This month’s budget announcement that the Treasury plans to increase childcare funding by £4billion was welcomed by the childcare sector.
The spotlight has been on the rapidly increasing costs associated with childcare recently, and the negative consequences this is having on an already struggling economy, with lack of funding leading to difficulties in recruitment and even many nurseries closing.
At the moment, the average cost of childcare is as much as £15,000 per year, per child. For many parents, this is simply not sustainable. As a result they are finding themselves forced to leave their jobs, or unable to return to work, because they cannot afford to pay for childcare.
To help tackle this, the government has announced that the 30-hours of ‘free’ childcare that was already available for 3 and 4 year olds, will also be extended to 1 and 2-year olds.
This is welcome news for parents who are keen to return to the workforce, but may put further pressures on nurseries that are also struggling, with increased demand for places but a continued shortage of staff.
The budget announcement came in the wake of reports that nurseries have been operating at an average loss of £2.31 per child – almost £60,000 per year for an average nursery.
This on top of universal difficulties facing all business at the moment, including rapidly increasing energy bills and the planned increase in the national living wage.
Last year, 71% of local authorities reporting difficulty in recruiting qualified staff, with an associated knock-on effect in related sectors including charities, social care and healthcare providers.
More funding from the Treasury will hopefully help relieve some of these problems, but conditions are likely to remain difficult in the short term, with the new provisions not expected to be universally available until September 2025.
For our part, at Flat Fee Recruiter, we are doing what we can to keep recruitment costs as affordable as possible within these sectors.
On the 1st March 2023, Flat Fee Recruiter launched of a dedicated low-cost package geared towards achieving the best results.
What this means for the employer
For just £150 we will advertise charity, early years and care sector roles on Total Jobs, Jobsite, Monster and Gumtree, alongside Flat Fee Recruiter Jobs and an FFR social media campaign.
These roles will also appear on dozens of aggregator sites, including Google Jobs, Adzuna, ZipRecruiter and Jooble.
Applicants can be directed to your company website or the unique Flat Fee Recruiter ATS System. CV screening and shortlisting will also be provided.
As with all our packages, a dedicated Account Manager will oversee your campaign, providing help and advice throughout the hiring process.
This represents more than a 50% saving compared to a Flat Fee Recruiter standard package.
If you feel you could benefit from this campaign or would like to find out more about our campaigns, contact a member of the team today on 0113 322 7243 or visit our website.
