Ben Black, founder and director of emergencychildcare.co.uk, said, 'Wehad more than 150 advance bookings - double the normal number duringterm time. There has also been a lot of interest in the service withquite a lot of regional variation. Cheshire was quite busy, along withthe West Midlands and East Anglia.'
Mr Black added that bookings for the service, which can be taken asclose as one hour before the childcare is required, rose considerably asthe strike approached. While the service does direct parents tonursery-based care, most of the bookings were for nannies orchildminders, as they involved school-aged children.
Many nursery schools across the country were drawn into the stoppage,which resulted from the National Union of Teachers' rejection of a 2.45per cent pay offer on the grounds that it is below the retail priceindex, currently running at an average yearly rate of 4.1 per cent.
Register now to continue reading
Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Unlimited access to news and opinion
-
Email newsletter providing activity ideas, best practice and breaking news
Already have an account? Sign in here
