Education Policy Institute: The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the early years workforce

New survey finds a significant proportion of early years settings are relying on the government’s furlough scheme, sparking concerns that the childcare staffing crisis is set to worsen when the scheme ends

• 71% of early years staff were furloughed between March and August
• 18% of early years staff are due to remain on furlough between August and October
• The least qualified early years staff have been most affected by the pandemic

New research published today (Friday 25^th September) by the Education Policy Institute (EPI) and National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) shows that 71% of staff in early years settings were furloughed between March and August.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the early years workforce: Staffing decisions in an uncertain environment draws upon a survey of 445 early education and care providers in England, Scotland and Wales, active between 4^th-26^th August.

Early years education providers include private, voluntary, and independent nurseries and pre-schools.

The pandemic and economic downturn have significantly affected early years education, causing disruption to providers since the lockdown began earlier in the year.

Researchers have found that 4% of staff in these settings have been made redundant and 7% of staff voluntarily terminated their contract, with 30% of settings reporting ‘finding alternative employment during furlough’ as the reason for termination. Indeed, settings report employing 9% fewer staff in August than in March.

The least qualified and least experienced staff have borne the brunt of the impacts of total or partial closure of settings: they are more likely to be furloughed, made redundant or to have left for other work.

The findings suggest that early years settings value experience more than qualifications, with 48% reporting that they take qualification levels into account when making furloughing decisions, compared to 68% of settings taking experience into account.

Key findings

Early years settings have furloughed 71% of their staff since March

Staff most likely to be furloughed were those who held lower levels of qualifications:

• 79% of staff with no qualifications had been furloughed
• 79% of staff with level 2 qualifications had been furloughed
• 74% of staff with level 3 had been furloughed
• 59% of staff with level 6 qualifications had been furloughed

4% of early years staff have been made redundant

Staff with higher levels of qualifications were least likely to be made redundant:

• 6% of apprentices were made redundant
• 5% of staff with no qualifications were made redundant
• 2% of staff with level 4/5 qualifications were made redundant
• 1% of staff with level 6 qualifications were made redundant

Early years settings were more likely to furlough staff if they had higher redundancy rates

• Settings that had made a greater-than-average proportion of staff redundant since March also expected to furlough a greater proportion (26%) of their staff in the following three months than settings that had made a lower than average proportion of staff redundant (16%).

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Commenting on the new findings, Dr Sara Bonetti, Director of Early Years at the Education Policy Institute (EPI), said:

“This report highlights the striking scale of furloughing and redundancies made by early years settings from March to August of this year. In spite of most settings reopening from June, 1 in 5 staff remain on part or full time furlough, suggesting that come the end of the scheme in October, we can expect even more redundancies than we have seen to date.

“Early years settings are facing highly uncertain operating conditions. They are expected to make staffing decisions for the coming months, despite it being difficult to predict demand for their services. This is particularly alarming, given the existing, widely publicised recruitment crisis ongoing in the childcare sector.”

Purnima Tanuku OBE, Chief Executive Officer at the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA), said:

“Prior to the pandemic the childcare sector was already facing serious workforce challenges but Covid-19 risks pushing this into a full-blown crisis. This is a time of great uncertainty for early years providers, staff and families. Childcare must be at the centre of any economic recovery as people look to return to work.

That’s why we’re committed to tracking the impact of the pandemic on early years and the workforce as it unfolds. This is just the first part of a year-long study but already the findings are proving important and I want to thank all the providers who took part in this survey.

“High quality early education is crucial to giving every child the best possible start in life. Having a well-qualified, secure and motivated workforce is central to this quality of care and education. Only by having the latest data can we understand what the sector needs to ensure childcare places are available when families need them.

“The findings so far point to a lot of uncertainty, especially with the end of the furlough scheme in sight. We’ll continue to work with the sector and governments to ensure the challenges are understood and addressed."

The full report, The Covid-19 pandemic and the early years workforce: Staffing decisions in an uncertain environment, can be accessed here: https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/The-Covid-Pandemic-early-years-workforce-Aug-2020-2.pdf

Notes to Editors

1) The Education Policy Institute (EPI) is an independent, impartial, and evidence-based research institute that promotes high quality education outcomes, regardless of social background. We achieve this through data-led analysis, innovative research and high-profile events. Find out more about our work here: https://epi.org.uk/

2) National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) is the national charity representing children’s nurseries across the UK. The voice of the 21,000-strong nursery sector, an integral part of the lives of more than a million young children and their families. We provide information, training and advice to support nurseries and the 250,000 people who work in them to deliver world-class early learning and childcare. Working closely with local and national governments in England, Scotland and Wales, we campaign on the cost, choice and quality of childcare to benefit nurseries, families and the economy.

3) The survey targeted education and care providers active between 4th-26th August in England, Wales and Scotland. We received 400 responses, representing 445 early years settings. The number of settings responding to individual questions open to all respondents ranged from 156 to 356. 77% of respondents are based in England with 15% based in Wales and 8% based in Scotland. Most settings were standalone, with 35% being part of a chain.

4) Questions were asked that were relevant and specific to the context of each nation. In presenting the results the English and Welsh qualifications levels have been used. Respondents in Scotland answered equivalent qualification levels: Level 2 or SVQ2/NC; Level 3 or SVQ3/HNC; Level 4/5 or SVQ4/PDA8; Level 6 or PDA9. When discussing children with additional needs, in Scotland respondents answered about Additional Support Needs and SEN/Additional Learning Needs in Wales.

5) The average (mean) number of staff employed at each setting was 17 in total (based on 256 responses); in total the survey represents the responses of early year providers representing at least 4,446 staff. Of all staff represented by respondents, 15% had no qualifications, 5% were apprentices, 9% held a Level 2 qualification (or Scottish equivalent), 54% a level 3 qualification, 9% a level 4 or 5 qualification, and 9% a level 6 qualification.

6) For calculations of the proportion of staff who had been furloughed, made redundant etc., we used the following method: where respondents told us the number of staff employed in March 2020, and the number of staff who had been (e.g.) furloughed, we divided the latter by the former to produce a proportion of staff who had been furloughed.