Within just a little over 24 hours a petition campaign to get a reprieve for the present set up at Millbank Nursery has achieved a very good result with a "hands-up" from the Highland Council, an admission that:
"...proper processes have not been followed in this case."
An update on the petition page reads:
"...proper processes have not been followed in this case."
An update on the petition page reads:
"Thank you for all your overwhelming support , in such a short space of time there has been a significant change in direction from the Educational board and Millbank Nursery will remain open.
There will be parent and public consultations next year on how the new 30 hours initiated will be implemented especially for out of school hours but with Millbank Nursery remaining open for the 9am to 3pm, we will all have to come together with the Council, Councillors and school to continue discussions."
The petition started yesterday stated: "
As many parents and community members are now aware. There are plans to close Millbank Nursery as of August 2020.
The new plan of handing all nursery education over to CALA and build new premises for this on school property to be used by CALA and not the school and leave several members of staff in the nursery without jobs
Millbank Nursery is an integral part of our community and children's
educational needs before their transition to Millbank Primary. The
council has an obligation to step up and expand within the school not
outsource it to a Private firm for profit
There has been no public consultation or local consultation with the
council, and no finalised planning permission or public consultation on
this either"
https://www.gov.scot/policies/early-education-and-care/early-learning-and-childcare/
ReplyDelete"We have reached agreement with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) on a multi-year revenue and capital package which will fully fund the expansion in funded entitlement.
This will see annual revenue investment increase by £567 million on 2016 to 2017 levels by 2021 to 2022.
It includes funding to enable the payment of sustainable rates to funded providers delivering the funded entitlement – including funding to enable payment of at least the real Living Wage to all childcare workers delivering the funded entitlement.
We will also provide councils with capital funding of £476 million to support associated building projects."
Anon, this observer hasn't got a scoobie what Supermarkets pay, could you enlighten me please and how that compares with the rates on the page you linked to?
ReplyDeleteCALA are currently advertising for unqualified and qualified Early Learning Practitioners, paying £9 and £9.20/30 an hour respectively: https://www.careandlearningalliance.co.uk/work-opportunities/current-vacancies/
ReplyDeleteFor comparison, Tesco pays its workers £9.30 an hour: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jun/10/tesco-raises-wages-for-store-and-warehouse-workers
and Sainsburys pays a basic rate of £9.20: https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/pay/sainsburys-confirms-increase-to-hourly-base-pay-rate/567471.article
So, in effect, the Highland Council, upon receipt of government money to improve Early Years provision, are instead looking to outsource it to a private business that will provide unqualified casual workers on low wages.
A cynic might imagine that the HC are simply trying to pocket the difference, rather than ensure the same level of care provided by existing qualified staff is maintained.