Nursery chain stars in childcare costs TV programme

Crews from ITV’s Tonight programme, formerly Tonight with Trevor McDonald, spent a day filming at one of the group’s 11 settings in Innsworth, Gloucestershire for the show next week which will seek to document the true cost of childcare.

The programme, which is due to air on 31 May, will highlight the struggle parents face when sending their children to nursery, including managing childcare fees and how they cope with separation and concerns about how their child will adapt to being in a nursery environment.

A number of parents with different working patterns and childcare arrangements  were interviewed for the show, including parents who only access the free hours, those who use both formal and informal childcare and parents whose children attend the nursery full-time.

Sarah Steel, managing director of the Old Station Nursery group which operates 11 settings across Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, said, ‘We agreed to help the television crew present some of the issues around the rising costs of childcare, which seem to be a political hot potato at the moment, even if this is something that those of who are involved in the sector – either delivering care, or using the service – have known for a long time.

‘Up to 70 per cent of revenue could go directly on staff costs and the cost of business rates, rent, utilities and resources are rising all the time, as they are for everyone in this economic climate.’

She added, ‘I hope the programme goes some way to making people realise how complex the issues in the sector are, and how a few headline-grabbing initiatives from the government will not solve the deeply rooted problems of how families are supposed to balance the cost of childcare with their own budgets.’

Harriet Gill, assistant producer for ITV Studios, said, ‘ITV’s Tonight programme is investigating the various ways modern families have adapted their lives in order to juggle the costs, changing their working patterns, relying on grandparents, using nurseries or childminders or in some cases becoming stay-at-home parents because they simply cannot afford otherwise.

‘The media often points the finger at private nurseries for charging inflated fees so we wanted to visit a nursery where the owner could break down the costs for us and explain why the fees are what they are – we were really grateful to Sarah Steel for allowing us into her nursery and for being so open and honest about how the business runs. We also spoke with many of the parents with children at the nursery who gave us their thoughts on childcare costs and why they felt the Old Station offered good value.’

The Tonight Programme 'The True Cost of Childcare’ will air on 31 May at 7.30pm on ITV1.