The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that those working in private daycare settings earn an average of just £6.80 per hour, while their peers in the maintained sector earn £9.70.
It said that low pay is undermining efforts to raise the quality of early years provision, blaming low qualifications and the absence of a clear career ladder for restricting the demand for higher skills, thereby holding down wages and quality.
In a report entitled For Love or Money, the IPPR said that an early years career framework should be established by the Children's Workforce Development Council or by an early years pay commission, with wage floors at different professional levels. It said that providers should not raise their fees to cover the increase in salaries, as the average cost of childcare to parents is already very high, and suggested instead that the Government top up the wages of early years workers.
The IPPR found that only 7 per cent of those working in full daycare have post-secondary school qualifications. The report recommended that a deadline of 2015 be set for practitioners to have achieved a minimum Level Three credential.
Christina McAnea, head of education at the public sector union Unison, said, 'By linking pay to qualifications we run the risk of putting private sector employers off training staff to keep costs low. What Unison want, and we're sure that many parents would agree, are statutory ratios of qualified staff to children, backed up by a system of enforcement to stop corners being cut.
'We also need to seriously consider whether the current model for early years can deliver the type of care we all want. Predominantly private sector childcare is motivated by profit and ruled by margins. This will often be to the detriment of pay and conditions for staff or standards of care for children.'
Further information:
'For Love or Money' is available at www.ippr.org.
