There is so much extra funding being made available for early years provision, but very little of it is actually coming the way of the people who do the hands-on work at ground level. Unless extra funding is provided to private settings as well as those run by local authorities, we will neither keep nor attract people who are capable of doing the job the Government is demanding.
There is a limit on how much fees can be increased to the parents of children in daycare settings. Many of these settings will go out of business unless they receive some financial input for wages, with the result that there will not be sufficient childcare provision for the Government to fulfil its promise.
I am a qualified teacher who both owns and manages a large day nursery. I am constantly looking for good, capable staff who are motivated, caring and able to do the job, and I would really like to be able to pay them a more realistic wage which reflects their real worth.
Childcare workers must be valued for the important role they have. They must be paid a reasonable salary, have a clear career structure, and be offered relevant and useful training by providers really able to do this.
Mary Turner, Bushbabies Day Nurseries, Cheltenham
