A report on staff working in pre-school education and childcare centres, published last week, found that as of last September, 42 per cent of vacancies in privately-managed centres had been unfilled for more than three months. This figure compared with 21 per cent in the local authority and voluntary sector.
Nurseries in the least deprived areas were more likely to report they had problems filling vacancies because they 'can't afford wage demands', said the report.
The Executive also found that 30 per cent of staff who left a private nursery in the year to September 2005 went to work in a local authority setting.
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said that she would like to see a level playing field for all nurseries in Scotland, along with increased funding paid directly to childcare providers in order to 'support salaries without increasing fees for parents'.
Patricia Bradley, owner of the Bishopbriggs Childcare Centre in East Dunbartonshire, who is a member of the Early Years Workforce Development Review group, said that independent nurseries in Scotland cannot afford to pay comparable salaries to local authorities because the profit margins 'just aren't there'.
Ms Bradley said, 'My local council pay nursery staff 9.50 an hour.
In order to pay the same rates we would have to increase our fees by 30 per cent - and parents just cannot afford these costs.'
She added, 'This issue has to be addressed. The private sector are the ones providing the full daycare and education - there is not so much wraparound care in the maintained sector. We don't want a two-tier workforce in terms of remuneration or quality.'
Meanwhile, a report published last week by Scotland's HM Inspectorate of Education concluded that that there were 'too many weaknesses' in the leadership of pre-schools in Scotland, particularly in the private and voluntary sector, where up to one in four centres did not give 'sufficient priority' to children's learning.
Ms Bradley said she fully supported the need for strong leadership. But she said, 'There have been so many economic problems for owners to deal with.
If they'd not all been fighting to try to recruit good quality staff, there might have been more time for their own professional development.'
The HMIEreport also found that many pre-school children in Scotland do not have regular contact with a qualified teacher in a learning context.
Last month, Glasgow City Council announced its decision to remove qualified teachers from all nursery schools, a move which is expected to save Pounds 370,000 and is predicted to be followed by other councils across Scotland (News, 16 Febuary).
The childcare workforce statistics can be found at www.scotland.gov.uk and HMIE report, Improving Scottish Education, at www.hmie.gov.uk.