We are petitioning for free childcare for all from the age of two years

We believe in free childcare as a step toward a poverty-free Britain. The government must do all they can to get adults living in deprivation back into education and into work. Free childcare is therefore a MUST.
Currently free childcare is available for all regardless of income for children over the age of three. As a teacher in the further education sector (not university based) I have had women either not show up to classes due to lack of childcare, quit a course or not show up all together for the same reason. Often, these women have been in need of support in the array of ways only a classroom can provide. As I am a lecturer in teaching English to speakers of other languages, I specialise in catering for the needs of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. Often facing social isolation, the classroom is not only a place for learning but a place to feel like a human being again. It isn't fair that I have had to turn women away from classes because they need to come in with their young, screaming children. Other further education teachers will know what I am talking about! I have done what I can in the past, but it is the other students in the class that often have to put their foot down and say they can't concentrate when there are children in the room. It affects the material of discussion and in the past I have even had to provide under 5's with things to do to keep them occupied. The mothers often have to leave the room, dragging their children to the bathroom, disrupting class discussions or the kids play on their mum's mobile - music blaring, guns firing. Us adult ed. teachers do our best but we shouldn't have to play nursery nurse too.

There is a proven link between poverty and inaccessible childcare especially for single parents. A child raised in a single parent household is twice as likely to live in deprivation as a child raised by a couple. Current early years provision is just too expensive for those on lower wages. Furthermore, lack of funding for established nurseries means that there are extremely limited places available, often on a first come, first serve basis. So if a parent doesn't get their child into the creche on time, the parent doesn't get to attend class.

For equality between rich and poor, parents and non parents, single parents and coupled parents, free childcare for all, regardless of income, must be made available. Without it, these groups of people are not getting equal rights to education and employment.

Educate to Liberate is calling on the government to make it pay to work. We ask them to make it pay for people to go back to study. Anyone would think they wanted to keep people in the poverty cycle not help them out....