To help nurseries stay afloat, they are being told to iron parents clothes and cook their meals
Nursery managers up and down the country are feeling insulted by latest remarks asking them to iron and make parents meals. This would mean staff are working for free. Nurseries who are struggling are being urged to cook and iron parents clothes to help stay open.
With the introduction of the 30hs free childcare scheme being implemented shortly, staff have been suggesting ways they could help keep nurseries afloat.
Suggestions being made are when nurseries have spare staff they could offer an ironing service for parents, clean during sessions, saving nurseries having to employ a cleaner and reducing staff to adult ratio when children are on holiday.
Other suggestions are:
- Selling takeaway meals to families
- Paying staff the same pay scale regardless of their qualifications
- Asking staff to work voluntarily for a term until things pick up.
The suggestion that staff could iron for families has caused a debate between many people, some arguing that it is an insult as many practitioners chose a career in childcare to work with children not iron clothes. Providing high-quality childcare is a top priority for all childcare providers.
What are your views on this topic?
I came to this industry with love and passion for caring and teaching,but I left because of the unrealistic system. No one respect us not the government nor the parents. I am happy that I left I have a life to live but believe me I miss working with children.
Reading this is a bit like reading the sun newspaper or watching daytime telly. All in aid of provocation. Just because someone somewhere has done a survey and parents have fed back with daft ideas about a business they don’t understand doesn’t mean it’s true or realistic. Just maybe don’t wind people up when it appears there’s a lot of hostility about funding as it is. Ignore
When I owned a nursery, the recession hit us hard, been a small setting in the middle of a village. A lot of families had 2 or 3 children in the nursery and losing their jobs meant we lost the children. In order to keep my practitioners until it picked up, we offered an ironing service. However the parents were not impressed as they thought ironing with children in rooms would be dangerous.
I tried explaining it would be done upstairs away from children but the word had spread so I had to let some good practitioners go and scrap the idea.
Sometimes you can’t help a situation especially in a small village.
When I owned a nursery, the recession hit us hard, been a small setting in the middle of a village. A lot of families had 2 or 3 children in the nursery and losing their jobs meant we lost the children. In order to keep my practitioners until it picked up, we offered an ironing service. However the parents were not impressed as they thought ironing with children in rooms would be dangerous. I tried explaining it would be done upstairs away from children but the word had spread so I had to let some good practitioners go and scrap the idea
In South Africa we are in the same quandary as parents are struggling to pay for quality childcare, threatening the jobs of educators. We too are paid lower salaries than our prep school colleagues with the same qualifications. Many still perceive us to be nannies who enjoy drinking tea as we sit by the sandpit!
Our politicians should be left with a large class of three year olds and see how they fare! After their full day they can fill in the paperwork and write the reports.
Could you imagine any other professional with a degree offering an ironing service just because the office is quiet!
Ah but wait, any other industry isn’t capped in what they are able to sell their goods/services at, so it just wouldn’t happen.
How about reducing the wages of the MP’s as qualifications/experience work pressures do not matter and get them to do a bit of road/train repairs on a Saturday and use some of their mighty wage packets in areas that are of a greater need. No, of course this would never happen, would it? Nursery staff have bills to pay and houses to pay for too so why should they be treated as second class citizens. Yes it is a case that we should feel lucky we have jobs ,but we have this immense pressure put upon us to ensure that the children are not only looked after and well educated by us but also the parents are doing their parenting correctly The government pushed for degree qualified nursery staff as early childcare education is paramount to a child’s development and future learning so why is it expected that these staff should be paid a minimum wage are other university graduates paid a pittance? Nursery staff care,nurture and educate your children to a high standard and in many cases end up being there for the child more than the parent. The government want all me Primary schools to have a nursery class attached so are they expecting these teachers to be paid a minimum wage? I think the Early years teachers would tell them to jog on! Please, please,please for the sake of today’s young children as at the end of the day these are the ones who suffer, either stop this ridiculous scheme or sort it out so more extremely experienced and qualified nurseries do not have to close.
This is disgusting! I am exhausted most days trying to balance providing the best care possible for the children and trying to fill out the ludicrous amount of paperwork that comes with each day for such a little amount of money (which may I add means I won’t be able to get a mortgage unless I move up north) and now someone is suggesting we work for free to provide extra services which I have NOT trained hard for years to do!! I might as well dig my own grave now. This makes me want to leave childcare for good. You won’t find quality caregivers with articles like this around!! ?
It is shockingly ignorant to suggest these ways to support nurseries. Shows how under valued early years is considered to be. All staff work hard for their money in childcare and many are on low wages but do the job exceptionally well- providing a nurturing educational environment – these kinds of ill thought out comments will really inspire the next lot of early years educators to come into the profession -not!!
We are Early Years ‘ Professionals’ in name only…is that why it was only referred to as a ‘status’ ?otherwise we may of had the stupid idea that we could expect the wage of a qualified graduate…silly us.