The crisis in Greater Manchester nurseries as fees go up, staff walk out and parents struggle to cope

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Nurseries are at 'breaking point' in Greater Manchester in the cost of living crisis, with owners facing a 'mass exodus'. Wendy Hartley, 59, runs the Brown Bear nursery chain in Stockport and claims the private childcare sector is facing the biggest crisis of its time, as providers are being forced to pass on mounting costs to parents - and staff are leaving in their droves due to a lack of decent wages.

It comes after the Manchester Evening News reported that many families living in Stockport are being priced out of childcare, and are having to choose between work or sending their child to nursery. READ MORE:Mum on last moments with 'incredible' daughter as she died in hospital next to her Some parents said they have been forced to make the difficult decision not have any more children due the cost of childcare, with one woman saying the fees were costing more than her mortgage.

Speaking to the M.E.N, Wendy said she has huge sympathy for her clients, and claims she and other childcare providers in the local area are doing everything they can to keep prices affordable.

But she says a combination of underfunding from the government and local authority, as well as the current cost of living crisis, is forcing her and her colleagues to make some difficult decisions. "I have been working in the early years sector in Stockport for 40 years and I have never seen the sector in such a crisis.