The extension of free childcare for working parents will undoubtedly be welcomed with open arms by families struggling with increased costs and the pressures of juggling childcare and work when it comes into force in September, says Emma McGrath, professional support solicitor, Citation Professional

However, the change places a new onus on day nurseries to recruit and onboard employees in order keep up with the increased demand for free childcare spaces. Now, data from the National Day Nursery Association showing that 82% of local authorities haven’t distributed additional funding to nurseries shows that nurseries aren’t getting the support they need to prepare for the spike in demand.

Staff recruitment and retention has long been an issue within the day nursery sector. More recently, nurseries have been battling to stay afloat due to ever-increasing running costs including utility bills, business rates and food bills and, as of this month, an increase in the National Minimum Wage which amounts to another business expense that’s increased without an increase in profits.  

While many day nurseries aren’t in the position to turn down the additional government funding, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the payments will cover their growing costs as more children are enrolled, and they need to actually receive the funding from local authorities. With the cost-of-living crisis impacting businesses and individuals alike, nurseries passing these additional costs onto those whose children have paid places also runs the risk of these parents removing their children if costs become too high. 

In order to navigate the influx of children enrolling come September as seamlessly as possible, day nursery managers must seek to implement robust recruitment processes that help to attract the right type of staff through the door. However, part of this process includes lengthy DBS and Right to Work Checks that can often take weeks to process; time that the sector just doesn’t have to spare. Enlisting the help of a third-party employment screening service such as uCheck can help provide a stopgap in these instances, saving precious time to get staff onboarded as quickly and efficiently as possible. The rapid online platform allows you to request checks in a matter of minutes and guarantees quicker results that government checks.  

But recruitment isn’t the only measure that’s needed, and retention of new and existing staff is equally as important. The key is a good induction process that ensures staff fully understand their role and responsibilities – both the good and more challenging aspects, so they know what to expect and managers are sure they’ve got someone that’s up for the job. 

It’s no secret that it can be a stressful sector to work in, with the added pressure of staff shortages and responsibility of caring for a growing number of children. Nurseries should do what they can to support employee wellbeing by implementing effective health and wellbeing strategies such as Employee Assistance Programmes and occupational health services that seek to create a happier, more productive workforce and improve retention.  

For nurseries that don’t have the additional funds for physical services, training and development opportunities are crucial. Managers should receive training on how to be effective, empathetic leaders so that employees feel comfortable talking to them when they’re struggling or facing work related issues. It’s also important to clearly signpost the training and development opportunities to ensure employees have the ability to learn and progress.