Local childcare providers are facing an uncertain and worrying future
CHILDCARE PROVIDERS AT WITS’ END AS LOSSES RUN INTO TENS OF THOUSANDS FOR SOME, AND STAFF AND PARENTS LEFT IN DARK AMID MIXED MESSAGING OVER CHILD ‘PODS’, WRITES DAVID LOOBY
CHILDCARE providers across the district say they have been treated horrendously by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs as social distancing requirements, a new reality of pod childcare and a lack of clarity on how they can reopen see them left in limbo.
Emma O’Hanlon, who owns Little Munchkins in Rosbercon, said the lack of clarity has been ‘ horrendous’.
‘We closed on March 12 and have literally spent every day emailing and contacting the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to get answers. As it stands, we are due to return for essential workers on June 29. Honestly, three and a half weeks in, I really can’t see how I would be able to open my doors so soon. This is due to the fact that I don’t know who exactly makes this list, what ratios will be required and how we will develop a safety plan to ensure staff, children and parents can be kept safe. Also, I have real worries on how to protect staff and ensure their safety is ensured as with the nature of childcare, social distance is something that will be very difficult with younger children, especally those aged under two, so I don’t know how I can work this out.’
Emma said the earliest she expects to be able to reopen is for Phase IV on July 20. ‘At this point in time I feel I will would be doing well to have everything in place by July 20; even with that due to lack of information I can’t even tell parents if they will be able to return to their normal days, hours or if these will be reduced.’
She said: ‘I really wish the goverment would help the sector by actually working with us and telling us what we can do to get ready to reopen.
‘Instead, we have had very little contact other than a few emails to tell us they are meeting to discuss it and an email to say they will carry out a survey most of which are sent at between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on a Friday evening.’
Another big worry Emma has is the lack of clarity for parents regarding the continuation of parent financial support schemes.
‘Parents are worried and they don’t know how much childcare will cost them when they do return,’ she said.
‘ To top it all off, there are issues with avaliblity of PPE and lack of knowldge of what we need to buy, as well as the fear of a lack of income and how the business will be sustanable in the coming months with increased costs and reduced ratios. Many services around the country are closing due to this and it’s really worrying how we will be able to move forward,’
She said: ‘Overall, I feel the way the government have handled this is extremly horrendous and leaves a lot to be desired.
‘ The way the sector has been treated and the way they seem to float ideas through main stream media as opposed to just coming to us and speaking about it leaves a lot to be desired and really makes me question the value they have for all the work we do.’
Niamh FitzGibbon runs Abú Montessori Ltd and she and her staff have continued providing childcare, albeit virtually from their own homes, during Covid-19.
Niamh said all childcare businesses have lots of costs and changes to their premises over the coming weeks and months and need State support.
‘We want to go back to work. We want to serve our families. But the preparations for a safe reopening will be very considerable and very costly. And frankly, we cannot afford to take
DUE TO THE LACK OF INFORMATION, I CAN’T EVEN TELL PARENTS IF THEY WILL BE ABLE TO RETURN TO THEIR NORMAL DAYS, HOURS OR THESE WILL BE REDUCED
any short cuts with this.’
A fortnight after closing, all funding to Abú Montessori was frozen and they were offered a 100 per cent wage subsidy scheme specific to the childcare sector. ‘ The difference between what I was contracted to be paid and what I was actually paid, was about €40,000. If you take wages out of this, I am at a loss of €20,000 for funding I understood was State guaranteed.’
For nine weeks, Niamh continued to pay her staff and they made the remarkable switch from centre based childcare to remote teaching of the very young. ‘ They accomplished this with limitless grace and a lot of humour. Ever try video conferencing with eight 3-5 year olds? It is the connection, not content, that is important, afterall. From the children’s perspective, we felt we needed to retain the link with the children in our service and to our shared past together in the happy times, before this very strange lockdown experience.’
Niamh said she has ben frustrated by the lack of consultation with childcare providers in recent weeks.
‘Since closure, the Department has had almost no consultation, with us, the providers. Hence the childcare in the home of frontline services scheme, which without consultation, was doomed to fail. Now, the plan going forward is that we have a date, June 29, for services to open to the children of frontline workers, in phase 3 of the roadmap for reopening Ireland. Unfortunately, we still have no sector specific guidelines on any new protocols. And what’s more, as yet there is no funding to make the changes necessary to facilitate a safe reopening, four short weeks!’
Niamh said although her montessori closes during the summer, she is willing to open earlier this year to accommodate children and their parents.
‘I am keen to get back to work, serving our families, as soon as possible. We are usually closed in the summer, but I would be open to the idea of opening earlier if we could ensure that we could do so safely. Right now though, without guidelines and very serious investment, this is an absolute impossibility.
‘Services will need minor funds to cover PPE and sanitation equipment. But we will also need very serious investment to change the layout of our indoor space, to redesign our outdoor space, to install all weather sheltering and possibly even additional accommodation.’
She said the supports will need to go further still.
‘ The Minister stated in the Dáil that social distancing is impossible for children at this age. We wholeheartedly agree. So, what can we learn then, from countries that have opened up earlier than us? The Minister of Children in New Zealand also stated that social distancing was impossible for the very young. Instead, they reduced adult: child ratios and increased hygiene and sanitation practices. We will likely have to do similar.’
She said with staffing costs accounting for 50 per cent of outgoings, any changes to adult: child ratios, would have a massive impact on any childcare services’ sustainability.
‘Personally, I cannot see how this could be implemented without the Department continuing to pay childcare wages directly.’
Carol Leavy owns Little Acorns in Rosbercon and, for her, the funding provided by the State has not covered her overheads. She said, from the very beginning, the sector has been put in a very difficult position, the only common thread being a lack of clarity and communication from the Department throughout.
‘Late Thursday morning, March 12, I was told we, like all childcare services, would have to close at the end of the day. We had no warning so could not give parents who relied upon childcare services time to make alternative arrangements which would allow them to continue working. Funding was stopped for preschool services on Friday, April 6.’
After weeks of negotiations and delays a Temporary Wage Subsidy Childcare Scheme (TWSCS) was launched. This meant services could get a contribution towards ongoing cost such as rent and utilities.
‘ There was, however, conditions attached – including staff were to be put back on the payroll, they must engage with continued professional development. For many services like mine this funding agreement does not cover my overheads, leaving me with a significant shortfall. I needed to sign on for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), however I have had to continue my commitments – paying staff wages, revenue returns, etc.’
Carol said plans to provide childcare for essential workers from May 18 failed to go ahead due to the lack of services willing to participate in the scheme for many reasons – including the health and safety of themselves, the children and their families and insurance cover. ‘Only one in 750 services offered to take part in this scheme! Minister Katherine Zappone has been in talks about the phased reopening of services. Her plans include staff and children in “pods”. The pods would stay together in the same room with the same toys every time they are in the service. Parents would drop children at a designated place and a childcare professional would go out and collect them to bring them inside. In reality, this will need extra staffing, putting further financial burdens on already struggling services.’
As the ratio of staff to child will have to decrease to implement this pod system and the recommendation that every child needs six square meters of floor space (an increase of two and half times the current guidelines) fewer preschool places will be available.
‘How do services decide who gets a place? In recent years, many childcare services have been struggling to survive due to ever increasing overheads and no increase in funding. Last year, services found themselves with a huge increase in insurance costs because of no competition in the sector. As always, childcare is the poor cousin in the education system. We have been underfunded for many years and, due to the unforeseen effects of Covid, many will not be in a position to reopen their doors. The latest information says we won’t have to restrict numbers but then it takes about pods with small numbers needing two staff.’
Carol highlighted that research has consistently shown that the early years are a significant period in a child’s life and high quality preschool services have an impact on not just how well children transition into national school but how well they achieve academically as they progress through school.
WE WANT TO GO BACK TO WORK... BUT THE PREPARATIONS FOR A SAFE REOPENING WILL BE VERY CONSIDERABLE AND VERY COSTLY