Parenta Magazine January 2020

What do the What do the election results mean for the early years sector? election results mean for the early years sector? The waiting is over and the results are in. But now the Conservatives have secured a majority in the December 2019 General Election, what does the Party have in store for the early years sector? For a long time now, the early years sector has challenged the government to review childcare funding rates. Now, more than ever, it is appealing to the Conservatives as concerns are being raised once again by sector leaders over a series of promises the party made in its election manifesto regarding childcare. Sector leaders say pledges in the manifesto have been made without any commitments for additional funding or funding reviews which could have a huge impact on parents and settings alike. Ahead of the election, an independent analysis of party manifestos was carried out by Ceeda which estimated that a Conservative win could prove to be the most harmful for the early years sector. These are some of the pledges made by the Conservatives which could well impact the sector: • Continue with Universal Credit • Allow parents to take longer neonatal leave by implementing new legislation • Raise teachers’ starting salary to £30,000 • Raise the National Living Wage to £10.50per hour by 2024 • A new £3 billion National Skills Fund to support high-quality education and training for SMEs and individuals • A £250 million spending boost for term-time wraparound and holiday provision in school During the campaign, the Conservatives announced that they would raise funding rates paid to nursery providers in <strong>2020</strong>/21 by a total of £66 million. However, there is currently a £662 million gap in funding. If the additional funds are not given by the government for the so called ‘free places’ for 2–4-yearolds, or revisions made to existing entitlements, the result would be a whopping deficit of £824 million by the end of this Government’s term in parliament. Furthermore, the promise of increased ‘wraparound’ care for working parents has not been supported by detailed costings or information on how the scheme will be implemented. Neil Leitch, the Chief Executive of the Early Years Alliance, commented: “This Government could leave the sector facing an £800 million funding shortfall by the end of its term that will further increase parent fees and force more providers to close. We can’t go on like this – we urgently need funding levels to cover the true cost of delivering childcare and a firm commitment for them to be reviewed annually.” Purnima Tanuku, Chief Executive of NDNA, said: “It’s clear that the 30 hours policy is here to stay but we need to make sure it is working for children, parents and childcare providers. “There are still many challenges in delivering this policy, which the new Government need to face up to and address. Funding rates need to cover costs and allow nurseries to deliver the high-quality care we all want to see for our children. At the same time, the growing burden of business rates on nurseries must be addressed as promised.” Christmas sock sock cheer for the homeless and those in need cheer for the homeless and those in need Nursery staff from Little Adventurers Nursery in Cranham are keen to support local charities and community projects and this Christmas, they decided it was all about socks! Along with their secret Santa presents, staff also donated a pair of new socks to support a local homeless charity. Nursery Practitioner, Linda, came up with the idea, which quickly gained the support of the whole staff team as well as Nursery Manager, Ginny Andreas. Local Church Leader from Harold Hill Salvation Army, Phil Goldsmith, was delighted when the nursery approached them. Phil visited the family-run nursery on Monday 16th December and was presented with the sock collection from some of the staff team at Little Adventurers. “Thanks to Little Adventurers Nursery for donating the socks and hats which we will distribute to folk over this Christmas period, thank you for your generous spirit in thinking of others.” Nursery Manager Ginny, who won UK Nursery Manager of The Year Award, is immensely proud, “We have an incredible team of kind and caring practitioners here at Little Adventurers and I am delighted that we are supporting the homeless and people in need with our ‘sock challenge’. The staff are all keen to do their bit and give something back, which is especially important at this time of year.” Little Adventurers also like to support community projects and this year, they were pleased to sponsor some of the local planting in Cranham. Nursery Director and owner Lee Stimpson, said: “When we opened up our homefrom-home nursery, we wanted to embed ourselves within the local community; over the past 5 years we have enjoyed building partnerships with the local churches, schools and businesses and we look forward to supporting more local projects and charities in the years ahead. I feel extremely proud of everything we have achieved so far and recognise that the care given by our wonderful team of practitioners is very much at the centre of our unique setting.” This award-winning nursery in Cranham promotes healthy lifestyles and offers optimum nutrition through their high-quality nursery menus. The nursery was extremely honoured to host a visit earlier this year from the Deputy Mayor of London in recognition of their work for the Healthy Early Years London Awards. Little Adventurers have a growing number of achievements and accolades; this year they have also been selected as a Top 20 London Nursery by Daynurseries. co.uk by parents at their setting. 6 <strong>January</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | parenta.com parenta.com | <strong>January</strong> <strong>2020</strong> 7