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Poor show

With poverty particularly damaging to the future prospects of under-threes, official policies to tackle it, aimed at poor mothers, remain ineffective, argues Helen Penn Over the past ten years or so there has been a revolution in the way that children under three have been cared for in the UK. This trend of providing nursery care for young children is evident in most industrialised countries, and indeed all over the world. It is prompted by two main factors: increased numbers of women in the workforce, and a new emphasis on the importance of the first three years as a basis for learning.

Over the past ten years or so there has been a revolution in the way that children under three have been cared for in the UK. This trend of providing nursery care for young children is evident in most industrialised countries, and indeed all over the world. It is prompted by two main factors: increased numbers of women in the workforce, and a new emphasis on the importance of the first three years as a basis for learning.

More mothers of young children are working, and the type of work they do and their expectations of work are changing. Work-life balance has become an important issue.

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