Parents at one Dundee nursery could be unnecessarily paying hundreds of pounds in fees for more than a year, due to ‘unfair’ council policies.
Those with children over three-years-old at Parkview Nursery, on Dudhope Terrace, currently cannot access the government funding they are entitled to for 1,140 hours of early learning and childcare (ELC).
That is because the nursery has not yet passed a graded inspection and therefore cannot be partnered with Dundee City Council to receive Scottish Government funding.
But even after passing an inspection, it could be a year before parents can receive their child’s entitlement.
Anna McFarlane, of Lawrence Street, has two sons at the nursery, one of them 3-and-a-half years old. She pays £800 per month for her eldest son’s fees – receiving none of his entitlement to free ELC.
Anna, 36, said: “I’ve been in touch with the council and been told so many times that there are places at other nurseries available where I could access the funding.
“But there’s nothing else that ticks the boxes for me and the kids have just got settled again after all the disruptions they had to deal with through the pandemic – I don’t want to have to move them.”
‘Unfair’ council policies
The council confirmed that Parkview Nursery, which opened in 2019, needs to pass a graded inspection from the Care Inspectorate to be considered for partnership.
Managers at Parkview Nursery have always made the situation clear to parents and a graded inspection is expected in June or July, which the nursery is working hard towards in the hope of passing.
However, even if they are successful, parents could still pay full fees for more than year as the council only accepts applications for partnerships once annually – in May.
This means it would be 10 or 11 months after graded inspection that the nursery could apply for partnership and, if accepted, funding would be made available through the council the following August – 2023.
Anna says the council’s policies are ‘unfair’ given that neighbouring Angus Council accepts applications for partnership every month.
She said: “I don’t understand why they can’t implement a rolling deadline, rather than have this artificial wait.
“I understand why they need to pass a graded inspection, but why do they have to wait for a council deadline to partner after that?”
Her frustration is echoed among other parents with children at the nursery, and is met with sympathy from nursery owner and manager Cheryl Stewart.
Cheryl said: “I can see both points of view. As a service provider I know these are the rules, but as a parent I can see they just want a fairer system and for outside agencies to work together.
“It’s about the children. They are settled, but if the council says ‘that’s the rules’, then that’s it. I know we have to be meeting the national standards and I fully accept that.
“We have been working hard towards that and we are hopeful we will meet that at our graded inspection. I’ve always been open and honest with the parents about the situation.”
The nursery passed a non-graded inspection last month, as a follow-up to one last July which it failed. The most recent inspection noted improvements to quality of service, an established team, clear messaging and communication.
A spokeswoman for the Care Inspectorate said: “We are an independent body which inspects services and grades them accordingly. The frequency of these inspections is informed by our risk and intelligence model.
“The decision around entering into a partnership sits with local authorities. The Scottish Government provides guidance to local authorities which can be found here.”
A Dundee City Council spokesman said: “We are aware of the situation and have advised families of potential options that are currently available to them.”
