“Education’s plan to expand nurseries will cost more than savings from cutting free care”

Friday 08 April 2016

Taxpayers could end up paying more for expanded States nurseries than will be saved by axing free care for families earning more than £75,000.

That’s the view of Philippa Alexandre, a nanny, who described herself as extremely angry after Wednesday’s Scrutiny hearing about Education’s plans to means test financial support for three and four year olds in private nursery from September 2017.

A further meeting is being planned for next Wednesday when the Education Scrutiny Panel – who held a 90-minute hearing this week and who criticised the minister for making the announcement and then going on holiday – want to hear from parents about the impact that the cuts will have.

Education say that between 75 and 100 families earning more than £75,000 will lose out, and will have to find £3,917 to continue funding their children’s nursery places.

Mrs Alexandre said that Education’s argument that the cuts were necessary didn’t add up, because Education Minister Rod Bryans said in the hearing that the department was considering expanding its own nursery provision.

She said: “It was all about budgets which didn't really make sense because they are taking the money away from the NEF funding but then they want to build new nurseries and apparently do wrap around care in school nurseries which - those teachers cost more than the private nurseries which the States don't have to pay for.

“They want to do from early morning to evening and school holidays in school nurseries apparently now, at the same time closing private nurseries by taking their funding away.

"If you take away the pre-school children, the three-year-olds which is where the funding was and build new school nurseries, they are the only ones that make private nurseries money because of the staff-to-children ratios.

“The babies and the toddlers cost money, so if you take them away the private nurseries won't be able to stay open so what are you going to do with the babies and toddlers? “There's going to be no childcare for them, you are going to lose nursery places, staff are going to have to find jobs or be unemployed and then mothers aren't going to be able to go to work until the children are three, before they can get a States nursery place."

She has set up a petition to request the minister, Deputy Bryans, to attend Wednesday's meeting, which you can see here.