Early years recruitment crisis putting Government's 30 hours policy at risk

According to the NDNA 2017/18 Workforce Survey of more than 500 nurseries, qualified staff are leaving because of endemic low pay, which is hitting recruitment and retention.

The NDNA warns today that nurseries are concerned that the recruitment crisis will mean that they will be unable to deliver the places for the Government’s 30-hour funded childcare policy, as well as leading to less support for children with additional needs.

It also says that without Government action the social mobility agenda will be seriously undermined.

The association is calling on the Department for Education to undertake a rigorous assessment of the cost of delivery for settings, working with nurseries to understand the financial pressures, as well as an urgent review of the free entitlement funding.

The current early years workforce strategy must also be urgently reviewed so that nurseries can recruit and retain skilled staff.

Nursery employers in the survey say that they want to pay above the minimum wage but insufficient funding means they are unable to compete with pay in other sectors.

Among Level 3 staff who have left nurseries in the last year, 80 per cent have found jobs outside early years and childcare, followed by almost half of graduate staff and early years teachers.

Of those nurseries that took part in the survey, 86 per cent reported losing staff in the last 12 months, some saying that Level 3 staff have left to work for supermarkets or call centres.
Two-thirds of nursery managers say they are unable to recruit suitable staff to replace this that have left due to a shortage of candidates.

The report also reveals anxiety about the impact of Brexit, with reports that some EU nationals have already left their jobs.

The NDNA warns that the situation could get even worse with a third of nursery practitioners surveyed saying that they are considering leaving the sector, either due to low pay or because they no longer have a passion for working in early years because of policy changes.

Despite the scrapping of the requirement for Level 3 practitioners to have GCSE maths or English at grade C a year ago next month, the report finds that a third of respondents have not found any positive benefit.

A third of employers are limiting CPD to mandatory training only due to budget constraints as a result of poor funding levels.

Key findings from the annual workforce survey include: