Commitment to childcare

The survey revealed high levels of job satisfaction:

* More than 90 per cent of nursery workers viewed their work as a long-term career.

* 80 per cent of staff felt settled in their jobs.

The main sources of satisfaction were: working together as a group (47 per cent of managers, 75 per cent of other staff); personal satisfaction to be gained from the work (36 per cent of managers, 28 per cent of other staff); and working with children and contributing to children's development (22 per cent of managers and 38 per cent of other staff).

* Looking ahead five years, 73 per cent of managers of nurseries and 48 per cent of nursery workers expected to be working in their present or another day nursery. Most expect to be working full-time (not necessarily in childcare). Only 8 per cent of staff expect not to be working in childcare.

Training

Commitment to training is high:

* Over half of those that were interviewed had a diploma-level childcare qualification (59 per cent of managers and 52 per cent of other staff).

* 56 per cent of managers and 71 per cent of other staff would consider gaining further childcare qualifications in the coming five years.

* Most (71 per cent of managers and 53 per cent of other staff) have completed one or more non-qualification courses in the previous 12 months.

Status

Participants were dismayed by the low value attached to their work and saw proof of that low value in their poor pay and the lack of recognition of the level of skills and responsibilities required by the work. Also significant were parents' attitudes towards them as workers, and Government policies that emphasised the value of 'work' over 'care'.

One focus group participant said the attitude, from employers, parents and wider society was 'You do this because you love it, so why should we pay you for it?'