Social mobility in the UK has been described as a stagnant “from birth to work” cycle.

If an individual grows up in poverty or on a low income, it quickly becomes hard to break out of. With 90% of single parents being women (shocker!) and single-parent families being twice as likely to live in poverty than those with two parents – this burden often sits with mothers and their children.

The Social Mobility Committee – which was set up in 2010 to monitor and improve social mobility in the UK - released their State of the Nation 2018-19 report on Tuesday (30 April). It highlighted urgent recommendations on how the government can effectively tackle social inequality in the UK – and extending the number of free childcare hours for low income families is high on their priorities.

Free childcare: how urging the government to change policies will help working mothers