Nursery owners create 'Champagne nurseries, lemonade funding' video

The cartoon describes the pressures of running a nursery in the current climate and the difficulties making a profit under the Government’s current funding rates for three- and four-year-olds.

It was created by animator David Kyte on behalf of members of the private Facebook group ‘Day Nursery Owners’ who wish to remain anonymous.

The Government’s cap on what nursery businesses can charge their 'free hours' customers and the effect on some settings is explained.

The final voiceover says, ‘Stop calling it free childcare. Let the nurseries charge a fair price. Then we can do what we do best – look after your children’ and the final tagline is ‘They want champagne nurseries but they provide lemonade funding.’

Launched on YouTube two days ago, it already has more than 5,000 views and the group has now built a central website – www.champagnenurseries.co.uk – to act as hub for the campaign.

The group has asked nursery owner Angela Spencer, a vocal critic of Government policy in the early years, to act as spokesperson for the campaign.

‘The whole concept of childcare in the UK is in crisis as far as the group is concerned. We are grossly underfunded and grossly undervalued,’ said Ms Spencer.

‘I think this campaign is amazing because up until now nurseries have been competitive with each other, but now we are realising that we can unite. To start with we just want to get the message out there. We are sharing and posting the video through our individual nurseries and networks, so we see the campaign gaining more and more momentum. And we are holding a meeting for how to get this out to more people.

‘That message is, you can’t ignore us all, not if we’re one voice! You can’t bully the profession any more.’

The government, which has increased the funding rates following a review, says it is now 'funding the sector with £1 billion extra funding every year by 2020, including £300 million annually to increase the national average funding rate, to incentivise and attract providers to deliver the full 30 hour free offer to parents. This extra funding was based on our review into the cost of delivering childcare, the most comprehensive analysis of this market ever, which involved extensive consultation with the sector.'

It is also holding a review into how the money is distributed by local authorities.

The national average hourly rate for three and four year olds will rise from £4.56 to £4.88, though this includes Early Years Pupil Premium money, money which was already allocated.

The group now hopes the video will be a useful tool for helping parents understand the position of nurseries and explain that the long-term effects will be nursery closures.

‘My area Hertfordshire is part of the pilot and the one setting local to me offering the 30 hours is a children’s centre, so it’s already funded by the government and doesn’t need to meet the demands of a business. Yes, nursery businesses need to make a profit, because we need to be able to reinvest it in our nurseries, and in our staff and training in particular.

‘We’ve had constant meddling from the government with funding, the EYFS, Ofsted, and this is combined with a lot of negative media reports about children failing. But really if we are all governed by and meeting Ofsted inspections, where does the blame lie?’

Ms Spencer also appeared on Good Morning Britain this morning…

She owns a chain of three nurseries, Angels at Play in Hertfordshire, and has created her own childcare methods, Nascuropathy and Babyopathy.