I own a number of child-related businesses, including a day nursery in Winchester and three nurseries that are opening later this year. Our recruitment agency, Nannies Abroad, and our French creches are operated with British nursery nurses. They were all created when I, as a mother with four young children, found that facilities abroad did not offer acceptable health and safety standards.
Through Nannies Abroad we have found out that many tour operators employ childcare staff over the telephone without checking qualifications and references. What is even more horrifying is the prospect of people who have not been police checked working with children.
The increase in cost will further discourage thorough vetting of childcare staff not only in this sector but also in areas such as nannying and private clubs, as well as tour operator-run holiday activity clubs abroad where checks are not required by law. Also, qualified childcare staff who need to renew their checks in order to apply for agency jobs may not be able to afford the fee. This could lead to an increase in unchecked staff.
Parents will have no way of knowing whether people caring for their children have a police record unless they pay for the checks themselves.
Ashanti Dickson Managing director, Nannies Abroad
