Nursery World - Positive Relationships: Parents

Many families across the UK are struggling financially, and the situation may be about to get worse – but nurseries are finding ways to offer practical support. Annette Rawstrone reports

Opposition to the Government’s proposed cuts in tax credits continues to mount — even members of the House of Lords have been prepared to spark a constitutional crisis by voting for a delay in their implementation. But early years practitioners across the UK are already seeing the direct financial reality of benefit cuts and the rising cost of living as the families that they work with are struggling to afford everyday essentials. Some early years providers are even stepping in to help with childcare fees and to feed and clothe the children in their care.

Although there was a big drop in child poverty in the UK in the first decade of this century, Alison Garnham, chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), warns that we are on course for a 1980-like poverty surge, driven largely by cuts and benefits freezes.

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