It may appear to be a neat solution to a thorny problem, but like so many bureaucratic fixes, the decision by East Dunbartonshire Council to discontinue funding pre-school education at private and voluntary-sector run nurseries, is anything but.
Every three or four year old is entitled to 12.5 hours per week of free nursery education – worth around £1500 a year – but now, parents in East Dunbartonshire will only be able to access that at council-run nurseries, even if their nearest is in another town.
Unfortunately, that decision is likely to prove disruptive for children, inconvenient for parents and, by leading some parents to forego their child’s free place at a council-run nursery in favour of keeping them at a closer, full-time private facility, could increase the financial burden on families at a time when many are stretched to the limit.
This is not an easy decision for any council to make. When budgets are under pressure, tough decisions must be made and at least this way children still receive their free nursery places.
The problem is that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work very well where childcare arrangements are concerned. If every parent were in a position to drop their child off at nursery at 9.30am and pick them up at 3.30 or 4pm – or if they could afford to pay someone else to do so – council-run nurseries that opened these hours would be more than adequate for their needs.
If mum and dad did not work full-time and did not worry that it would be disruptive for the child to spend part of the day at nursery and part with a childminder, a shortage of “wraparound care” provision would not matter.
If parents did not wish their child to attend a nursery near their future primary school, so that they could get to know their future classmates, it would be no problem to have them attend a nursery several miles from home.
But of course all these things do matter, to parents and children, very much.
As study after study has shown, a child’s early years education is crucially important to his or her future life chances; no wonder parents are so anxious to get it right.
In general terms, there is a need for greater choice and flexibility in childcare provision, in order to help working parents, especially working mothers. Many parents do not have relatives living nearby they can call upon to help with childcare, and are therefore dependent on professionals.
If care is required full-time, this represents a huge cost running to thousands per year. A system which helps parents by paying for 12.5 hours of pre-school education at a place of their choice, is the right system; restricting it is likely to make such families’ already complicated lives more difficult.
This new arrangement might shore up council-run nurseries by boosting child numbers, but it could have the concomitant effect of reducing the number of children attending privately run nurseries. That could ultimately put jobs at stake.
Having childcare vouchers paid directly to parents by the government to spend where they choose is one option on the table and it may gain ground if other councils follow East Dunbartonshire’s lead.
What is clear is that this worrying trend is not good news for children or their parents.
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