Moray Council’s proposed changes to Early Learning and Childcare services come under fire

The local authority is collating feedback on proposed changes to its nursery and primary school services.

After asking for the views of parents, carers, and families on proposed changes to its Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) services for this year’s budget planning, Moray Council is reviewing the results of the online survey that closed on February 12 to decide on potential adjustments and cuts.

Education, Communities and Leisure Services Committee chairwoman, Councillor Kathleen Robertson (Forres, Conservative), believes she understands the importance of early years services to families.

She said: “Proposed changes aim to meet current parental preferences while ensuring services remain financially sustainable. By streamlining hours and revising staffing structures, we can continue to provide high quality childcare while achieving necessary savings.”

Following an initial consultation with staff and a review of the ELC service provision, amendments are proposed to the operating hours at Pilmuir, Lhanbryde, Linkwood, and Seafield nurseries, who currently operate 25 hours-per-week for 46 weeks-a-year.

The proposal would increase this to 30 hours-per-week for 38-weeks-a-year, operating from 9am to 3pm, in line with the primary school schedule. The change is based on attendance patterns which show “significantly” lower attendance during holiday periods. The adjustment is expected to generate savings of £260,000.

To align with this, nursery managers’ contracts would be adjusted to a 47-week working year, in line with other council ELC facilities, saving an additional £23,000.

Workforce implications for other employees are under review, with any changes managed through “natural turnover, contractual adjustments, or formal consultation” in line with the council’s change management policy.

The council also proposes restructuring the ELC teaching team to enhance quality improvement and inspection outcomes. This includes replacing the current 7.4 full-time equivalent teachers with two early intervention teachers and two continuous improvement officers, delivering savings of £200,000.

A nursery employee who wishes to remain anonymous claims the proposals leave staff in a “precarious” position and “dented their morale”.

She said: “The council says this will save them £260,000. However, it's going to create problems further down the line. The private nurseries in our area all have waiting lists: that is evidence of need, and one that could bring income.

“The people making these decisions argue that more holidays will help our stress levels but we will just end up spending the time off worrying about what we will return to.”

She added: “Any drop in income is a concern for us. It used to be that when you got a job with the council, you were secure, but not anymore. The job is getting harder while needs increase.”

The assistant is also concerned about restructuring of the ELC team.

She said: “The ELC teaching team is going to be reduced to two staff to cover all of the children with Additional Support Needs (ASN) in Moray. How will they see all of these children and attend all planning meetings? How will two people provide the appropriate support to the children, staff and families?

“Our children need continuity, security and boundaries, all of which the nursery provides. For some children, the nursery is their safe haven, offering respite for parents. With numbers of ASN children rising, why the cuts? It's wrong.”

She finished: “To reduce costs, the budget setters should look at the earnings of people higher up at Moray Council. Do we really need managers for managers earning in excess of 60k per year?”