Carlisle nursery releases unique job advert after recruitment crisis

St Aidan’s Day Nursery Harraby, in Carlisle, which is rated ‘Outstanding’ by OFSTED, has said they need up to six new members of staff to bring staffing levels back up to strength and hope the slightly tongue in cheek advert will provide a high level of interest.

The advert listed on job website reads: “Listen up yous lot. If you love having the crack as a nursery nurse, are not too mardy, or tardy and are a happy, smiley, huggy, wuggy kind of person, come join us marra.

Elma Day is the nursery's manager (Image: St Aidan's Day Nursery)“You’ll get clarty frequently (so no precious prince or princesses please!)

“Seriously though, we want nursery nurses who love, and are exceptionally brilliant at what they do.

“Please apply if you can take some stick, won’t phone in sick (regularly) and would like to be paid the highest rates of pay in Carlisle in the sector.”

Business Support Manager at the nursery, Pen Dey, said he wrote in the advert in response to the ‘crisis’ in the recruitment of nursery nurses.

“Staffing levels are at a business critical point,” said Pen.

“When a staff member calls in sick, we’re completely reliant on someone else working extra hours, move children around, or managers step in to work as nursery nurses, which is like asking Jurgen Klopp to get his boots on and get on the pitch – it’s got to a crisis point.

“Covid was a magnifying glass on the issues faced by the industry, and most likely, everyone in the sector is struggling. We lost staff members and the pressure – which was already great – became greater, exacerbated during the pandemic.

“We’d love to be able to pay staff £15 per hour, or even more, to help recruitment, but that isn't commercially viable. We can’t ask already pressed parents to help us pay that – it’s a relentlessly challenging situation .”

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Pen also said that Rishi Sunak's plans in the recent Spring Budget that promised 30 hours of free childcare for all children aged over nine months would add even further pressure to nurseries.

Nurseries would receive significantly less revenue due to the proposed increased level of children attending via government funding which is ‘already unsustainable for some smaller operators’ according to Pen and that some nurseries already refuse government funded children on their registers.

As it stands, government-funded childcare is available for children aged between two and three, but the plans to broaden this coming into effect from April 2024, will mean the majority of most nurseries’ clientele will be eligible for funded childcare.

Anyone who is NVQ level 3 qualified is urged to get in touch with St Aidan's Day Nursery to fulfil their potential.