Bristol nurseries struggling to balance the books and recruit enough staff

Nursery bosses in Bristol say they are struggling to balance the books and recruit enough staff.

One nursery in Clifton is almost half empty despite having a waiting list of toddlers due to a dire shortage of staff.

Britain has some of the highest childcare fees in the developed world, however local headteachers say recent increases in government funding are still not enough to cover their costs. And due to low pay many nurseries are finding it hard to fill vacancies, with some now hiring abroad.

Demand for places is expected to increase over the coming months, after the government agreed to expand its support for free childcare hours. The impact of the changes and the current issues were discussed by the schools forum at Bristol City Council on July 12.

Samantha Packer, director of the Daisychain Nursery in Clifton, said: “A situation that many of us face at the moment is — and I’m going to use myself as an example — we’re 60 per cent full with a waiting list of children, who we can’t take because of staffing. We have just taken some measures to improve that, we’ve taken the route of sponsorship licences. I think it could help many of us with our recruitment.”

Companies struggling to hire staff can sponsor visas for new recruits coming from abroad. And the challenge of hiring enough staff could soon grow, due to the recent increase in government support for childcare, as more parents put their toddlers in nurseries.

Simon Holmes, headteacher of St Philip’s Marsh Nursery School, said: “We’re already having parents coming in and registering for what they’re expecting the new entitlement to be next year, from what was promised by the government. We don’t really have any information to give to people on that. It’s all a bit unclear.

“There’s obviously a big issue around sufficiency going forwards, if the offer is extended to the degree that it’s been promised. While the uplift in funding is very welcome, it’s made a big difference this year when things are very tight, most nurseries are struggling to balance the books and not have an in-year deficit.

“When everything is very financially tight and you’re looking at reducing to save money, at the same time the challenge is to also expand to meet the needs, and that’s a real tension. There needs to be a wider system change, because you can’t reduce and expand at the same time.”