No money is no reason to stop thinking
IT WAS an obvious answer to an obvious question. The UK Government announces plans to introduce more free pre-school hours, in a bid to help more parents get back to work, and give the economy a boost. Would Guernsey be interested in doing the same?
Of course we can’t, was the basis of the reply. We haven’t got the money.
In rejecting the idea, Education, Sport & Culture also added that the current scheme of government-funded pre-school education was not under review.
And it made it clear that its focus was all about educational outcomes – not enabling more parents to get back to work while their children were being looked after.
There is clearly massive demand for that in Guernsey.
Parents and working mums are often facing the challenge of how much they should work, and whether they can make enough per hour to make it worth their while, once the nursery or pre-school fees are paid. That doesn’t always add up.
More availability of pre-school provision would be likely to be well received. But that’s not going to come from government, and especially while pre-schools have mixed views on the current scheme and its benefits to them.
It’s a challenge, and one that is likely to sit in the ‘too difficult’ tray. Yes, budgets are facing cuts, but a lack of money should not be the default excuse for shutting down creative thinking.