The Government must now prioritise how it can most effectively spend the Pounds 1.5bn budget for Sure Start, early years and childcare to support the creation of sustainable childcare places, with a recognition of the volume of growth that has already taken place in nursery provision and out-of-school care.
The number of day nurseries has risen by 42 per cent over the past four years. However, growth will not continue unless the crisis in staff recruitment and retention is resolved. Nursery staff are crying out for a work-life balance; we need to rethink the regulatory system that penalises nurseries for allowing flexible working practices.
Salaries remain the biggest issue for the workforce, and the nursery sector faces constant criticism for low pay. Nursery managers value their staff and want to offer higher wages, but their hands are tied. Five years ago a typical nursery spent 40 per cent of its income on salaries; that figure is now 70 per cent and nurseries can do no more without risking the viability of their provision. If the sector is to grow, the Government must address pay. Until far greater subsidy of childcare at source comes from the Government, low-paid nursery workers will continue to subsidise the price parents pay for childcare.
The prospect of extended schools delivering childcare is as much a threat as it is an opportunity. Some nurseries are already facing the stark choice of whether to compete with themselves by providing childcare in a local school, close the existing nursery and move the entire provision into the school or risk another provider setting up in competition. The end result of any of these scenarios could well be no additional childcare places.
Many day nurseries are already children's centres - socially-responsible businesses rooted in their communities and offering services for the benefit of children and their families. What we need to see now is practical support to enable day nurseries to build on their remarkable history of expansion to provide accessible, affordable childcare and early education for all families.
