'Severe’ early years workforce shortage sparks childcare crisis, EYA data shows
Fiona Simpson
Friday, December 3, 2021
A "severe and growing” staffing shortage in the early years sector is leaving families facing repeated disruptions to childcare services, new research shows.
A survey of 1,395 early years providers, carried out by the Early Years Alliance (EYA) reveals that more than eight in 10 settings are currently finding it difficult to recruit suitable staff while 62 per cent of settings had employed staff who had left the early years sector completely over the previous six months.
As a result of recruitment and retention issues, one in five settings had been forced to reduce or restrict opening hours and one in six had been forced to temporarily close their entire setting.
Half of respondents had been forced to limit the number of, or stop taking on, new children, the EYA said.
Among reasons staff cited for leaving or considering leaving the sector were poor pay and “feeling undervalued by the government” during the pandemic.
“Responses suggest that those feelings were exacerbated by the lack of support and appreciation shown to the sector during the pandemic, and particularly when early years settings were asked to remain open while schools and colleges closed,” the EYA said.
Two-thirds of staff who said they were considering leaving the sector stated that their experience of working in the early years during the pandemic had increased the likelihood of them doing so.
In response to the survey results, the EYA has urged ministers to publish a set of pay ambitions for the early years sector in England, value and promote the early years sector as an education profession and ensure there are clear and consistent career pathways into and through the sector.
Neil Leitch, EYA chief executive said: “It is incredibly concerning, and yet sadly unsurprising, to hear not only how difficult early years settings are finding it to recruit suitable staff, but that so many dedicated, committed and experienced early educators are considering leaving the sector themselves.
“There is no single quick-fix on offer. Early education and care has the potential to be one of the most fulfilling and rewarding careers in any industry or sector, but for this to be a reality, there needs to be a complete overhaul of the way that the government views, treats and ultimately funds early years providers in this country.
“The early educators I speak to every day are passionate advocates for the work they do, but they are tired: tired of being overworked, tired of being underpaid and tired of being undervalued.”
