My name is Louise Coombs, I have been a childcare manager for 10 plus years and I have been working in the early years sector for 17 years now.

I MUST say I have never seen the sector this awful in all these years.

I am also extremely sorry to say this but the main reason for this is due to under funding and a lack of respect from the government. This is also the reason to the rising cost to parents across all age groups. For example we receive £4.20 per hour per funded child however our hourly rate it £5.61. To put it into perspective that is a loss of £14.10 per day, £70.50 per week, £282.00 per month, and a staggering £3384.00 per year. Now times this by 72 (as this is how many children we are registered for per day) totals to a massive loss of £243.648.00 per year. Now as you can imagine that could increase every member of staffs wage by at least £4 per hour (which they all truly deserve) and employ a further 5 more staff members as well as the owners make a small profit.

Which leads me on to the next point. The reason so many staff are leaving, is that all qualified, experienced early years practitioners are expected to work 40 hours a week on minimum wage. Now all I hear the government say is that recent research shows that the first 5 years in a child’s life is the most important, why do they not act like it is. Why does the early years sector not get the respect and equal right that many other professions get? We were expected to stay open during the Covid pandemic what help and support did we get? NONE. Even with Furlough the owner could only claim 48% out of the 80% for the staff pay.

In many other countries, Poland and Sweden to name a couple, working in a school or nursery is a highly prestigious job and that’s because they pay extremely well and they are treated with the utmost respect by the community and government.

To summarise, would you work a full time job where you teach children, care for children, play with children, plan for children’s needs, cook, sing, dance for a minimum wage or would you work in Aldi with no responsibility for an extra £5.20 PER HOUR?

Yours sincerely,

Over stressed, full time working mum of 2 nursery manager,

Louise Coombs

P.S this does not include the added pressure and stress of the amount of children with specific and complex additional needs.