Childcare is always an important topic for many parents and childcare workers. And with so much uncertainty involving Brexit, budget cuts and changes to government policy, the childcare industry's future does hang in the balance. It's no wonder why there is so much concern.
This is why it seems so necessary for us to write this blog post. Parents do want the best for their children. And in this blog post, we will be looking at 5 areas which could impact the future of childcare.
Let's have a look at what they are:
1. Big Chains Ruling The Industry
There is a strong chance for us seeing large nurseries chains monopolising the childcare industry. From a parents perspective, this could be good news since these larger chains can offer their childcare services at a competitive price.
Now for smaller to medium sized chains, this is an issue. They won't be able to offer their services at a reduced cost due to resources that they have available. The only saving grace for smaller companies in the childcare industry is that they are be able to provide a more tailored childcare support, since parents are more likely to work with the owner of the nursery. But since larger chains are likely to dominate the industry, smaller chains could struggle to compete.
2. Playtime (To Keep it as it is, or Reduce it)
Childcare providers are a perfect setting to develop a child's fundamental skills during the early stages of their life. But there has been great deal of debate to see whether a more formal education setting should be implemented in place of the current play and interactive way of learning. Recent
studies have shown that a formal education introduced at a young age is proven to be beneficial.
At the moment, most nurseries help their children learn how to read and count through interactive games. This, as many childcare workers have said, is much preferred in the industry than having formal teaching. Many childcare workers are keen to resist any initiative to introduce formal teaching because they strongly feel that child will learn best through play and interaction.
3. 30 Hours Free Childcare - Great for Parents, But Not So For Nurseries
The introduction of having 30 hours of free childcare is extremely beneficial to parents. But due to lack of government funding, this could leave
many childcare providers unable to provide parents the entitled free childcare.
The government needs to ensure that they are listening to childcare providers before introducing such scheme to parents. At the moment, the 30 hours free childcare scheme is promoted to parents as free and government funded, but it is the actual nurseries who would have to find their own resources (through their own budget, not the government's) to be able to provide the service. This could cause nurseries all over the UK, both big and small chains, to lose money.
4. Big Schools Getting More Funding
Right now, the childcare sector comprises of a healthy mixture of local community nurseries settings, larger nursery chains and school-based providers. But this could all change if the governments decides to introduce new rules to funding.
The
government have promised to inject more capital funding to schools which will be allocated to develop nurseries for infants aged 2 and above.
If this scenario does go ahead, then there would be more competition amongst private nurseries as they will now face more pressure to offer childcare to children aged between 0 to 2. It would also increase the staff-to-child ratio, hence increase the overhead cost.
5. A New Approach to Childcare — Taking it Outside
Parents are becoming more concerned about how much screen time their child is exposed to. It has been reported that more and more
children are becoming addicted to their smartphones. But on the positive note, this has encouraged parents to get their children more involved in outdoor activities.
A new type of nursery has emerged in the form of outdoor and forest nurseries. They are becoming
increasingly popular with the parents as these types of nurseries encourage positive outdoor experiences.
Are You Interested in Working in Childcare?
If you're interested in working in childcare, then The Learning Station can help. We're a training provider based in Haringey, London and we've help many individuals gain their
Childcare Level 2 qualifcation. The courses we provide for childcare are online distance learning, meaning you can learn in your own time and at your pace.
If you would like to know more, please
contact us.
Thanks for reading. What are your thoughts on the future of childcare? Please let us know in the comments section below.
Featured image: Pexels 
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