Blog
A provider’s response to the Mother & Baby article.
This article was sent to FCUKTUS by an nursery owner after reading the Mother and baby Article published on 10 February. The author wishes to remain anonymous. The recent article in Mother and Baby by Hannah Carroll about nursery...
Two Tiers of Nursery Inspection? Why Parents Should Be Asking Hard Questions About School-Based Nurseries
The Government’s rapid expansion of school-based nurseries is being framed as a solution to the childcare crisis - more places, more convenience and more support for working families. For many parents, that sounds like a long-awaited step forward. But beneath the...
The Deaf Ears of the DfE
Early years providers are being placed in an impossible position. The sector is under intense regulatory pressure from Ofsted to deliver inclusion and accessibility for all children, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. At the same time,...
The Future of Independent Nurseries in the UK: Consolidation, Pressure and What Comes Next
Independent nurseries in the UK are at a crossroads. Over the past few years, large nursery groups and private equity–backed operators have been steadily buying up single-site and small-group providers. This isn’t accidental, it’s structural. And it raises an...
Why Itemised Invoices Risk Breaking Early Years Provision
The government’s push for early years providers to itemise invoices is presented as a move towards transparency and parental choice. In practice, it risks undermining how nurseries actually function. Nursery fees are not a collection of optional extras. They are the...
Underfunding childcare is not just a policy choice; it is a decision that directly harms the workforce delivering it.
I have been following someone called ‘The Nursery Survivor’ on Instagram. The account is run by an ex-nursery worker who clearly had some terrible experiences working in nurseries. The short videos are funny and sometimes excruciatingly accurate. She portrays life in...
Britain Is Getting Childcare Wrong – And Our Children Will Pay the Price
Across the world, governments are scrambling to solve a childcare crisis. Costs are soaring, parents are struggling, women are being pushed out of work, and birth rates are falling. In response, politicians are promising ‘free childcare’ at an unprecedented scale. On...
An open letter to parents about “Free” Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)
Dear parents, We are writing to explain what is happening behind the scenes in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) right now, and why many nurseries are deeply worried about the future of ECEC places and whether early years education and childcare will still...
Failing at work to win at motherhood
Recently, a GP in England was suspended for five months after falsifying patient appointments so she could leave on time to pick up her children. Dr Helen Eisenhauer, a mother of two working in Nottingham, had already seen the patients by phone earlier in the day but...
A Year of Voices, Visibility, and Change: What We’ve Achieved Together
As this year comes to a close, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on what we’ve achieved as a campaign and more importantly, ‘why’ we’re here in the first place. Free Childcare UK was created out of necessity. Not as a political slogan or a headline-grabbing...