The 2020 Together Group, set up by owners of private, voluntary and independent (PVI) nurseries in Scotland, has produced a manifesto and a short video, It’s All About The Children: Fair Funding For All Scotland’s Nurseries, arguing for a change in the funding system for nurseries to ensure the fair and equal delivery of the 1140-hour promise.
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NewsTranscript
00:00It's working with children. They really are the most amazing humans. They are just all
00:19so individual. They're all special and they really just make our lives light up every
00:25single time you walk in. There's no better sector to work in.
00:30I just love working with children. It's one of the jobs that you never need to grow up.
00:36You can just continuously communicate through role play and imaginative play with the kids.
00:41I just love it, to be honest.
00:48In 2016, the Scottish Government made a promise to provide funding for 1,140 hours of childcare
00:55each year for all three to five-year-olds. Families could use those hours in council-run
01:01nurseries or in what's called PVI – Private, Voluntary and Independent Nurseries. A group
01:08of those private nurseries created 2020 Together to ensure all nurseries supporting the promise
01:14were treated fairly and equally.
01:21The Scottish Government could not fulfil the promise without the Private, Voluntary
01:26and Independent Nurseries. There's absolutely no doubt about it. The infrastructure is not
01:32there. The number of places are not there in terms of being able to provide every single
01:38child with a place across Scotland. So it can't be done without us.
01:51In East Lothian, 39.5% of the 1,140-hour delivery is by private sector nurseries. In Edinburgh,
02:02that's sitting at 42%. So clearly, parents are choosing the private sector when needed.
02:11The private, voluntary sector are very good at the flexibility. We've got nurseries
02:17that open at 7.30 in the morning. We've got nurseries in hospitals, at hospitals.
02:21So they open at 7.30 in the morning. They close at 6 o'clock in the evening. They're
02:26open all year. We're open 50 weeks of the year. We don't close public holidays. And
02:32it just gives parents that flexibility.
02:39And it's about giving parents choice. So we provide them a seamless service that allows
02:42them to go to work and contribute to the economy.
02:46Despite being needed to deliver the Scottish Government promise to families, the funding
02:51system has not been positive for private, voluntary and independent nurseries, with
02:56significantly more money per child going to council-run nurseries.
03:01We're receiving about half the money that a public sector organisation would receive
03:06to provide the same service, using staff with the same qualifications, the same experiences.
03:13It was apparent that a child could come to care a lot on a Monday, and that child is
03:21valued 50% less than if they attend a local authority nursery. And they could attend them
03:29on a Tuesday.
03:31Money should be distributed equally and fairly to every single child, every single family.
03:37If that happens, that allows us to be able to pay our staff on a par with local authority.
03:44It's really unfair in our view that our staff are funded to a real living wage, which is
03:51currently £12 an hour, versus a starting salary in a local authority job of the same
03:56stature at £16 an hour. We want to work with the government to close that £4 an hour gap.
04:02In terms of staff recruitment, that difference in the hourly rate has caused massive problems.
04:10Curtin Home, for example, sits roughly with about 160 practitioners at any one time. We
04:18have lost 320 plus practitioners, so we've lost about 200% of our workforce. So that's
04:27massive. And this is only because people need to earn more money. But with that has the
04:35impact to the children. So the children are losing their key workers. They're losing all
04:41of these people who they have built relationships with, built trust with.
04:49It shouldn't matter what nursery setting or what environment you deliver that excellent
04:54care and learning in. I think for many of the staff that we've lost along the way,
04:59sometimes it's not because they wanted to move on to different things. It's purely just
05:03a financial decision.
05:07I've lost really good colleagues, really good workers to a local authority. I do understand
05:14it from my friends' perspectives, but selfishly I don't like it from ours.
05:20It's sad that we don't get the same recognition because we're providing the same love
05:24the same nurture, the same care. I think children should all be treated the same regardless
05:29of the setting, because every child deserves the same start in life.
05:39So I'm Geoff Lestrell, this is my wife Louise. Our connection is our son originally came
05:45here seven years ago, and now our daughter Brooke, who's three years old, attends the
05:50nursery here in Armour Park Nursery, Mossborough.
05:53When Dylan was born, we went to see about three nurseries in total, and then this one
05:58was the third one. But then when we came and compared it to the other two nurseries that
06:03we saw, the space was just on a different level, the facilities that they offered here.
06:09So it was by far and away the best one.
06:12We've loved the service at the nursery. Our kids have absolutely thrived here, made loads
06:18of friends, and they're really happy.
06:21Louise and Geoff are very pleased with the service provided at Almond Park, and they
06:27support fairness and equality in the early years system.
06:31Equality is needed, whether it be public or private. It's still members of staff looking
06:38after a child, and it shouldn't be treated any differently.
06:44It's all about the children, it's all about the families, it's all about the staff. To
06:49ensure that every single child is treated equally and fairly across Scotland, to provide
06:57the same opportunities no matter what nursery they attend.
07:02What we would like to see from the Scottish Government is for an independent funding body
07:06to be set up to ensure that we have fairness and equality across the sectors. One option
07:12would be to give each child a childcare account with an amount of money to spend. They could
07:18spend that in a council setting, they could spend it in a private, voluntary and independent sector.
07:23All we are asking for is fairness and equality.
07:27The Scottish Government plans to extend the offer of 1,140 hours of childcare to all one
07:33and two-year-olds in Scotland. 2020 Together supports the move, but wants to ensure the
07:38funding inequalities do not continue.
07:41The offer is going to be extended for ones and twos as well, so we need to have the playing
07:46field level. We can't afford to make the same mistakes. The private sector offer over 90%
07:53of their under three places.
07:57What we want from the Scottish Government is for our staff, our children and their families
08:02to be treated equally and fairly in order for them to access the high quality childcare
08:07that they deserve.
08:10It's absolutely all about the children and those children need that workforce and a workforce
08:16that will stay. So they need those relationships that are strong and secure. So what we need
08:22is fair funding to get that. Our staff will then settle and we can then begin to recover
08:30and our children will just do amazing things.
08:35It should be fair and equal regardless of where you work. As long as you are providing
08:40a secure, comforting environment for the children, I don't think there should be a difference
08:45in wages or anything like that. Again, it shouldn't come down to money.
08:52Every child deserves to be funded to the same amount as the child beside them. There should
08:57be no disparity and no child is valued higher, no child is valued less. Just make sure that
09:03every child is funded equally and the rest will take care of itself.