Early years staff are generally poorly paid. When the nursery voucher scheme was introduced by the previous Conservative government in 1997 (only to be replaced by Labour when it came into power with the nursery education grant, which was in effect the same scheme only with another name), it was to raise the standard and accessibility of early years care for parents by subsidising fees at accredited providers who had proved themselves to be of a high standard.
To put in place all of the paperwork, planning, and key working required by Ofsted was a time-consuming task that playgroup staff had to undertake if they wanted to accept the nursery education grant, but they were promised that - finally - they would be recognised for the quality of provision they offered.
We were told the nursery education grant would mean more money for the setting and that this, in turn, would mean realistic wages for its staff.
Almost seven years on, this has not happened, and early years wages have remained as low as, or even lower than, cleaning staff.
Staff in early years settings are responsible for providing education and care to the next generation and sometimes are responsible for 20 or more children - yet a refuse collector earns more than them. This is, I believe, a reason why many early years staff often move on. As for myself, I loved my job as a playgroup supervisor, but the wages didn't pay my bills, so I had to leave.
Claire Sidebottom Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire
