Affordable, Accessible childcare            12 February 2008

 'Affordable, accessible childcare'   

'Above inflation price increases for childcare bills'

Confused by these statements? If one of the above istatements is true, the other must be false. Right? Not so. The fact is that both of these statements are true.

Daycare Trust

Childcare £7,000-£8,000 per year

Every year, for the seven years, the Daycare Trust has gathered parents' opinions on the cost of childcare. This year they found that the cost of a nursery place for a child under 2 in England rose 5% above the rate of inflation. According to the Children's Information Service parents still cannot find enough affordable childcare in their area.

National television is also asking why childcare in Britain is so expensive, compared to countries like Sweden.

Parents pay, on average, £7,000-£8,000 per year for childcare.

Does all this money go on staff wages? Apparently not. Nursery workers' wages are notoriously low and the Daycare Trust continue to campaign for a fair pay deal for Early Years work. Indeed they are asking the government to 'Set new standards for the pay of childcare workers, either through national benchmarks or incentives such as the Graduate Leader Fund.

Some related articles:

Pay Scales 

National Day Nurseries Assocation

Childcare costs £2.98 an hour

NDNA Chief Executive Purnima Tanuku, Chief Executive explains that £7000 to £8000 a year for childcare equates to £2.98 an hour for a 50 hour place.    

"If you then look at all the items this needs to cover including high staff to child ratios, rent or mortgage, business rates, utilities, snacks, equipment and training, you can see that this amount does not go very far. Indeed, many nurseries are struggling to break even or are even making a loss as they battle to balance affordability for parents with sustainability."

NDNA recognises difficulties parents face in meeting fees, but highlights rises essential for nursery survival

According to NDNA, higher quality care equates to higher fees.  Nurseries will be employing graduate level leader, business rates are set to rise, the EYFS comes into force and nurseries invest in better qualified staff.

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