One of the largest nursery providers in the UK is calling for a trade association to represent all private nursery businesses 'to fight our corner'.
Chairman of the Childcare Corporation Alan Bentley told Nursery World that the private nursery sector needs to be properly represented by a trade association so that it can speak with 'one voice' and be heard by Government.
Mr Bentley added, 'Any trade body has to recognise that if the Government is coming out with anything detrimental to the sector, it needs to attack the policies.'
He said that the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), which has previously taken on the role of a trade association, could no longer act without a conflict of interest because of the volume of funding that it receives from the Government.
The large providers' group, which is made up of the biggest nursery chains in the UK, is meeting on Wednesday to discuss what the private sector can do to set up a trade association that properly represents its interests.
Writing in this week's magazine (see p31), Mr Bentley says that the NDNA is now 'wholly unsuited to act as a trade association - a fact which, in fairness, it has openly admitted to me. Please do not misunderstand; the NDNA provides a valuable service within our sector, but independent trade association it is not - nor, apparently, does it wish to become.'
His call comes as private and voluntary nursery owners across the country are setting up their own branches of the PVI Providers Association - the group established by nursery owners in Kent in frustration that there was nobody to represent their views in opposing Government rules on nursery education funding (see page 5). Commenting on the group, Mr Bentley said, 'They've shown that by speaking with a common voice you can get people to listen. When an association is formed, we should take account of these groups.'
He stressed that a trade association should speak for all childcare providers 'whether they have one nursery or 100. If it's not for everyone there's no point.'
However, the NDNA denied that it could not properly represent the whole day nursery sector. Chief executive Purnima Tanuku said, 'The type of trade association that is called for by Alan Bentley would not be representative of the whole sector, so would not be taken seriously by the Government as it would not reflect the spectrum of provision. Representation is not about who can shout the loudest but about working closely with the Government and partners to achieve beneficial results for our members, their staff, and the children and families they care for.'
She added, 'The day nursery sector is currently facing many challenges, and it is crucial that we remain as one strong voice rather than setting up disparate groups that represent a single need rather than the interests of the sector as a whole.'
l What are your views? E-mail news@nurseryworld.co.uk.