Survey reveals tackling low pay and workforce morale key to recruitment and retention in early years
by Jess Gibson
Addressing poor pay and valuing the workforce are key to tackling the early years staffing crisis, according to a new survey by the Early Years Alliance.
The survey, which was carried out online between 10 and 19 July 2024 and received 889 responses, found that 78% of settings have found it difficult to recruit staff in the last year, with almost half (48%) finding it 鈥榲ery difficult鈥.鈥
Almost a third of respondents (61%) reported that staff from their setting had left the sector entirely over the previous six months, while 82% had seen an increase in the number of staff members leaving the sector compared to two years ago.鈥
The survey also revealed that in the six months prior, 50% of respondents have had to limit or stop taking on new children, while 17% have reduced or restricted their opening hours.
Around four in 10 respondents (37%) said they are actively considering leaving the sector themselves; however, of those, 82% also said that feeling more valued by government would make them reconsider leaving, while 80% said the same of better pay and 53% of improved benefits such as sick pay.鈥
These findings come just a month before the next phase of the early entitlement expansion, which will offer 15 hours per week of funded early years provision to eligible children aged nine months and older.
In response to the survey results, the Alliance is calling on the government to:鈥
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determine and publish a set of pay ambitions for the early years sector in England, setting out what it considers to be suitable salary ranges for each role level in the sector 鈥 and to ensure that early entitlement funding is set and maintained at an adequate level to enable early years settings to meet those salary expectations.鈥
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ensure that the early years is consistently recognised and valued as an education profession.鈥
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ensure there are clear and consistent career鈥痯athways into and through the sector, as well as funded training and CPD opportunities.鈥
Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said:鈥淚t鈥檚 incredibly鈥痗oncerning, but sadly not at all surprising, that not only are so many settings continuing to struggle to recruit, but also, a significant proportion of experienced educators are actively considering leaving the sector.鈥
鈥淎s these findings show, staffing challenges have already pushed many providers to limit both places and hours offered. With less than a month before the next phase of the early entitlement expansion, it鈥檚 clear just how critical the need to address the sector鈥檚 staffing crisis is.鈥
鈥淏ut while there is no silver bullet to the sector鈥檚 staffing crisis, what today鈥檚 findings also show is that this is not an insurmountable challenge. Working in the early years has the potential to be one of the best jobs in the world, and as our results show, valuing the early years sector and, crucially, ensuring that educators can receive a salary which reflects the importance of the work they do are key to attracting and retaining educators in the coming years.鈥
鈥淎t the Alliance, we know just how passionate, dedicated and skilled the early years workforce is 鈥 but the fact is that for far too long, these educators have been undervalued, under-appreciated and underpaid as a result of years of underfunding alongside policies that have failed to acknowledge the importance of the work they do day-in and day-out.鈥
鈥淎s such, we hope that the new government will take urgent action on this crucial issue and work with the sector to develop and implement a comprehensive workforce plan: one that recognises the need to improve retention as well as recruitment and, at long last, tackles the issue of low sector pay. We look forward to working with them to make this a reality.鈥濃