Problems for nurseries

However, nurseries not only have to cover for parents' working hours but provide continuity of care for children. How does this tally with flexible working? Sharon Williams argues that a bigger staff team with more part-time workers is less likely to call in temporary staff, and so in that way it actually increases the continuity of care. 'For example,' she says, 'one member of our staff came in very early to meet shifts but often needed to take time off later in the week because she was so exhausted. Now she does three days a week and someone else the other two.' Karyn Maddison, proprietor of Sneakers Childcare in Redditch, Worcestershire, which has just won the West Midlands Parents At Work/DTI Regional Employer of the Year award for its work-life balance policies, also says that flexible working cuts down on staff taking time off sick. Sneakers Childcare has one nursery with 29 children, plus nine after-school and three holiday clubs. There are eight staff at the nursery and it operates a compressed 40-hour working week for the full-time staff where they each have a morning or day off in the week. Part-time workers, often from the after-school clubs, cover the gaps - the same worker for the same time to provide continuity of care. This has the added advantage of increasing the hours of the after-school jobs, and therefore their attraction, which helps recruitment. Furthermore, many of the children are part-time and they are matched to part-time key workers, which also provides continuity.