Parent Stress

April 3, 2004–Tough government targets to provide 2 million childcare places by 2006 has resulted in a dramatic shortfall of childcare and early years workers.*

More and more nurseries, childcare providers and parents have to compete to recruit high calibre staff to care for their children.

Regina Bash-Taqi, Director of Childworks.co.uk, explains,

?The childcare industry is facing a crisis. By 2006 there will be a shortage of 175,000 childcare staff, and as an industry this is something we must tackle now.

??It is important for nurseries, Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships and all childcare providers to look ahead and investigate different ways of recruiting their staff. Childworks offers an integrated online recruitment service for childcare staff, which is fast and inexpensive. ??Providers also need to; ? Ensure that they have clear strategies to retain good quality staff ? Keep up to date with changes in employment law ? Network with other providers to see how they deal with emerging issues.?

To find out more about recruitment solutions for the childcare industry visit www.childworks.co.uk/jobmkt

For further media enquiries please contact:

Regina Bash-Taqi, Director Childworks Limited Tel: 020 8653 6345 Email: enquiries@childworks.co.uk

Notes to editor:

? Regina Bash-Taqi set up Childworks Limited in 2001 to work with the childcare industry to develop and market affordable solutions. It includes a childcare portal with an integrated online recruitment service for childcare staff, and Club Mania ? high quality Day Camps for 8-14 year olds.

? www.childworks.co.uk /jobmkt is easy to use and great value for money, and it also provides parents with useful and informative advice on meeting their childcare needs.

? Regina Bash-Taqi is an expert in early years childcare provision. She has advised on a number of projects for the Department for Education including a successful end-to-end review of the Sure Start Programme, and the production of Guidelines Towards More Effective Supplementary and Mother-tongue Schools. Regina was also a member of Britain?s first childcare think tank and the Southwark Early Years Development and Childcare partnership, as well as writing a critical review of the British National Childcare Strategy.

Bash-Taqi has won and been nominated for a number of industry awards including the Windrush Awards 2001, a Millennium award for the development of a fun-based science programme for children, the 1998 Times/Natwest Community Enterprise Awards, and the Southwark Black Women for Services to Education awards in 1998.

From 1994 to 2001 she was the driving force behind the Lighthouse Children?s Foundation which now provides supplementary education, out of school childcare, parent support and health programmes to 500 children per year in South London. Currently she is a Trustee for the Resource Unit for Supplementary and Mother Tongue Schools.

? Interviews with Regina Bash-Taqi are available.

* http://www.surestart.gov.uk/recruitmentretention/