As reported by the BBC, nursery bosses say they are struggling to balance the books and recruit enough staff as demand is expected to grow
The Bristol Schools Forum met to discuss current issues and the impact of the government’s expansion of free childcare hours for younger children.
The changes are expected to be phased in from April 2024.
Samantha Packer said despite a “waiting list of children”, her Daisychain nursery in Clifton was only 60% full due to a shortage of staff.
Ms Packer added: “We have just taken some measures to improve that, we’ve taken the route of sponsorship licences. I think it could help many of us with our recruitment.”
Companies struggling to hire staff can sponsor visas for new recruits coming from abroad.
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, The UK has some of the highest childcare fees in the developed world, however local headteachers say recent increases in government funding are still not enough to cover their costs and due to low pay many nurseries are finding it hard to fill vacancies.
Simon Holmes, headteacher of St Philip’s Marsh Nursery School, told the meeting while some parents had already registered “for what they’re expecting the new entitlement to be next year,” they as a school “don’t really have any information” and it was “all a bit unclear”.
He said there is a “big issue” around “sufficiency” for nurseries going forward.
“While the uplift in funding is very welcome, it’s made a big difference this year when things are very tight, most nurseries are struggling to balance the books and not have an in-year deficit,” he added.
“When everything is very financially tight and you’re looking at reducing to save money, at the same time the challenge is to also expand to meet the needs, and that’s a real tension.
He said: “There needs to be a wider system change, because you can’t reduce and expand at the same time.”
The Schools Forum, which is a statutory body comprising mainly of headteachers and governors from Bristol, is supported by but is independent of Bristol City Council and usually meets once a term.
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