The education select committee heard from academics and economists, who said that the workforce challenges are likely to pose problems when implementing the reforms.
“Because the reforms are focused on relieving parental childcare costs, unless we address this issue at the same time as the completely unacceptable conditions of the childcare workforce, I very much doubt that we are going to have successful implementation,” said professor Eva Lloyd, director at the International Centre for the Study of the Mixed Economy of Childcare, University of East London.
“Providers are struggling with the workforce absolutely having reached the end of the rope. Exhausted after Covid, and now dealing with the cost-of-living crisis, they are leaving in droves.
“If we’re really serious, there has to be much more rigorous reform,” she said.
Christine Farquharson, associate director at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, told MPs that she would support a wide-ranging review of the childcare system, which could be used to build a workforce plan.
Dr Tammy Campbell, early years lead at the Education Policy Institute, agreed that the workforce needs to be a key priority, saying: “If we have a good workforce, and an attractive profession to work in, if we have childcare providers that parents actually want to have their children in, then the parent can go to work and the children can have a good experience.”
She added that the reforms set out in the Budget are “fairly short-term in focus” at the potential expense of quality and access to early years education, which would be “counterproductive” in the long-term.”
Experts also discussed the controversial proposal to relax staff:child ratios, with Adam Hawksbee, deputy director at thinktank Onward, saying: “I’m sceptical about the degree to which amending child staff ratios will impact on cost, and I think it might have a negative impact on quality.
“The underqualification of the workforce should be addressed. It seems odd to me to relax ratios first and then do the upskilling work.”
Witnesses added that the system must be made more attractive and accessible to parents if the government wants to encourage more parents to enter the workforce, which was identified as a key aim of the Budget reforms.
Lloyd said: “If a system is easy to navigate and is generous, then it becomes attractive to parents. The level of informal care goes down, and parents are happy.”
The evidence session comes as part of the education select committee’s ongoing inquiry into the problems facing the childcare and early years sector, which is examining workforce challenges, accessibility of the system, and the effectiveness of different funding requirements.
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association, said: “We need to know what the Department for Education will do regarding bridging qualifications and functional skills requirements. The sector needs people with the skills and passion for working with children in their first five years and to get them into the early years workforce quickly, to meet demand.”
Neil Leitch, cheif executive of Early Years Alliance, said: “Given that the sector is facing its worst recruitment and retention crisis in decades, it’s clear that any plans for early years reform must first ensure that we have a robust infrastructure in place. It beggars' belief, therefore, that the government has committed to such a significant expansion of both new and existing early entitlement offers without first ensuring that we have adequate staff to deliver these new places, or that the funding on offer is at a level that will ensure the sustainability of the sector in the long term."
