EFFORTS to solve the “staffing crisis” in Jersey’s childcare sector have been gaining momentum.
Education Minister Rob Ward revealed in his written response to a question from Deputy Max Andrews that a recruitment campaign to attract people into the sector would be carried out and that hundreds of thousands of pounds had funded qualifications which provide routes into the industry.
He further noted that there was a 78% vacancy rate in the sector last year.
In April, Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham’s newly formed government pledged to extend nursery and childcare provision, acknowledging the need first to improve recruitment and retention, and to incentivise training and development.
“Improving our childcare provision will positively impact lifelong outcomes for our children and will also benefit the economy by enabling parents to return to work,” its Common Strategic Policy read.
That pledge came after the Jersey Early Years’ Association last year sent a letter to parents stating that it had come to “the end of the road” in negotiations over funding and that there was a “staffing crisis in the early-years sector”.
The concerns about staff shortages were having a knock-on effect on parents who were consequently unable to return to work.
Many were struggling to find a place for their child and less well-off families were being priced out of the market.
Now Deputy Ward has given an update on the progress of the early years “workforce” working group, which was set up in 2022.
The group has funded more than 50 new places for Islanders to study early childhood education and care qualifications at Highlands College.
Following proposals from JEYA members, changes have been made to the work permits, so that “nursery practitioner” is now included as an eligible category.
Deputy Ward explained that this change had enabled a number of Kenyan childcare practitioners to join the workforce.
He added: “A recruitment campaign is planned to attract people into the sector.”
He also said that £200,000 had so far been made available to fund all professional development courses.
And he concluded: “Back-to-work teams work with childcare providers to seek suitable opportunities for those seeking a return to the workplace.
“This does require careful planning and consideration as the needs of young children have to be prioritised and safely and appropriately met. Practitioners require an enhanced DBS check, first-aid training and safeguarding training in addition to some knowledge of child development. A risk/benefit assessment will be undertaken to ensure that any suitable candidates are supported to take up an opportunity, if and when appropriate.”
Former Assistant Children’s Minister Louise Doublet had previously said that she supported the government’s aim to increase childcare provision but that “good-quality childcare should not be sacrificed for quantity”.
