Government initiatives Over two-thirds of UK nurseries see the Government's early years initiatives, such as children's centres and extended schools, as a threat to their business rather than an opportunity for expansion, according to initial findings from Laing & Buisson's 2004/05 survey.
Government plans were viewed as a definite threat by a quarter of nurseries (24.5 per cent), as a possible threat by a fifth (21.5 per cent), a definite threat and an opportunity by 9 per cent and a possible threat and opportunity by 13.5 per cent. Only 4.5 per cent said they were solely an opportunity.
Staff turnover Almost a half (45 per cent) of the roughly 500 nurseries responding to the survey reported losing staff to higher paid public sector settings and Sure Start programmes, neighbourhood nurseries and children's centres. One-third (32 per cent) had lost one or two staff members in the past year, 10 per cent had lost three or four staff and 4 per cent had lost five or more staff.
Recruitment Over one-third of nurseries (37 per cent) said recruitment was more difficult than a year earlier and 15 per cent said recruitment was much more difficult. Only 6 per cent said it was getting easier.
Working mothers Some 52 per cent of mothers with children under five are in full- or part-time work.
Child population The number of under-fives has fallen from 3.9 million in the early 1990s to 3.4 million, a level at which it is projected to remain for the next 15 years.
Supply and demand Indications are that demand is not keeping up with supply. While costs continue to rise, the extent to which this can be passed on to parents in higher fees is becoming limited. Fees rose by only 4.5 per cent in the year to January 2005, a rate well below recent average annual rises.
FEE RISES
The cost of sending a child under two to nursery in inner London has jumped 17 per cent in the past 12 months, to just under 200 a week, according to the Daycare Trust annual survey into childcare costs.
In the rest of England the price of a typical nursery place for a child under two has risen above the inflation rate for the fourth year running, by an average of 5 per cent. Parents received 51.35 a week on average through the childcare element of the Working Tax Credit.
The survey was based on information from 135 children's information services. (For more information go to www.daycaretrust.org.uk)
The weekly cost of a nursery place
Area Under two Two-year-old
England 141 132
Scotland 122 117
Wales 120 115
Inner London 197 175
Outer London 170 147
South-east 162 155
South-west 141 132
East of England 148 134
West Midlands 114 112
East Midlands 118 116
Yorkshire/Humberside 124 116
North-west 118 114
North-east 119 114
The average cost for a childminder place was around 125 a week.
PROVIDERS AND PLACES
The number of daycare places has increased by more than 16 per cent in the past 12 months and now stands at more than half a million, according to Ofsted's quarterly figures.
Providers Dec 2003 Dec 2004 Rise/fall %
Full daycare* 10,600 12,000 +13.2%
Sessional care** 11,500 10,500 - 8.7%
Out-of-school*** 9,100 9,700 +6.6%
Childminders 72,000 71,000 - 1.4%
Places Dec 2003 Dec 2004 Rise/fall %
Full daycare 436,000 507,700 +16.4%
Sessional care 279,700 256,300 - 8.4%
Out-of-school 322,200 341,500 +6.0%
Childminders 317,200 318,100 +0.3%
* Day nurseries and extended day pre-schools
** Playgroups and private nursery schools
*** Including holiday playschemes
SCOTTISH SNAPSHOT
Jobs There are a record 28,150 jobs in pre-school and childcare centres across Scotland, according to Scottish Executive figures published last month. The total is a 5 per cent increase on January 2003 figures.
Pay While the average hourly rate pay is 7.80, pay is just 6 for those working in the private sector but 10.60 for local authority workers.
Qualifications 74 per cent of the workforce hold an SVQ1 or above, up from 67 per cent in 2003. (More infomation at www.scotland.gov) WOMEN'S WORLD
Twenty per cent more women than men are leaving corporate employment to become their own bosses, according to a BusinessesForSale.com survey, with childcare the most popular business venture.
The survey was based on 24,000 business buyers from BusinessesForSale.com's website from 2004.
