Coming to Care offers an original contribution to the understanding of care and care work in children's services in Britain in the early twenty first century. It provides fascinating insights into the factors that influence why people enter and leave care work, their motivations and the intersection of their work with their family lives. Focusing on four diverse groups of workers - residential social workers, foster carers, family support workers and community childminders - who take on the care of vulnerable children and young people in the context of relatively low levels of qualifications,...

This timely report considers how childcare services are meeting the needs of parents working atypical hours. Using information from a survey of Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships in England, a survey of childcare providers from two local authorities and a number of case studies, the report addresses in particular what helps and what hinders the development of such services. It will be invaluable to policymakers, employers, academics and organisations with an interest in developing childcare services.