Portsmouth nursery leaders warn of staffing crisis due to early years underfunding

Early years providers in Portsmouth have told The News they are struggling to attract the right candidates for jobs as they can only offer low wages.

It comes as those in the sector have spent cash on making their businesses Covid-secure while a recent report found use of childcare dropped by 70 per cent by July when compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Providers say the struggle is making it impossible to pay workers ‘in a way which reflects their skills,’ and fear the sector will no longer attract the right staff.

Nurseries provide free childcare to parents paid by the government, but have said they receive £4 per hour per child when the true cost is up to £6.

Some are concerned that nurseries relying on subsidised places will close, leaving open only spaces for families who can afford to pay privately.

Lucy Whitehead is the owner of the award-winning Rainbow Corner Day Nursery in Victoria Road North, Southsea.

She said: ‘Speaking to colleagues around the region we already have a crisis in recruitment.

‘It’s really difficult to find suitable candidates as with payment levels on offer, people would rather do other things such as working as a teaching assistant.’

Lucy said the situation reflects the ‘lack of value’ placed on early years practitioners.

She added: ‘We always seem to be at the bottom of the government’s list yet we play a crucial role in developing a child's cognitive skills ready for school.

‘Greater funding is required for those free child places which would allow practitioners to be paid at the going rate.’

It comes as the Labour MP for Portsmouth South, Stephen Morgan, said the government had created a ‘perfect storm’ in childcare, and it must give councils cash so staff can get a fair wage.

Penny Mordaunt, the Conservative MP for Portsmouth North, has said she has been lobbying for the ‘critical services’ the sector provides and wanted to make sure the Department of Education is not ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’.

Even before the pandemic, providers said a lack of government investment made it difficult to improve the pay of nursery workers.

And extra costs for PPE and other measures to stay Covid-secure have piled on further pressure.

Cathy Robinson, who manages Parade Community Pre-School in Hilsea, feels the government needs to repay nurseries with greater support after many remained open for children of key workers.

She said: ‘We stayed open even at the height of the pandemic to support key worker families where parents needed to go to work.

‘We incurred all the extra costs of things such as personal protective equipment yet got no financial support from the government.

‘Since the pandemic the financial situation for many nurseries is a massive concern.

‘I know of a number of nurseries which have had to close.

‘It doesn’t make sense as the government needs nurseries to enable parents to go back to work yet we have been overlooked once again.

‘The early years sector has always been grossly overlooked. We have to be highly trained and do a very professional job and which has always been underpaid.

‘With 99 per cent of my funding coming from government-funded places I would love for them to invest in early years to allow us to be paid at a rate which reflects the profession.

‘I am very fortunate with my staff as they are very loyal and have been here a long time but staffing is an issue within the sector.

READ NEXT: Tops Day Nurseries boss pledges to keep nurseries open to support front line key workers

Her struggles are replicated across the sector.

Cheryl Hadland, is managing director of Tops Day Nurseries, with branches at Queen Alexandra Hospital, 1000 Lakeside, Southsea and further afield.

She said: ‘There’s a misconception that the free childcare advertised by the government for many years is actually free. It’s not free, it’s subsidised by low paid staff and struggling employers.

‘Of the funding provided by the government, local authorities provide nurseries with around £4 per hour per funded child, but it costs at least £5 to £6 per hour to provide childcare and education.

‘Funding must reflect staff costs, the biggest cost for any childcare provider.

‘In 2015 the minimum wage was £6.70. It has now gone up to £8.72 yet funding rates have been frozen. This simply doesn’t add up.’

Cheryl added: ‘The lack of investment from the government means the staff are underpaid for the exceptional work they do.

‘We desperately need society and the government to recognise that early years education should not be funded on extremely low rates but must recognise how valuable the entire sector is.’

The Department for Education says on its website it is expecting use of childcare to rocket in autumn, as furlough ends and people return to work.

Cheryl added: ‘Parents needing childcare next year are likely to find that a significant number of their local nurseries and childminders have closed and that only those neighbourhoods where parents are able to pay more themselves will be able to access early years education leaving those from less privileged circumstances with nothing.

‘This can’t be allowed to happen, so the government needs to step in.’

A Department of Education spokeswoman said: ‘Nurseries, preschools and childminders are integral to this country’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

‘That’s why we set out from the start that we would continue providing councils with funding for free childcare entitlements for two, three and four-year-olds, even if settings were closed – which the IFS itself acknowledges has helped protect the sector.

‘Early years settings have received significant financial support over the past months and will benefit from a planned £3.6bn funding package in 2020-21 for free early education and childcare places.

‘We are providing extra stability and reassurance to nurseries and childminders that are open by “block-buying” childcare places for the rest of this year at the level we would have funded before coronavirus – regardless of how many children are attending.’

Private providers do not have to pay business rates for 2020-21, with a £10,000 grant available for firms too small to pay rates.

MPs are stepping in to lobby for nurseries

The situation has meant lobbying on behalf of the sector has made up 'a very large amount of work’ undertaken by Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak.

She said: ‘It's quite often underestimated how critical these services are to child development.

‘And without good quality early years support, the economy is not going to get back on track.

‘We ought to ensure we're not robbing Peter to pay Paul.’

The MP said she was ‘pleased’ to see the government begin to address the issue with the creation of the Early Years Workforce Commission in March.

But Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said it was the government that had created ‘a perfect storm’ for working families looking for childcare.

He added: ‘If the prime minister wants to reboot the economy and for parents to head back to work, they need to provide local authorities with the real terms funding that is required to pay nursery staff a fair wage.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Thank you for reading this story. The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on our advertisers and thus our revenues.

The News is more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription to support our journalism. You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news and information online.

Every subscription helps us continue providing trusted, local journalism and campaign on your behalf for our city.