Who cares? The classed nature of childcare

In this paper I undertake a critical discourse analysis of the recent recruitment drive the Sure Start Unit has waged on Government web pages to encourage greater access to, and uptake of, careers in childcare. I argue that the messages inherent within the Sure Start Unit's rhetoric are laden with classed notions about who should enter the childcare workforce. The simplistic and unproblematic presentation of several key issues are deconstructed and attention is drawn to the normative classed assumptions made about status, equal opportunities, pay and conditions and education and training which mask the reality of working in an unstable and poorly respected employment sector.