondary teacher, Tottenham

Tahera Begum, Parent/Guardian, NHS workers, Key worker, Nurse, Poplar and Limehouse Alka Panchal, Early Years worker, Day nursery deputy, Hendon

Lucília Branco, Poplar and Limehouse

Rachael Lloyd, Parent/Guardian, Salford and Eccles

Phoebe Savidge, Key worker, Social Worker, Bethnal Green and Bow

Rachael Lloyd, Parent/Guardian, Salford and Eccles

Petra Polic, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, Childminder, Croydon Central Sam Daltrey, Parent/Guardian, NHS workers, Key worker, Radiographer, West Ham Nora Maddock, Independent Arts & Health practitioner & consultant, Dulwich and West Norwood Rebecca Crocker, Parent/Guardian, York Central

Melanie Jackson, Parent/Guardian, Lecturer, Lewisham West and Penge

Mariam Rasekh, Bethnal Green and Bow

Alex Taylor, Parent/Guardian, Bethnal Green and Bow

Liam O’Driscoll, North Thanet

Roseanna Jackson, Leyton and Wanstead

Aoife Hanna, East Kent

Dr Ruth Vickers, Parent/Guardian, NHS workers, Key worker, Doctor, Sleaford and North Hykeham John Stephens, Key worker, Secondary teacher, NEU member Waltham Forest District, Bethnal  Green and Bow

Tanya Duff, Early Years worker, Teacher, North Thanet

Sasha Das Gupta, East Ham

Kaz Harrison, Parent/Guardian, Leyton and Wanstead

Maggie McNulty, Parent/Guardian, Lewisham East

Dean Pickin, NHS worker, Radiographer, Dagenham and Rainham

Mark Montegriffo, Hackney South and Shoreditch

Alex Sabine, Course Leader, Early Childhood Studies, University of Portsmouth, Isle of Wight John Stephens, Key worker, Secondary teacher, NEU member Waltham Forest District, Bethnal  Green and Bow

Jane Sabine, Early Years worker, Manager, The Playroom Nursery & Pre-School, Isle of Wight Karen Parny, Key worker, Secondary school teacher, Huddersfield

Kim O’Hare, Grandparent, Stratford-on-Avon

Ayumi Yoshida, Parent/Guardian, Poplar and Limehouse

Sabina Akhtar, SEND crisis Tower Hamlets, Parent/Guardian, Poplar and Limehouse,  Amy Horton, Lecturer in Economic Geography, UCL

Paula Bodington, Bethnal Green and Bow

Cheryl Clements, Parent/Guardian, Poplar and Limehouse

Anna Salva, Bethnal Green and Bow

Jessica Ete, Bethnal Green and Bow

Giulia Gavotti, Camberwell and Peckham

Mimi Jalmasco, Early Years worker, Walthamstow

Anne Barry, Grandparent, Brighton, Kemptown

Roberta Edwards, Early Years worker, Deputy Manager, Hornsey and Wood Green Laura Schwartz, Lewisham, Deptford

Saima Suleman, Parent/Guardian Birmingham, Hall Green

Lynda Haddock, Grandparent Bermondsey and Old Southwark

Anne Marie Sanguigni, Early Years worker, Key worker, Nanny, Lewisham, Deptford Avril Sharp, Kalayaan – UK’s leading charity supporting migrant domestic workers Victoria Lindstrom, Edinburgh East

Bernadette Taylor, Parent/Guardian, (Ex) Public Sector Audit Manager, Hornsey and Wood Green Jo Hepworth, Key worker, Local Authority Eary Years Advisor, Camberwell and Peckham Sarah Madden, Parent/Guardian, Bristol East

Sean Mohan, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, District Inclusion Lead, Canterbury Katie Butler, NHS workers, Clinical Scientist, Hendon

Jane Atkinson, Grandparent, Dwyfor Meirionnydd

A Morgan, Parent/Guardian, Leyton and Wanstead

T Tighe, Mansfield

Bethany Shirley, Parenthood Matters action group, Eddisbury

Elizabeth Daigle, Parent/Guardian, Croydon Central

David Adshead, Early Years worker, Key worker, Specialist Teacher for Early Years SEND, West  Lancashire

Chloë Lewis, Parent/Guardian Putney

Kathryn Elk-in, Parent/Guardian, Artist, Berwick-upon-Tweed

Elizabeth Bishop, Parent/Guardian, Lewisham, Deptford

Lynne Amery, Retired adult education manager, Coventry North East

Paula Wheeler, Health Researcher, Stockport

Charlotte Lary, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, Secondary teacher, Hornsey and Wood Green Joshua Harrington, Parent/Guardian, Cities of London and Westminster

Ameeta Maier, Bethnal Green and Bow

Bronwen Barradell, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, Education Officer for Children in Care, Leicester  South

L Gardiner, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, Early Years practitioner, South West  Wiltshire

David Canning, Parent/Guardian, Leicester South

Jenny Barradell, Grandparent, Grandmother providing childcare to enable parents to work, South  Leicestershire

Judith Harding, Grandparent, Somerton and Frome

Joe Knutson, Early Years worker, Nursery School Headteacher, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton Katherine Barradell, South Leicestershire

Sarah Coyle, Parent/Guardian, Children’s author, Chesham and Amersham

Gail Murphy, Early Years worker, Key worker, Headteacher of Maintained Nursery School, Lancaster  and Fleetwood

Penelope Steel, Former nursery worker, Brighton, Kemptown

Anna Vaughan, Manchester, Withington

Sarah Bourn, Parent/Guardian, Hove

Jacqueline Kay, Early Years worker, Registered childminder, Newton Abbot

Jack Ashton, Key worker, Teacher, Sutton and Cheam

Eleanor Tomlinson, Parent/Guardian Exeter

Claire Whyers, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Early Years Worker & SENCo, Sheffield Central Charlotte Schindler, Parent/Guardian, NHS workers, NHS radiographer and mother of EY child, West  Suffolk

Kelly Brooker, Early Years worker, Deputy head Nursery school, South West Hertfordshire Jason Winstanley, Parent/Guardian, Business Analyst, Makerfield

Eleanor Schling, Parent/Guardian Tottenham

Emma Wright, Early Years worker, Childminder, Emma Childcare Ltd, Cambridge Claire Godbeer, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Private nursery teacher, Bristol North West Aaron Oliver-Taylor, Parent/Guardian, Tottenham

Sally Gubb, Hertford and Stortford

John McGlone, Parent/Guardian, Exeter

Eleanor Taylor, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, Secondary Teacher, Wellingborough Simon Hadley, Parent/Guardian, Production director, Maldon

Lisa Spirling, Parent/Guardian, Lewisham West and Penge

Laura Davies, Parent/Guardian, University support staff, The Cotswolds

Alice Morrissey, Parent/Guardian Hackney South and Shoreditch

Nichola Bamber, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Footprints Child Care, Ribble Valley Gemma Banks, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Primary School Teacher, Broxtowe Rachel Southern, Parent/Guardian, Ilford North

Frances Cooper, Parent/Guardian, University Lecturer, Bristol West

Kharunya Paramaguru, Parent/Guardian, Lewisham West and Penge

Elena Cockram, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, Social Worker, Meon Valley

Katie Aspin, Parent/Guardian, Wakefield

Isabel Christie, Parent/Guardian, Research scientist, Tottenham

Helen Jardine, Parent/Guardian, EFL teacher, Brentford and Isleworth

Jody Aked, Parent/Guardian, Worthing West

Catherine Hounsome, Early Years worker, Preschool leader, Bristol East

Rikke Waldau Teacher, South East Cambridgeshire

Rachel Childs, Parent/Guardian, University support staff, Oxford West and Abingdon Zoe Elworthy, Parent/Guardian, Walthamstow

Laura King, Parent/Guardian, NHS workers, Community nurse, Bristol East

Sue Page, Early Years worker, Nursery Manager, North East Cambridgeshire Lisa Palmer, Early Years worker, Teaching assistant Maintained Nursery School, West Ham Joanna Harris, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Nursery school teacher, Brentwood and Ongar Sarah Rogers, Parent/Guardian, Bristol East

Hazel Harris, Grandparent Retired, Brentwood and Ongar

Carries Smith, Parent/Guardian, Lewisham West and Penge

Casey Hodgkins, Early Years worker, Day nursery worker, Scarborough and Whitby

Kirsty Jones, Early Years worker, Early Years practitioner, Kingswood

Francis Hughes, Parent/Guardian, Folkestone and Hythe

Larne Abse Gogarty, Lecturer, Holborn and St Pancras

Stephanie Wilson, Early Years worker, Day nursery worker, Folkestone and Hythe Victoria Lee, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Trustee of a charity preschool, Rutland and  Melton

K Seymour, Parent/Guardian, Reading East

Alicia Rutledge, Parent/Guardian, Oxford West and Abingdon

Poppy Ludwig, Parent/Guardian, Tooting

Wendy Kettleborough, Early Years worker, Pre School, Sheffield, Heeley

Sophie Neville-Taylor, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Former Early Years teacher now Stay at  Home Mum, Derbyshire Dales

Ben Bishop, Parent/Guardian, Lewisham, Deptford

Jude Roberts, Unite Representative, Banbury

Elaine Swan, academic, University of Sussex, Poplar and Limehouse

Andrea Jackson, Early Years worker, Charity run preschool, Tatton

Priya Knowles, Parent/Guardian, Primary school teacher, Bristol South

Anna Fardell, Parent/Guardian, Bristol South

Iain Ball, Parent/Guardian, Brigg and Goole

Julie McCandless, Parent/Guardian Sittingbourne and Sheppey

Kristina Stromberg, Early Years worker, Childminder,

Sarah Ball, Parent/Guardian, Brigg and Goole

Sarah Ashwin, Parent/Guardian, Professor of Industrial Relations, Twickenham Catherine Fairhurst, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, Children’s Center Family  Support Manager, Bristol West

Anna Jenkins, Early Years worker, Key worker, Children’s Centre Worker, Filton and Bradley Stoke Charlotte Lucas, Early Years worker, Nursery owner and Forest School Practitioner, Free Rangers  Forest School Nursery, Midsomer Norton, North East Somerset

Samantha Chinnick, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, Children’s centre day care  manager, Bristol North West

Emily Ruddock, Early Years worker, Community preschool practitioner, Surrey Heath Lucie Ruddock, Nursery Nurse (retired), Norwich South

Eva Willoughby, Parent/Guardian, Tottenham

Roxane Twining, Early Years worker, Children’s Centre Director, Filton and Bradley Stoke Roberta Edwards, Early Years worker, Deputy Manager, Hornsey and Wood Green Samantha Barnsley, Parent/Guardian, Lecturer, Colne Valley

Claire Kelly, Early Years charity worker, Hackney North and Stoke Newington Shada Lambert, Early Years worker, Key worker, Nanny,

Claudia Campbell, Key worker, Former full-time live-out nanny, Chelsea and Fulham Emma Dolman, Parent/Guardian, Hastings and Rye

Elizabeth Bennett, Early Years worker, Early Years manager, Folkestone and Hythe Rachel Maranto, Early Years worker, Early Years Educator at Private Nursery, Camberwell and  Peckham

Felicity Murphy, Parent/Guardian Hertford and Stortford

Sally Fullwood, Central Devon

Lisa Hiscocks, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Early Years practitioner, North Somerset Helen Jardine, Parent/Guardian, English as a Foreign Language teacher, Brentford and Isleworth Sarah Lawrence, Early Years worker, Early Years Worker, York Central

Jodie Corcoran, Twickenham

Andrew Fisher, Parent/Guardian, Croydon Central

Jo Boyd, Parent/Guardian, West Suffolk

Kat Joyce, Parent/Guardian, Truro and Falmouth

Claire English, Parent/Guardian, Walthamstow

Siobhan James, Parent/Guardian Kingston and Surbiton

Cassie Holmes, Early Years worker, Nursery Nurse, Wellingborough

Kerri Matthews, Key worker, Family support lead, Brentry and Henbury Children’s Centre, Bristol  North West

Bethany Wilson, Early Years worker, Private day nursery practitioner, York Outer Tracy Hiley, Early Years worker, Manager of charity pre-school, Mid Derbyshire John Dominick, Early Years worker, Childminder, Arundel and South Downs

Dave Dalton, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, General manager for a residential care company,  Derbyshire Dales

Xanthe Whittaker, researcher and trade unionist, Dulwich and West Norwood

Gillian Sanders, South East Cambridgeshire

Andrea Dudding, Trade Union lay official, York Outer

Sandy Gizzi, Early Years worker, nursery nurse, Hornsey and Wood Green

Paddy Connally, Parent/Guardian, South Derbyshire

Finn McCarthy, Early Years worker, Key worker, Early Years Educator, Oxford East Dijana Long, Early Years worker, Nursery school worker, St. Margarets Nursery School, Barnet Chris Ward, Parent/Guardian, Editor, Bristol South

Rowan Caney, Parent/Guardian Birmingham, Selly Oak

Maia Kirby, Parent/Guardian, Secretary of Hackney North and Stoke Newington Labour Party  Christina Zacharia, Early Years worker, Maintained Nursery School, Chipping Barnet Sally Skaife, Grandparent, Hackney North and Stoke Newington

Beth Bramich, University Lecturer, Lewisham, Deptford

Sally Latham Birt, Parent/Guardian, Former research scientist – will return once child in school,  Chipping Barnet

Rafaela Tempestini, Early Years worker, Chipping Barnet

Peter Whittle, Parent/Guardian, Oxford East

Keith Lichman, Retired, Hackney North and Stoke Newington

Moira McCarthy, Parent/Guardian, Stroud

Alice Klein, Parent/Guardian, Mother of nursery attendee, Lewisham, Deptford Amy Martin, #RadicalChildcare, Birmingham

Katie Coletti, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Assistant Headteacher of Nursery School, Chipping  Barnet

Adrian Bua, University lecturer, Hornsey and Wood Green

Charlotte Sumner, Early Years worker, Key worker, Day nursery worker, The Wrekin Anna Hartnell, Parent/Guardian, Battersea

Caroline Hughes, Early Years worker, Early Years Manager, Colchester

Naomi Doran, Parent/Guardian, Tottenham

Eunice Duthie, Social worker, Edinburgh South

Margaret Munck, Grandparent, Glasgow North

Helen Wyburn, Former Early Years worker, Warwick and Leamington

Lynn Brierley, Local Authority Early Years SEND advisory service, South Derbyshire Miriam Hicklin, Parent/Guardian, Guildford

Liam O’Hanrahan, Early Years worker, Planning Preparation and Assessment Teacher, Lewisham,  Deptford

Sara Reis, Head of Research and Policy, UK Women’s Budget Group

Fallon Clemans, Blackley and Broughton

Alison Smith, Hove

Helen Dunn, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, Children’s Centre worker, Bristol  North West

Allayha Banfield, Early Years worker, Day nursery worker, Bristol South

Kathryn Bennett, Parent/Guardian, Teacher Educator, Secondary English, Sheffield Central

Laura Turner, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, Parent, Hackney North and Stoke Newington Bronwen Evans, Key worker, Teacher, Tottenham

Ilaria Vecchi, Lecturer, Leeds North West

James Found, Parent/Guardian, Stafford

Patricia Gulley, Southend West

Rebecca Grainger, Early Years worker, Day Nursery Worker, Bradford South Leah Alexander, Early Years worker, Early Years practitioner, Darlington Rosa Kurowska, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, Secondary Teacher, Holborn and St Pancras Dave Kirby, Grandparent, Hackney North and Stoke Newington

Laura Jones, Early Years worker, Day nursery worker, Ellesmere Port and Neston Hilda Palmer Health and safety campaigner and adviser, Blackley and Broughton Rosie Freeman, Parent/Guardian, Montgomeryshire

Abi Mills, Early Years worker, Childminder, Lancaster and Fleetwood

Hamish Mills, Early Years worker, Childminding Assistant, Lancaster and Fleetwood Lorna Bryce, Grandparent, Rainbow Smiles Nursery, Weston Super Mare Alison Payne, Retired Physiotherapist, Basildon and Billericay

Martin Payne, NHS workers, Physiotherapist (retired), Basildon and Billericay Jane McLean, Parent/Guardian, Parent and preschool committee member, City of Chester Katie Lyttle, Stay at home mum, City of Chester

Helen Gould, Parent/Guardian, Freelance Dance Director, Lancaster and Fleetwood Harpreet Paul, Parent/Guardian, Oxford East

Debbie Kersley, Occupational therapist, Cheltenham

Cheryl Jones, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Early Years Mansger, Vale of Clwyd Courtney Sheridan, Early Years worker, Early Years practitioner and 1:1 support, Vale of Clwyd Valarie Depineo, Early Years worker, Pre school, City of Chester

David Corcoran, Twickenham

Amanda Sylvester, Early Years worker, Nursery practitioner, Camberwell and Peckham Catherine De Sousa, private teacher & lone parent, Eddisbury

Elizabeth Bennett, Early Years worker, Folkestone and Hythe

Siobhan Kohli-Lynch, Parent/Guardian, Bristol West

Susie Steel, Early Years worker, Supply teacher, Kingston upon Hull North Ruth Potts, Putney

Mark Roberts-Mapp, Early Years worker, Early Years Teacher Apprentice, Romford Alice Thres, Early Years worker, Nursery Administrator, Cheltenham

B Sprot, Early Years worker, Pre school, Berwick-upon-Tweed

Hayley Evans, Early Years worker, Pre school keyworker, Berwick-upon-Tweed Dorothy Purvis, Early Years worker, Pre school deputy manager, Berwick-upon-Tweed Lindsey Dupler, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Parent & Early Years teaching assistant,  Brentford and Isleworth

Yukiko Munemoto, Parent/Guardian

Lindsay Watson, Early Years worker, Preschool Early Years practitioner, The Cotswolds Janet Roake, Grandparent, South West Surrey

Anne Marie Sanguigni, Early Years worker, Key worker, Nanny, Lewisham, Deptford Elaine Hoctor, Grandparent, Leyton and Wanstead

Sheridan Locke, Early Years worker, Deputy Preschool Leader, Bristol West Caroline Basnett, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Key worker, Childminder, Delyn Shelagh Grievson, Grandparent, Brentford and Isleworth

Bethany Drew, Early Years worker, Nursery Practitioner, Winchester

Helen Davidson, Early Years worker, Nursery administrator,

Susie Hannah, Parent/Guardian, NHS workers, Key worker Poplar and Limehouse Jay Drinkall, Islington North

Kate Hobbs, Early Years worker, Enfield, Southgate

Steven Ollerenshaw, Early Years worker, Brighton, Kemptown

Laylah Hough, Luton South

Gillian Andrew, Oldham East and Saddleworth

Lauren Chaaib, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Primary school teacher, EYFS teacher, Supply  teacher, mother, North Swindon

Sarah Shipton, Early Years worker, Key worker, Grandparent, Ofsted Registered Childminder, Harlow Charlene Peacock, Parent/Guardian North Tyneside

Marissa Begonia, Director, The Voice of Domestic Workers

Sarah Bennett-Leyh, Early Years worker, Childminder, Brighton, Pavilion

Thomas Jamieson Self Employed, Brighton, Kemptown

Priscilla Cezarino Silveira, Parent/Guardian, NHS workers, Occupational therapist NHS, Brighton,  Pavilion

Kate Monson, Parent/Guardian Brighton, Pavilion

Molly Talbot Vine, Parent/Guardian, Brighton, Pavilion

Rachael Murray, Parent/Guardian, Brighton, Kemptown

Delwar Islam, Parent/Guardian, Poplar and Limehouse

Alice Bondi, Penrith and The Border

Sarah Bennett-Leyh, Early Years worker, Childminder, Brighton, Pavilion

Freya Llewellyn, Parent/Guardian, Brighton Pavilion

Kathleen Bailey, Early Years worker, Early Years Teacher, Eastbourne

Catherine O’Donovan, Enfield North

Stefania Chiariello, Early Years worker, Bristol West

Ray Goodspeed, Chair, Leyton and Wanstead Labour Party, Leyton and Wanstead Paula Stevens, Early Years worker, Pre-school Manager, Southern Cross Pre-school, Hove Francesca Gains, GM4women2028 Campaign, Manchester

David Simpson, Parent/Guardian, Wythenshawe and Sale East

Jonathan Grinham, Halifax

Chris Taylor, Unite member, Manchester Central

Simon King, Manchester Central

George Baker, Blackley and Broughton

Sarah Mohammad-Qureshi, Parent/Guardian, Rochdale, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Advisor,  ‘Education’ Lead for GM4Women2028, Manchester

Dr Kate Bush, Parent/Guardian, NHS workers, Doctor, Winchester

Kathryn Siegel, Parent/Guardian Lewisham, Deptford

Astrid Everall, Bethnal Green and Bow

Andy Bush, Parent/Guardian, Winchester

Helena Coates, Parent/Guardian, Labour Party Member, Swinton South ward, Salford and Eccles Wendelyn Nova, Carer, The Voice of Domestic Workers, Kensington

Analee Lazarito, Early Years worker, Cities of London and Westminster

Yolanda Santos, The Voice of Domestic Workers, Nanny and cleaner, East Ham May Belen Untalan, The Voice of Domestic Workers, Carer/ Old Widower, Hendon Renera Ichon, The Voice of Domestic Workers, Key worker, Nanny, Bethnal Green and Bow Demie Masupil, Brent Central

Rose Canares, The Voice of Domestic Workers, North East Bedfordshire

Genevive Martin, The Voice of Domestic Workers, Early Years worker, Key worker, Carer, Ealing  Central and Acton

Yvonne Needham, Harborough

Tom O’Hare, Parent/Guardian, Leicester

Mitos Piluden, Domestic worker, Kensington

Anne De guzman, The Voice of Domestic Workers, Nanny, Harrow East

Vanessa Ochondra, The Voice of Domestic Workers, Domestic worker, Sevenoaks Shamas Berdul, The Voice of Domestic Workers, Early Years worker, Windsor

Sara Herrero, Key worker, SEN teacher, Dulwich and West Norwood

Tarcha Peters, Early Years worker, SEN nursery assistant, Leeds Central

Robert Munton, Early Years worker, SEN 1:1 Teaching Assistant (Nursery), Chingford and Woodford  Green

Margaret Knell, Harborough

Emma Brown, Early Years worker, Parent/Guardian, Nursery teacher, Lewisham, Deptford David Wilson, Lewisham, Deptford

Khadija Badri, Dulwich and West Norwood

Minnie Rahman, Islington South and Finsbury, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants Ferly Delantar, Parent/Guardian, Cities of London and Westminster

Fatime Jadallah, Cheltenham

Members of Parliament: 

Apsana Begum, MP for Poplar and Limehouse

Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP for Streatham

Claudia Webbe, MP for Leicester East

Zarah Sultana, MP for Coventry South

Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington

Rebecca Long-Bailey, MP for Salford and Eccles

Kate Osborne, MP for Jarrow

Paula Barker, MP for Liverpool, Wavertree

John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington

Richard Burgon, MP for Leeds East

Grahame Morris, MP for Easington

Mick Whitley, MP for Birkenhead

Ian Lavery, MP for Wansbeck

Ian Byrne, MP for Liverpool West Derby

Ian Mearns, MP for Gateshead

Lord John Hendy QC

Baroness Christine Blower

Organisations: 

SEND Crisis, Tower Hamlets

Nanny Solidarity Network

Fight For The Five, Salford

United Childcare Workers, United Voices of the World

Greenwich NEU

The Voice of Domestic Workers

Kalayaan – UK’s leading charity supporting migrant domestic workers

Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants

New Economics Foundation

UK Women’s Budget Group

Institute for Public Policy Research