We're key workers too, say childcarers

The call was made earlier this week following publication of the Daycare Trust report, Who Will Care?, which said that two-thirds of childcare providers in Britain have problems in recruiting staff and just over a third have difficulties retaining staff. 'More than 75 per cent of nurseries that are located in London and the south-east report that they have problems recruiting staff,' it said.

Caryl Sabine, deputy principal at the Chiltern College in Reading, Berkshire, said the recruitment problem was exacerbated because nursery staff simply could not afford to move into an area because of the high cost of housing, and called on the Government to include nursery nurses in its list of 'key workers'. Last month the Government said that about 11,000 teachers, nurses and police officers in England would be given financial help to find homes 'in areas where high house prices are undermining recruitment and retention'. The Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions said it expected about 3,500 teachers, 5,000 nurses and 1,100 police officers to benefit from its Starter Home Initiative.