Nursery World - Early years workforce: 'Forgotten key workers' driven out by low pay in increasingly volatile sector

One in 8 childcare workers is paid less than £5 an hour and many are forced to take on second jobs to make ends meet, a report commissioned by the Government’s Social Mobility Commission has found.

Low pay, long hours and lack of status are among the barriers to a stable early years workforce, the report finds

The research, carried out for the commission by the Education Policy Institute (EPI), highlights low pay, lack of career and training opportunities and negative perceptions of working in the sector as the key barriers to a stable workforce, all areas which are likely to be exacerbated as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘For many working in early years, the crisis has further destabilised an already precarious situation. When and how the sector will recover depends on a new understanding of its crucial work for society and a funding system that reflects this,’ the report says.

In recent years, The stability of the early years workforce in England says, there have been signs that the early years workforce is increasingly unstable, with too few new entrants to replace those who are leaving the sector. It examines key factors that appear to be associated with this instability in the early years workforce.

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