September 2021 Parenta magazine

Childcare
news & views
A round-up of some news
stories that have caught
our eye over the month
Source and image
credits to:
The Times, Southern Daily
Echo, Insider Media Limited,
Cambridgeshire Live News, Daily
Record, The Northern Echo
Education minister urges parents to
seriously consider apprenticeships
over university for their children
Education minister, Gavin Williamson, has
urged middle-class parents not to rule out
apprenticeships for their children as figures
reveal that apprentices could be £50,000-
plus better off than the average degree
student after three years of studying.
A record number of students are expected
to apply for university this year - but up
to a third could be rejected from some of
the most oversubscribed courses amid
fierce competition and grade inflation
as places through clearing dry up. But
Gavin Williamson has urged middle-class
parents not to rule out apprenticeships
for their children when they receive their
A-level results.
Self-isolation and ‘pingdemic’ causes
nearly half of all early years settings
in England to close
‘Help educate parents to sign up for
Government’s Healthy Start Scheme’:
Marcus Rashford
Families risk losing out under
new childcare scheme
Childcare services in disadvantaged
communities are at risk of losing out
after a reduction in subsidies for families
without employment.
Kingsmead Day Nursery children
raise £600 for Marwell Zoo
The nursery raised over 240% of their
original target whilst taking part in the
summer safari activities. During the
week they dressed up, had a picnic and
organised a Safari Sports Day!
Burbage Day Nursery is snapped
up by Kids Planet Nursery chain
The family-owned nursery chain
expands even further than existing
76 nurseries in the UK by purchasing
Burbage Day Nursery with the capacity
for 73 children.
The Education Secretary has previously
slammed the ‘inbuilt snobbishness’ by
some to further education other than a
degree, blaming families who believe their
children should go to university as a ‘rite of
passage’.
Analysis by MailOnline has found that
when taking into account the debt
accumulated by a degree student and
other costs, an apprentice is £52,732
better off on average after three years.
In addition, some apprentices will enjoy
a starting salary that is higher than the
£24,000 average of an arts degree
student who has attended a mid-ranking
former polytechnic university, especially
when compared to apprentices training to
be accountants.
Read the full story on the Parenta website
here.
Nearly 50% of childcare providers in
England have had to either fully or partially
close at least once since 1st June, due to
self-isolation requirements, according to a
new survey.
The survey, published by the Early Years
Alliance polled more than 1,000 early
years providers and reveals that nearly a
third of providers had to fully close at least
once and more than nine in 10 providers
believed the early years sector should be
added to the self-isolation exemption list.
In response to the findings of its survey,
the Alliance has called for early years
providers to be added to the list of sectors
exempt from self-isolation requirements
“as a matter of urgency”.
Read the full story on the Parenta website
here.
In an open letter published by the British
Medical Journal (BMJ), footballer and
child food poverty campaigner, Marcus
Rashford, has urged more low-income
families to sign up for the Government’s
Healthy Start Scheme.
He is calling on health professionals to
spread the word about the scheme, in a
bid to increase take-up among eligible
families. He says that many families do
not realise they qualify for Healthy Start
vouchers and are missing out on the
scheme’s benefits.
In the letter, Mr Rashford explains that
nearly half of families eligible for the
voucher scheme, i.e. those in receipt of a
welfare benefit and who have at least one
child under four or are pregnant, are still
not registered.
Read the full story on the Parenta website
here.
Cambridge nurseries in desperate
need for staff
With critical staff shortages fewer places
for children are available. There are
currently just under 30 vacancies across
the Cambridge area.
Lockerbie Academy plea for
fundraising after fire destroys
the nursery play equipment
After the devastating news of the
vandalism, a ‘Go Fund Me’ page was set
up along with various bikes, trikes and
toys donated by local parents.
Nursery staff take part in
fundraising walk after local
one-year-old, Vinnie, suffers
brain injury
High Bank Day Nursery in Stapleton
raised £1,810 after completing walk to
support little Vinnie.
4 September 2021 | parenta.com
parenta.com | September 2021 5