Nursery charity warns of workers crisis

A leading nurseries group has warned of a “workforce crisis” ahead of the roll-out of the Scottish Government’s compulsory hours provision in 2020.

The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) today published its workforce survey for Scotland, highlighting a range of issues facing the industry.

Among them is a threat of sustainability to private and voluntary sector nurseries ahead of the implementation of 1,140 hours compulsory provision in early learning and childcare across Scotland by August 2020.

Earlier this year, the Ark Nursery in Dundee closed its doors citing the roll-out of the 1,140 hours programme.

Their report found almost three quarters of private sector nurseries in Scotland were struggling to recruit.

They said the Scottish Government had not intended to squeeze out private and voluntary-run nurseries, but that its policies provided a “real threat” to parental choice because of the of staff leaving the private sector.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of NDNA, said: “Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) providers in the private and voluntary sectors are telling us they are losing staff at an unsustainable rate.

“The most common issue is staff leaving to work at a council run setting.

“Some nurseries have said that even paying the Real Living Wage, they cannot compete with salaries on offer from local authorities.”

Children’s Minister Maree Todd said: “This survey represents less than a quarter of private sector nurseries.

“We have increased training opportunities and routes into the sector , alongside our recruitment campaigns, and enabled providers to advertise for free on the campaign site. As a result there are more people than ever before working in early learning and childcare, with a 40,000 strong workforce.

“Local authority funding to private providers has also increased...by 26% over the two years to this August and further increases expected from the implementation of 1140 hours next year” she added.