Fear of isolation prevents neediest parents from accessing early years groups

23 November 2011 1 min read Janaki Mahadevan Early Years Early years education

The neediest parents are being held back from accessing early years services because of fears over being judged or left isolated, a report by the University of Bristol has found.

Funded by The Economic and Social Research Council and Barnardo’s, the study found that first-time visits to early years groups could be so off-putting that some mothers did not return.

Dr Sue Jones, from the University of Bristol’s School for Policy Studies, interviewed 30 parents from a working class area in Bristol to identify the factors behind why some parents use early years groups regularly and others not at all.

"Despite the concerns of government agencies, such as social services and education authorities, that many ‘hard-to-reach’ parents do not use early years groups, there has been little research into the social and psychological factors that underlie why these parents choose not to attend," she said.

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