This often involves working “shifts” with partners, and grandparents, who are increasingly likely to be working, looking after children in the evenings. Single parents often pay for informal care, which is unregulated and often of poor quality, staffed by low-educated workers and with high child/adult ratios. This limits the choice of work available to them and they often work in very low-paid jobs. For those who can afford it, formal childcare is more widely available and has become increasingly professionalised.