Private providers get to run council's settings

Manchester City Council is moving from being a provider of childcare to a commissioner across the whole city and wants to award contracts to high quality daycare providers f rom late spring to early 2014, with providers starting to take over provision from the summer.

The opportunity has arisen out of the council's wider redesign of services to move away from running daycare both in children's centres and standalone early years settings and to focus support on families most in need.

The council says it wants to award contracts to high quality private, voluntary and independent providers, whether large or small providers, in existing childcare settings across the city. Providers can bid to run single or multiple sites and can be new or existing providers.

A number of information events for interested childcare providers are taking place in February in London (26 February), Birmingham (28 February) and Manchester(1 March).

The council says that there are currently 37,000 under-fives in Manchester and that this is expected to increase to more than 41,000 by 2016.

Jenny Andrews, deputy director children's services, Manchester City Council, said, 'We're holding a number of events nationwide for childcare providers to tell them about the opportunities that are coming up in Manchester for new providers of high quality day care and early learning in already established childcare settings.

'Around 1,250 new daycare places will be available across up to 29 daycare settings. We're looking for providers who can demonstrate not only their commitment to high quality provision, but also agree basic things such as employing local people, and engaging with local communities.

'The opportunity has arisen out of the council's shift away from being a direct provider of daycare places - unique as this was among local authorities - and allowing the private, voluntary and independent daycare providers, or schools, to deliver this service to families instead.'

In 2012, the city council was charging a flat rate of £126 a week subsidising childcare for under-fives at all its sites, but has had to withdraw from providing childcare due to pressures on its budget.

Jennie Johnson, who runs a group of six nurseries in the Manchester area, commented, 'The issue with the council-run nurseries are the high salaries they pay and the low fees they charge - a business model that doesn't stack up. Anyone taking over the sites will need to address both issues, neither of which will go down well with the existing team or parents. Although of course staff deserve to be paid better then the sector offers, this can only be done if income allows it- the square you can't circle in childcare!'

• To book a place at one of the Manchester City Council provider events visit www.manchester.gov.uk/childcareproviderevents