Small business: ‘It’s so easy for the hidden price increases just to hit you from nowhere’
Warehoused tax debt deadline, supply chain issues and sharply higher labour costs at forefront of business owners’ minds as we enter the new year
Regina Bushell
‘I am in for the long haul and just have to keep faith that things will improve’
Me & My Money: Regina Bushell, chief executive of Groveland Childcare Plus, a midlands childcare and early learning service
Childcare crunch: ‘No country for working parents’
Post-Covid flexible work patterns are clashing with rigid creche hours and set fees
Covid-19: ‘I don’t understand why it’s so high in Offaly’
As walk-in test centre opens locals worry about being ‘left behind’ in any relaxation of restrictions
Reopening childcare: ‘It’s going to emotional for children and parents’
Perspex screens, pods and regular handwashing to be the norm in childcare settings
Most childcare providers set to reopen to thousands of children from Monday
Parents are being asked to drop children off at entrances instead entering premises
Half of childcare providers yet to register ahead of December deadline
Hundreds of creches must submit ‘essential’ documents if they are to reopen in new year
Creche fire regulations delayed amid fear of closures
Many smaller facilities warn they may not meet mid-December deadline for documentation
Most afterschool services not affected by new staffing rules – department
Some services have warned of aftercare price hikes of up to 40% in new school year
Helping your child get ready for ‘big school’
Since the introduction of the Early Childhood Care and Education scheme, children are generally better prepared for the transition from pre-school to primary
Childcare facilities ‘forced’ to reduce intake due to lack of funding
Crèches struggling to fill vacancies to meet childcare needs of babies under two
Tender for childcare IT system ‘runs to 1,000 pages’
Minister says firms must administer affordable childcare scheme until September 2019
Childcare providers want to lower qualifications standards for staff
Group says interim measure needed to prevent services being ‘forced out’ of sector due to excessive regulation
The childcare problem: We need to listen to what workers are telling us
Opinion: People working in the sector are actually subsidising early childhood education and care
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