What do I mean by this inelegant metaphor? I’m talking about the government’s failure to invest in the early years sector at a level that is sufficient to tackle a key problem – chronically low pay – while announcing a major expansion of free early years provision.
A recent article by academics from the University of Manchester forcefully made the point about how much pay is hurting recruitment and retention in the sector:
Many ECEC providers have told us that they cannot compete for staff with other essential services such as schools and the NHS, where starting salaries, career progression and pensions are often better. Since COVID-19, providers also struggle to compete with supermarkets, many of whom pay at least the real living wage and offer part-time, flexible work that has fewer physical and emotional demands. Our research also indicates that some potential early years educators estimate that they would be financially better off staying on Universal Credit.
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