Children’s centres, parenting, and education in a post-pandemic world

The Covid-19 pandemic has been an acutely challenging time for families and parents of young children. Periods of lockdown, and the economic and social dislocation associated with the pandemic, will have far-reaching consequences for children’s education, life chances and social relationships. This article extends our understanding of these issues by drawing on extensive qualitative data from a study that investigated the work of children’s centres across a major UK city during the pandemic. Empirically, the article extends research on the interconnections between parenting, the early years, and the pandemic by outlining the interlocking range of problems facing families who used children’s centres. These include social isolation, domestic violence, poverty and destitution associated with unemployment and changes to Universal Credit, food insecurity and mental health. This constellation of factors reflects not only the impact of the pandemic but also enduring and entrenched patterns of inequalities. The data provides a starting point for the more conceptual and normative part of the article. Drawing on scholars such as E.O Wright and Michelle Jackson, we consider the scale and scope of the social, economic and political transformations required to build an education system that can support the needs of all.