New NDNA report reveals concerns of nurseries in Scotland

The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) Scotland today revealed it has published a new insight report ‘the nursery sector in Scotland.’

Carried out with nurseries across the nation, the research reveals how many are concerned about the move to Level 9 leadership.
 
Available from the ‘sector news’ section of www.ndna.org.uk , the report shares a summary of research conducted with NDNA member and non-member nurseries in Scotland to identify needs, issues and challenges. It also includes a series of recommendations. The move to Level 9 leadership was highlighted as one of the biggest concerns amongst nurseries, including how to afford the cost of a manager at Level 9. However, over half of respondents were still looking to develop a manager with the qualification as soon as possible. As a result, NDNA is recommending that Scottish Government explores the possibility of funding to support the move to Level 9. 
 
Nurseries responding to the survey also indicated that their business performance was strong, with one in three sharing occupancy levels were 90% or above and a further third saying their occupancy averaged between 81 and 90%. However, many also said that despite this they were still seeing increased bad debt and reduced hours of use amongst parents due to local economic conditions and that they were stepping up marketing to address this.
 
The research also reveals nurseries are positively working in partnership with their local authority with 67% saying they had a ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ relationship with their local authority. Experiences of integrated Care Commission and HMIe inspections were also shared as a constructive area, with two thirds of nurseries sharing it was a ‘very positive’ or ‘positive’ event. In addition, the insight report also reveals more about how nurseries in Scotland are meeting registration requirements for the Scottish Social Services Council, how they are providing access to a teacher and experiences of access to funding.
 
Purnima Tanuku, Chief Executive of NDNA comments: “This insight report reveals the experiences and challenges for nurseries in Scotland, including how they can deliver on the vision of a Manager at Level 9. It has also identified many positives, such as how partnership working is growing in the nation and how inspection is a process working to support quality. However, whilst business performance is identified as a strong area, it is important to recognise that nurseries still experience issues in terms of bad debt and a reduction in childcare usage, and there may be a delayed response to the recession, so we will continue to monitor this over the coming months.”
 
Purnima adds: “NDNA is sharing the results of this research with government and its partners to represent our members in the nation, and we have made a number of recommendations in response to the challenges identified. Funding in particular is a vital area and we believe Scottish Government should consider financial support for the move to Level 9. Local authorities should also ensure that funding for the early years sector is clearly advertised and accessible. Nurseries in Scotland are dedicated and passionate about delivering for children and we look forward to sharing the results of this research to ensure that their needs are recognised.”