Thirty-five independent nurseries have launched a campaign to secure a fair funding deal from Moray Council.
The nurseries accuse the council of creating “two tiers of children” by short-changing independent providers while giving its own staff a pay rise.
The issue is around how much Moray Council pays its independent early learning and childcare (ELC) partners.
Currently, independent nurseries receive £6.30 per hour from the council.
However, the nurseries are contractually obliged to pay their staff the Real Living Wage. They say the gap between what it pays out in salaries and gets back in funding is getting wider.
Now, the council plans to freeze the rate. In response, 35 nurseries across the region have joined forces to demand more.
And they want parents to join the fight.
Figures reveal pay gap for independent nurseries
Lauren Hayward is group manager of Torridon Education Group and one of the campaigners leading the charge.
She runs Bishopmill Pre-School Centre and Jack and Jill Nursery School in Elgin, as well as East Beach Nursery and Little Learners in Lossiemouth.
A massive 95% of Moray’s independent nurseries have joined the Fair Funding For Moray’s Children Action Group.
They say the council is withholding funds, essentially creating ‘two tiers’ of children:
So what does this mean for children in Moray?
Lauren stresses that children’s experiences in independent nurseries are second to none. But the burden falls on the goodwill of staff and communities.
“You go into this job because you have a nurturing side and you want to do the best you can for everyone,” says Lauren. “But Moray Council is not Getting It Right For Every Child – they’re getting it right for their budgets.”
Moray nurseries losing staff to council
Lauren describes the pay gap between council and independent staff as “insulting”.
“Wherever possible we pay more than the £9.90 Living Wage but as it increases, it leaves us with no room for re-investment,” she explains.
“Historically, we’ve lost staff to the local authority that we’ve had for years and years, and poured money into their training. When we’ve done the exit interview, they say if the wage was the same they’d never have left.”
With council professionals earning up to 30% more, Lauren says the independent sector can’t compete. And she draws an interesting comparison with teachers and nurses, whose pay is nationally set.
“You don’t have teachers in private schools paid less than normal teachers. If the NHS had really long wait times, they wouldn’t expect a private hospital to do it for less money.
“It seems that the council are keeping whatever money they want for themselves.”
The Moray row follows a similar campaign run by independent nurseries in Highland, who accused the council of “gaslighting” negotiations.
Mental health toll: ‘We may have to take strike action’
Lauren says this leaves independent nurseries struggling. They will not compromise on the standard of care for Moray children, but they have to be creative to make ends meet.
“For most of us in the group, the big issue is the sense of inequality and unfairness,” she says. “If you imagine, our staff are being paid £5 less per hour than local authority staff. If that money was fairly distributed, our children could have something even more amazing.
“Our staff team team wouldn’t have to have additional jobs outside of the nursery, we wouldn’t have to rely on parents fundraising for us for resources. We wouldn’t have to rely on donations from various shops.
“We rely on people doing things in their own time. Because of the kind of person you attract into this role, people want to do the best that they can for these children.
“But it’s an additional pressure.”
Now, the nurseries say they have had enough. If Moray Council presses ahead with the rates freeze, they say they may have to take strike action.
“The trust has completely gone,” says Lauren. She adds that the whole battle has taken a toll on her own mental health, and that of other nursery leaders too.
“I’m drained with fighting this,” she says.
Moray nurseries ask parents to help
The Fair Funding For Moray’s Children Action Group say the council did not do any meaningful consultation ahead of the funding proposal.
Moray Council drafted in an external consultancy to discuss money saving ideas, but nurseries say they stopped short of formally discussing a pay freeze.
The consultants’ report forms the basis of recommendations to councillors, but has not been made publicly available.
Instead, Moray nurseries say they increased their staff’s wages in good faith in August.
It was not until October they discovered that the council does not plan to increase their own funding rates. They say this equates to a 15% real terms cut, or £1,288 per child.
Meanwhile, the council gave their own staff a pay rise and backdated it to April 2022.
A spokesman for Moray Council said:
“The current financial position of the Early Learning and Childcare budget means that we’re unable to confirm an uplift to the sustainable rate at this time.
“However, Moray retains one of the highest rates in Scotland for the sustainable rate we pay, with a substantial uplift in 2021, in line with the real living wage at that point.
“Once the budget position is clearer, in early 2023, consideration can be given to the current level of sustainable rate for partners.”
The funding decision is up for discussion at a special meeting of Moray education committee on December 14.
Moray nurseries have written to councillors urging them to change course, and they’re appealing to local parents to do the same.
Lauren says: “We need parents to harness their power and get involved. Together, let’s fight against the inequality for Moray’s children and their independent professional educators.”
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