Fathers urged to apply for jobs at nurseries and pre-schools in Government drive
Education minister Stephen Morgan said that as part of the drive to make early years careers 'more appealing', the Government was 'reminding dads that if you've helped your own child learn and grow, you've already got the skills to make a difference to many more'.
He added: 'Children thrive when they're supported by a diverse mix of role models and that starts in the early years.
'With big changes coming in September, we're backing nurseries to recruit the staff they need and encouraging more men to consider this rewarding career.'
Advertisements are set to appear on social media feeds, roadside billboards and railway displays throughout the country, some featuring men looking after children while painting or at a make-believe tea party.
The effort, known as 'Do Something Big', coincides with a £1,000 payment incentive for new early years staff in 38 priority regions throughout England.
It is thought this could help nursery managers recruit in time for an expanded childcare offer in September, when eligible parents can receive 30 hours of funded childcare per week for children aged between nine months and two years old.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
20 hours ago
- BBC News
Call for help with school uniform costs in England
Call for help with school uniform costs in England , Few councils offer school uniform support, and one of the UK's largest debt advisers has called on the government to change that Author, Dan Whitworth & Dearbail Jordan Role, Reporting from Winsford, Cheshire 16 minutes ago Low-income families in England struggling with the cost of school uniform should be offered grants as standard, one of the UK's largest debt advisers has said. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, all families on certain benefits can claim between £93 to £200 per child for back-to-school clothing. But Money Wellness found only a fifth of councils in England offer any support and has called on the UK government to introduce a statutory school clothing grant. The Department for Education (DfE) said it was already changing the law to limit the number of branded items schools can insist on, saving some families over £50 on the back-to-school shop. However, the average cost of a school uniform is just over £340 for primary school children and around £454 for those in secondary education, according to DfE figures. "For many low-income households, even with such savings, uniforms will remain unaffordable without proper support," said Adam Rolfe, policy and public affairs officer at Money Wellness. Money Wellness says of 153 local education authorities in England, just 22 offer a dedicated uniform grant, while a further seven provide help but only in exceptional circumstances such as fire, flooding or being made homeless. It said the data reveals a "postcode lottery of support". Councils in places such as London, Yorkshire, and the north west offer help ranging between £30 to £170 per child. But, it said: "The vast majority offer nothing at all." Mr Rolfe said: "We urgently need a consistent, national approach to school uniform support to ensure no child is disadvantaged simply because of where they live." The Local Government Association, the membership group for English councils, said: "While some councils choose to help parents with the cost of school uniforms, funding pressures on council budgets make it increasingly difficult for them to continue these concessionary grants. Sorry, we can't display this part of the story on this lightweight mobile page. View the full version of the page to see all the content. While pupils in England are still out for the summer, the break finishes in around four weeks' time and the Children's Society charity said now is the time that school uniform banks are starting to get busier. For Carrie, who was getting a uniform for her son Dillion for his new secondary school, places like the Green Uniform and Baby Bank in Cheshire are "invaluable". Image caption, Carrie, here with her son Dillon, said uniform banks are "invaluable" "It's a real challenge to be able to afford a brand new school uniform," she told the BBC. Carrie said she had ordered £200 worth of new items, and she could "now send some things back" and even buy some spares. "It's a real safety net," she said. But Carrie said there were other costs too such as shoes and football boots. "And Dillon will grow out of them so it is a continual issue really and with Christmas not far off, it is back-to-back for families with costs." Image caption, Jason, with Amelia, Julie and Bobby, says councils should standardise help with school uniform costs With household bills such as energy, water and council tax rising in April, Mr Rolfe said the costs of the start of the school year was an added financial burden. Jason, who was at the Green Uniform and Baby Bank in Cheshire with his wife Julie and their children Amelia and Bobby, said it was not just low income families who were struggling with costs. "You might earn a lot of money however, bills are going up, the cost of living is going up. We're in a sort of crisis where everyone's trying to save or penny-pinching wherever they can," he said. Josh, whose daughter Isabella was going into year seven, said the cost of school uniforms was "very high", but he received an email from the school telling him about the bank. Image caption, Josh, with Isabella, says there's no longer a stigma about secondhand clothes "It just helps places like this to support everyone, keep it a fair price," he said. "It's great for everyone, there's no judgement on using secondhand clothes. There used to be a lot of stigma, it had to be branded but now there's no stigma on that, everyone's in the same boat struggling." And it is a sustainable way to shop, according to Jason: "You're not having uniforms and clothes going to landfill sites". Image caption, The Green Uniform and Baby Bank's Michelle Hawthorne says it has never been busier Michelle Hawthorne, who helps run a school uniform bank in Winsford, Cheshire, said school uniform costs were an "enourmous" pressure for families. "If you have multiple children across multiple schools, as a lot of our families do, you can see how the cost of that can become... unbearable." A Department for Education spokesperson said: "Our Plan for Change is removing barriers to opportunity, with limits on branded items of school uniform just one of the steps we're taking to put money back into parents' pockets and break the link between background and success." Get in touch If you are a parent, can you afford school uniforms? Do you have any money saving tips? Tell us. Contact form How to save money on school uniform If a council does not have a school uniform grant, families can apply for help through the Household Support Fund. Each council administers this differently, so check council websites for details Check to see if the school organises second-hand uniform sales, or runs their own pre-loved uniform bank Check with retailers including major supermarkets for back-to-school deals on uniform basics
The Sun
a day ago
- The Sun
Parents can get summer holiday childcare for FREE thanks to little-known help – how to get it
PARENTS who are struggling with money can get help with the costs of childcare for free over the summer holidays. The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme is a major Government scheme aimed at helping out low-income families. 1 It's funded by the Department for Education and provides free food, childcare, sports, music and arts clubs to low income households during the school holidays. Local authorities can decide what they will provide parents so you'll need to check exactly what is on offer where you live. Most offer help to families with children in receipt of benefits-related free school meals. But local councils are also allowed to offer help to children outside of this group. The initiative is mostly for Reception-aged children up to Year 11. Again, you should check with your local council to see if you're eligible. Most will have information on their websites or you should be able to give them a call or visit your local council office. What help can you get and how can you apply? As we mentioned, you'll need to check in with your local council to find out exactly what they're offering. But the programme generally will provide holiday clubs where kids can take part in activities and eat healthy meals. Some councils might coordinate the clubs themselves and others will work with organisations to provide the clubs locally. Martin Lewis issues urgent warning to 800,000 parents missing out on £2,000 to help with summer childcare costs The clubs will offer activities like arts, sports, drama and music, or they might even include trips. The Government says the clubs must provide healthy free meals, nutritional education and physical activities on a daily basis. In some areas you could be offered holiday club places for the equivalent of at least four hours a day. Others may run a standard 8am-3pm day for free. For example, Ealing Council says it is offering clubs and activities for a minimum of four hours per day, four days per week. It says the programme will be available for children receiving benefits-related free school meals who are either at school or living in Ealing. Meanwhile Manchester City Council says its HAF programme is mostly for children who get free school meals but you can check your eligibility here: Extra support is also on offer for children with special educational needs plus young carers and those in care. The HAF clubs are being offered over the summer holidays for four weeks. However they're also offered for a week during the Christmas and Easter breaks. The application process and what help you can get varies based on where you live. What other help can you get? The Government is also encouraging families to sign up for Tax-Free Childcare to save on their childcare costs. The scheme can give you £500 every three months for each of your children. You can use the cash to pay for approved childcare like nannies, nurseries, childminders and after school clubs. If you take advantage of it, it can save you up to £2,000 a year for each child. You could be eligible for it if you: Have a child or children aged 11 or under. They stop being eligible on September 1 after their 11 th birthday. If their child has a disability, they receive up to £4,000 a year until September 1 after their 16 th birthday The parent and their partner (if they have one) earn, or expect to earn, at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week, on average Each earn no more than £100,000 per annum Do not receive Universal Credit or childcare vouchers . You can visit to check your eligibility.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Number of primary school pupils falls by 5.6% in two years
The number of primary school pupils in Jersey has fallen by 5.6% in the last two years, a study group has Centre Jersey (PCJ) examined data from Public Health Jersey which found the number of babies born in Jersey had fallen by almost 10% in 2024 compared to the year report also found four schools across the island had recorded declines of more than 10%.The charity said that with fewer children to teach, it was likely people would call for smaller class sizes rather than fewer schools. It said: "Jersey has an unusual structure of primary school provision - there are 24 separate schools with an average of 254 students at each, however, six of the schools have over 350 students while nine have fewer than 200."There may well be a need for some restructuring particularly among the smaller schools... in practice there will be pressure for smaller class sizes rather than fewer schools." PCJ said it was hard to see how the government could address the falling birth rate without potential "financial incentives" to encourage people to have more said: "More generally, if the high cost of living in Jersey is causing a reduction in the number of young people who might otherwise have chosen to live in Jersey to choose not to do so then this can be tackled only by measures to reduce the cost of living, specifically the cost of housing."The government announced that it had launched a new 25-year strategy to improve the island's public infrastructure to address the island's high cost of housing and ageing infrastructure.
