Every child is equal: Bridging the childcare gap for families with no recourse to public funds (NRPF)

Access to high quality, affordable early education and childcare has the potential to be transformative for families. 

It can have long-lasting impacts on children’s outcomes throughout their lives, from educational attainment to employment and health. It also plays a crucial role in closing the disadvantage gap between lower and higher income families. For parents, access to affordable, reliable early education and care is critical to their ability to work and earn a living. Without it, parents can face severely limited employment options or be pushed out of paid work entirely, especially if they are earning low incomes.

But migrant parents affected by the no recourse to public funds (NRPF) condition do not get the same help with their childcare costs, regardless of how long they’ve been in the UK, whether they’re working or living in poverty, or their children’s citizenship. 

The unique experiences of migrant families have been largely missing from recent analysis of the early education and childcare system. This report aims to provide insight into migrant families’ experiences with this system and the impact of unequal access to entitlements.