Conversations must lead to government action

Funding, for many years, has been a critical yet seemingly unregistered conversation with the government. The speed at which they have responded to justifiable requests in a meaningful way has been positively painful, even before the current pandemic. 

Despite opening up additional lines of communication with a not too insignificant number of representatives from the sector, the general consensus remains that these discussions rarely lead to tangible action from the government.

The quick decision made to provide funding at historical levels at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 was welcomed. This made sense to everyone and clearly was the right thing to do.

Jump forward to present day and the current and continued restrictions remain largely the same. Yet the questions raised during regular calls with the DfE to try to get some clarity on funding seemed to hang in the air, despite some very clear messages of provider desperation from representatives of the sector, and also from other sector business leaders who expressed that operational and financial planning was now more important than ever. 

Eventually, and at the last minute, confirmation came that funding would be calculated on actual January 2021 headcount rather than using January 2020.  This decision not to fund at pre-pandemic levels was hugely disappointing and rather a slap in the face to a sector that has, alongside other key frontline businesses, remained open at the behest of the government, providing vital childcare services for working parents.

The impact for us, and many other providers is unsurprisingly a further reduction in anticipated revenue, where alongside private places demand has fallen. Operating costs of childcare during the pandemic have not fallen, they have increased, with little or no financial support other than furlough for groups such as ours. 

Employees and employers across the UK are of course very grateful for the introduction and continuation of furlough, but unfortunately this does not, and will not, cover the extraordinary costs of running a regulated business through a pandemic.

Ultimately, reducing funding at a time where it is perhaps needed the most, does not make sense. Where many businesses are in a critical cash position, help them. Or is this just another example of the sector being significantly undervalued, as well as underfunded, due to a lack of understanding and commitment in recognising the importance of work in the Early Years.


Are local authorities all sticking to the guidance or are some interpreting it in different ways?

It is almost a guarantee that where new government guidance is issued, Local Authorities (LA’s) will interpret and deliver their own version, which is often at odds with the purpose and/or spirit of the guidance. 

In our experience, many of the 23 LA’s we work across do a great job and their intention and desire to get it right for providers, children and families is clear and honourable. However, we also see a number of LA’s misinterpret or perhaps twist the guidance and in doing so, justify ways to withhold, claw back or reduce the level of funding providers receive. We then end up spending time and energy having to fight our corner to ensure we get what is rightfully ours. 

Recent examples from some of our LA’s:-

• … “we will not pay any funding for children who are isolating”.
• …. “we will withhold funding for children who do not attend where they are isolating or shielding”.
• …… “no decision has been made if we will be funding all children on roll”.
• ….. “where children do not attend, we will look to claw back, regardless of how long they were off”.

We are not looking to name and shame, as we will/are responding on an exceptional basis. However, surely it is reasonable to assume that it is within Central Government's gift and capability, when issuing guidance, to mandate and instruct Local Government to uphold key principles and commitments of that guidance.  The stress and anxiety caused by the different approaches, and in some cases the very real threat to reduce funding, is palpable.  Especially for those who may already be on a knifes edge.

What will it mean for us and our families?

We have already made some tough decisions and we continue to review and consider how we will  run each nursery operation sustainably. The longer the pandemic and restrictions continue, without adequate funds, the greater the need for any business to change and adapt. 

Whilst children and families are the reason we exist and central to everything we do, where we have a responsibility to other stakeholders we must consider the longer term security and sustainability of our business.

We have, in the last ten months of the pandemic, taken some essential decisions on how we operate our business, such as changing operating hours/days, reducing room capacities, changing nursery structures, changing environments in line with safe operating group sizes and our ability to meet staffing requirements where self-isolation occurrences have been high. In some cases we have also resorted to temporary or permanent closures. 

The impact on children and families and employee colleagues is of course relative to the action we have taken, and for how long. Where these were short term, children, families and colleagues have worked with us.

But where change has been medium or long term, the stress and emotional impact of this change for many will clearly take longer to get over.  For directors and owners also, these tougher more permanent decisions can be devastating and soul destroying.

• Read our analysis 'Big drop in attendance adds to sector's funding concerns'.