Many recent studies have shown that England and Wales offer some of the most exceptional early years services in the world. 96% of early years settings that are inspected are either a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, and yet our sector is in crisis and has been for many years.
A recent Early Education and Childcare Commission report stated that up to 57% of professionals were thinking of leaving the profession. In England and Wales, 144 nurseries closed in the 2021/22 academic year and 214 in the 22/3 academic year according to research by the National Day Nurseries Association.
Rising costs, including increases to the National Minimum Wage, food and utilities continue to impact on the day-to-day running costs of most nurseries, at least 80% of whom are single owner operators. Passing these costs onto already struggling families isn’t a viable option in the long run.
Essentially, many nurseries, especially the individual operators and smaller nursery chains need funding to keep their heads above water and while the funding hourly increase earlier this year was welcome, in my opinion, it doesn’t go far enough.
In 2021, the National Day Nurseries Association called for the government to exempt nurseries from paying business rates, thereby giving parity to schools and to nurseries in Wales and Scotland, all of whom aren’t charged this tax. And further, the April 2023 business rates valuation meant that many nurseries saw their annual charge increase. In 2021, the NDNA conducted a business ratings poll which found that the average business rate annual charge for nurseries was £21,034. Many nursery owners polled said that being exempt would mean that they would be able to pay their staff a higher wage. This would be beneficial in addressing the issues of staff recruitment and retention and lessen operating costs in terms of the short and long-term employment of costly agency staff. With this annual saving, nurseries could free up funding to invest in their staff’s CPD and training, meaning that higher skilled, better paid professionals are educating our nursery children. By doing this means it could have a profound impact on their outcomes, especially in deprived communities where nurseries are twice as likely to close as those in more affluent areas. Of course, exempting nurseries from business rates is a big change, but one which I think is long overdue.
Steven Morgan, the newly appointed minister for early education, has expressed a commitment to prioritising early education which many in our sector welcome, however the sector is on its knees. Now is the time for action and the voices of those working in the early years sector can help towards making a difference.
Michele Davison is owner and manager of Angels on The Park nursery in Hackney, east London
