Scotland's nurseries need help to get degree level managers, says NDNA
Catherine Gaunt
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The Scottish government should provide financial support to nurseries as they move to employing managers with a level 9 degree qualification, the National Day Nurseries Association has recommended, following a survey with nurseries in Scotland.
The research also highlights that nursery businesses are performing well despite the recession, with occupancy at 90 per cent or more in one in three of the nurseries who responded.
Seventy-six per cent of respondents said their nursery was 'very high performing' or 'performing well'.
But many also said they were still seeing increased bad debt and reduced hours of use among parents, due to local economic conditions, and were stepping up their marketing to address this.
The move to level 9 leadership was highlighted as one of the biggest concerns. However, over half of respondents were still looking to develop a manager with the qualification as soon as possible.
NDNA chief executive Purnima Tanuku said, 'This report reveals the experiences and challenges for nurseries in Scotland, including how they can deliver on the vision of a manager at level 9. It has also identified many positives, such as how partnership working is growing in the nation and how inspection is a process working to support quality. However, while business performance is identified as a strong area, it is important to recognise nurseries still experience issues in terms of bad debt and a reduction in childcare usage, and there may be a delayed response to the recession, so we will continue to monitor this over the coming months.'
The report also said local authorities should also ensure that funding for the early years sector is clearly advertised and accessible.
The Nursery Sector in Scotland is available from the 'sector news' section of www.ndna.org.uk.
