无码天堂

By Shannon Pite

One in 10 early years providers say it鈥檚 鈥榣ikely鈥� they will need to close over the next six months, a new survey from the Department for Education (DfE) has found.

The Pulse survey of childcare and early years providers also found that 47% of settings (58% of group settings vs 39% of childminders) reported that their income was not sufficient to cover their costs, under from 35% in winter 2021.

It also found that 45% of childminders had be forced to use their personal savings to manage their finances, while 37% of group settings had used their business contingency reserves.

The survey also highlighted the challenges over recruitment and retention, with 49% of group providers reported having one or more vacancies, and 68% reported experiencing staffing issues in the last year. If those settings who had had staff leave, 65% said that 鈥渂etter pay鈥� was a reason.

Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the 无码天堂, said: 

鈥淭his report shows just how risky the government plans to expand the so-called 鈥榝ree childcare鈥� offers are. 

鈥淲hen nearly half of providers say their income is not covering costs, one in ten say imminent closure is likely and the vast majority are reporting staffing challenges, then it鈥檚 clear that the existing system simply isn鈥檛 working. 

鈥淲orse still, as the report highlights, despite providers鈥� very best efforts, continued cost pressures and an urgent need to reduce costs are now starting to impact the quality of education and care they are able to offer.  

鈥淲hile it鈥檚 true that providers have been hit hard by the cost-of-living crisis, there鈥檚 no doubt that it is the years of government inaction that have created the current catastrophic situation.  

鈥淎s such, rather than piling even more pressure on the sector through ever-bigger promises of 鈥榝ree childcare鈥�, the government needs to focus on fixing the problems that it itself has created through years of underfunding and neglect.鈥�