Brexit 'will deepen early years recruitment crisis'

The Early Years Workforce Study 2019, conducted by sector analyst Ceeda, found that persistent recruitment and retention challenges are already leading to increased workplace stress and longer waiting lists.

The recent announcement of a points-based immigration system for the UK are likely to further restrict labour supply, the report warned.

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From January next year, a new UK points-based immigration system will be introduced meaning that skilled workers will need to meet a number of relevant criteria, including specific skills and the ability to speak English.

In addition to entrants needing to be qualified to a minimum of Level 3 A-levels, and having a firm job offer, they will also require a minimum salary of £25,600.

However, the report calculated that on average full-time qualified workers earn £17,456 a year, well below immigration earnings thresholds.

The survey found that 2.75 per cent of the early years workforce in non-domestic Ofsted registered provision are currently EU nationals, an estimated, 9,150 staff.

London has the greatest reliance on EU nationals at 8.9 per cent of all employees, followed by the South East at 2.7 per cent.

"Whilst EU citizens resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 can apply to settle in the UK through the EU Settlement Scheme until June 2021, sector pay will be a significant barrier to future applicants; as indeed it is for current UK citizens," the report states.

"The potential impact on labour supply will differ widely across the country and is likely to affect London and the South East most."

More than a quarter of settings were found to be actively recruiting at the time of the survey (29 per cent) for a total of 14,700 vacancies, up slightly on 2018 when 32 per cent of settings were recruiting for 14,300 posts.

Staff shortages were found to be impacting directly on both nursery workers and families, with three quarters (77 per cent) of providers with recruitment difficulties saying the situation has resulted in a more stressful working environment, up 21 percentage points on 2018.

Meanwhile, 38 per cent of settings with "hard to fill" vacancies say staff shortages are leading to longer waiting lists for childcare places, up from 20 per cent in 2018.

Almost a third (31 per cent) say they are working below their preferred staff-child ratios, while remaining within statutory limits, up from 18 per cent in 2018.

Jo Verrill, managing director at Ceeda said there is a "clear, evidenced, need for a step-change in the status and rewards of early years careers".

"This will require radical change in the way people think about and value early education, matched by commensurate levels of public sector investment," she added.

Neil Leitch, chief executive at the Early Years Alliance, said that while the news that settings are struggling to recruit suitable staff will come as no surprise to anyone working in the sector, the figures still make for stark reading.

“Such challenges not only put the current workforce under growing pressure, but they also increase recruitment costs and restrict business growth at a time when the sector is already struggling with stagnant funding rates and rising costs elsewhere," he said.

“Early years practitioners are dedicated and passionate about their work, and their wages should reflect the important role that they play - but this is something that will only be possible with an increase in funding rates.

"As such, discussions about pay, recruitment and retention cannot be held in isolation, but rather, must form part of the wider debate about the need for far greater investment into the early years sector, both now and in the long-term."

Tulip Siddiq, Labour’s shadow minister for early years, said: “With three-quarters of nurseries struggling to recruit staff, it is appalling that the government is doing nothing to tackle low pay and low morale in early years education.

“Pay is now so low that almost half of childcare workers have to claim Universal Credit and thousands are being driven out of the sector. The recruitment crisis is only going to get worse with the government’s ill-thought through immigration policy, as most childcare workers are paid well below the proposed salary threshold.

“This research from Ceeda also proves what we’ve been hearing from childcare providers themselves – that staff shortages in nurseries are forcing them to offer fewer places, depriving children of important early years education and making it more difficult for parents to work.

“Labour will continue to push the government to increase funding for early years in the budget so we can pay childcare staff fairly and ensure our nurseries are properly staffed.”

Last week early years experts and sector organisations announced they have joined forces in a bid to tackle issues surrounding workforce recruitment and retention.

The Early Years Workforce Commission will undertake a review of issues including low-pay, high stress levels and a lack of male employees in the sector.