Childcare is the site of a number of interrelated and contested social, political and economic issues. The impetus for this piece of research came from a concern with how the UK government agenda for social inclusion, especially with regard to minority ethnic hard-to-reach groups, could be promoted through childcare. At the time the study was conducted (2000-2003), very little research had been undertaken specifically on the childcare needs of minority ethnic groups in Britain, despite race and social exclusion being pertinent issues. This is a comparative study into the childcare...