NDNA Says Nurseries Responding to Parents Concerns about Rising Childcare Costs by Managing Fees

June 27, 2011 - PRLog -- National Day Nurseries Association, Head Office, 27 June 2011 – National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) today responded to Daycare Trust’s ‘London Childcare Providers Survey,’ agreeing that providers themselves are concerned about the impact of rising childcare costs upon parents. The organisation highlighted that in response to this, many were choosing to freeze fees or implement lower than cost increases, to support families facing difficulty.

Purnima Tanuku OBE, Chief Executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) comments: “These results reflect the experiences of NDNA members, many of whom report they are freezing fees or implementing lower than planned rises in order to support parents. In this difficult economic climate, nurseries understand the hardship some parents are facing when paying for childcare and are in many cases responding to this by keeping any rises to a minimum, even when this is impacting on their own sustainability. However, this represents a worrying trend as in the longer term it presents a real risk to the viability of nurseries, and importantly, their ability to reward staff. NDNA is unsurprised by how one in three settings report that parent’s ability to pay for childcare is putting the most financial strain on their provision. Although this is a London based survey, this is reflective of NDNA members around the UK.”

Purnima continues: “Almost half of providers in this survey highlight that they are experiencing increased running costs but the sector as a whole is working hard to keep its services affordable by not passing all of these costs on to parents. This is proving even more challenging in the face of cuts in local authority support for areas such as staff training, and continued issues with the levels of funding for free nursery education. Nurseries do fully understand the benefits of free sessions for parents, especially during these tough times, but with some local authorities paying a base rate of as little as £2.05 per child per hour, this is having a detrimental effect on the sector’s ability to provide sustainable and affordable childcare. The issues that this report highlights are not limited to the capital and we agree that it is important that parents are properly supported with the cost of childcare. In this tough climate this requires local authorities to work closely with their local provision to identify how support can be best targeted. High-quality, sustainable childcare is absolutely vital to a successful economic recovery and to deliver improved outcomes for families. The recent Field and Allen reviews have demonstrated the clear benefits from early intervention and by getting it right in these formative years we can deliver longer term savings and also help ensure  families receive the support that they need.”

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Notes to editors:  

For more information, to arrange interviews or photographs please contact Hayley Wilson on T: 01484 40 70 66 E: hayley.wilson@ndna.org.uk  

National Day Nurseries Association is a national charity representing children’s nurseries across the UK, giving them information, training and support, so they can provide the best possible care to young children. NDNA is the voice of the sector, an integral part of the lives of nearly one million children and their families.

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National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) is the national charity and membership association promoting quality care and early learning for children in nurseries across the UK.

NDNA’s vision is a society where all children and families receive the best quality care and learning that enables them to reach their full potential. Our mission is to support the delivery of quality care and early learning for children across the UK.

NDNA supports its members to develop their quality of care and to run a healthy sustainable business by providing members with information, training and support. NDNA works closely with its members to represent the sector to Government, local authorities and the media.