Childcare shortage 'impacting women's ability to work'
The number of qualified nannies in the island has dropped from 60 to 37 since the pandemic, the Childcare Trust said
At a glance
A "perfect storm" has led to a shortage of childcare provision in Jersey, a charity has said
The Childcare Trust said since the pandemic, the number of qualified nannies dropped from 60 to 37
In the same period one nursery has seen its waiting list triple
- Published
A "perfect storm" has led to a shortage of childcare provision in Jersey which is preventing women from joining the workforce, a charity has said.
Since the pandemic, the number of qualified nannies in the island has dropped from 60 to 37, the Childcare Trust said.
Meanwhile, nursery closures and issues around recruitment have also led to a shortage of places, it added.
Charity director Fiona Vacher said Jersey's waiting list for childcare had gone "off the scale".
She added: "This is impacting on women's ability to join the workforce.
"We are forever speaking to parents who are desperate beyond belief to get their child into nursery."
Ms Vacher said "a few nurseries" had closed, leading to a reduction in places across the private sector.
Combined with higher demand and a diminishing childcare workforce, she said it was a "perfect storm".
"In terms of the workforce and the availability of qualified staff this is probably the worst we've seen, it's certainly the highest pressure we've got in the childcare sector," she said.
Fiona Vacher said a perfect storm of factors had hit childcare provision in Jersey
Ms Vacher added: "We know that parents are phoning nurseries before babies are born and we know that parents are finding it difficult to find availability of childcare."
The charity finds 100 nursery places for two to three year olds every year, she said.
Ms Vacher added: "So we have first-hand experience of the challenge to find nursery places with parents.
"We are also dealing directly with nurseries and those nurseries don't have spaces."
It comes after Durrell's Cheeky Monkeys nursery said it was hoping to expand so it can offer more places, with a recruitment drive for four more members of staff.
Owner Juliet Pearmain said its waiting list had gone up "three times what it was" before the Covid pandemic.
She said: "We've got about 170 families for our under twos room, emails have gone crazy, phone calls every day.
"We have parents calling from overseas desperate for childcare, but they can't sort out places."