ABSTRACT
The culture of a country both determines and is partly determined by its employment and childcare patterns. Today’s patterns of employment and childcare have evolved from a complex series of antecedents and it is useful to have a historical perspective on how the UK has changed (see Melhuish and Moss, 1992). This chapter will provide such a perspective before considering the dramatic changes in policy post-1997, and also then provide a summary of research on childcare in the UK, some of which has influenced the policy changes that have occurred.
