The early years workforce continues to face substantial
recruitment and retention challenges despite recent growth in the
number of staff. New analysis suggests that
these issues could be a key barrier to delivering the
Government's expanded early years entitlement.
From today, the free childcare entitlement will extend from 15 to
30 hours for eligible working families with children aged
between nine months and three years.
Research by the National Foundation for Educational Research
(NFER) reveals the key trends in recruitment, retention, pay,
working conditions and wellbeing in the early years workforce and
recommends how to tackle challenges in the sector.
In October 2024, the Government estimated that the early years
workforce would have to grow by 35,000 staff between December
2023 and September 2025 to meet the needs of the planned
entitlement expansion.
This report shows that if the current rates of growth and
acceleration in staff numbers continue, then the workforce size
is on track to meet the Government's estimate. However, given
that providers have reported challenges with achieving the growth
so far and further growth may be even more challenging, the
trends may not necessarily continue.
The report also highlights that although the target could be met
at a national level, there are likely to be regional
discrepancies that are not currently being measured by Government
data.
Findings also indicate that low pay is a consistent driver of
staffing challenges. Pay levels in the early years sector are
lower than both the general workforce and among similar workers
despite recently rising in relative terms.
In 2022/23, early years workers earned 36 per cent less on
average than other workers who have similar characteristics and
working patterns. While early years providers are responsible for
setting pay levels for their staff, levels of Government funding
– including funding rates for free entitlement hours – have a
strong influence over what is feasible for a provider to pay.
The analysis also suggests there is limited opportunity for pay
progression within the early years workforce. This means staff
with different levels of experience and/or qualifications can
receive relatively similar pay.
NFER is urging the Government to continue increasing funding
rates, so that early years providers can offer competitive wages
to recruit and retain staff, with a pay structure that rewards
higher qualification levels and career progression.
Jack Worth, NFER Education Workforce Lead, said:
“The early years landscape is undergoing significant changes and
increasing pressures. It is critical that workforce challenges in
the sector are addressed, so that it can be both attractive
enough to recruit new staff and also retain a higher level of
staff, to ensure it can meet the demands of the expanded free
childcare entitlement.
“Delivering impactful early education and care will give our
children the best start in life and support better outcomes.
Investment in further research and high-quality data is needed to
allow the Government to make effective future policy decisions.”
Further findings from the report include:
-
Staff retention is a significant challenge,
particularly for staff in group-based providers, putting the
stability of the expanding workforce at risk. In 2024,
the turnover rate among staff in group-based providers (GBPs)
was twice that in school-based providers (SBPs): 16 per cent
compared to eight per cent.
-
Early years workers with lower qualification levels
report limited opportunities for career progression.
Only 49 per cent of early years workers agree that there are
opportunities for career progression at their work, compared to
57 per cent among similar workers. Early years workers
qualified to level 2 or below are even less likely to agree.
-
Levels of wellbeing among early years staff are
generally high, although lower among higher qualified
staff. In 2022/23, early years workers reported being
significantly happier on average than similar workers and had a
particularly high sense of feeling that the things they do in
their life are worthwhile. However, higher qualified early
years workers (qualification level 4 or 5) reported
significantly higher levels of anxiety while their sense of
things they do in life being worthwhile was significantly
lower. More research is needed to understand the drivers behind
these differences.
The report also recommends:
- The Government implements its policy proposals on the early
years professional development offer and career pathway swiftly
to upskill and retain the current workforce.
- The Government and providers emphasise the high sense of
worthwhileness and fulfilment of working in the early years
sector, as well as the positive working environment.
- The Government should upgrade the sources of early years
workforce data and research, including commissioning a
large-scale survey of early years staff, analysing data on staff
numbers at a regional level and undertaking research to
understand the pressures on higher-qualified staff and how to
address them.
