Childcare sector in crisis as more than half of workers considering leaving jobs

Fears staff exodus could add to concerns the government’s new free childcare policy will be impossible to deliver

More than half of nursery staff are thinking about leaving their jobs in the next year, prompting concerns that the government’s new free childcare policy will be impossible to deliver.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced 30 hours of free childcare for all under-fives from the point at which maternity leave ends for those who are eligible by 2025 in the spring Budget – with the measures due to be introduced imminently.

But new research, by the Early Education and Childcare Coalition and the University of Leeds, has suggested the staffing crisis gripping early years providers could thwart the government’s new childcare policy.

The study found almost six in 10 nursery staff and just over a third of childminders are contemplating leaving the sector in the next 12 months because of concerns over low pay, lack of training opportunities, a dearth of career progression and prevalent feelings of being undervalued.

Researchers, who polled almost 1,000 childminders and nursery staff and managers, found only 17 per cent of nursery managers said they could provide the new childcare measures because of staffing issues.

The report found that even using conservative predictions, the number of childcare places in England must be expanded by six per cent to be able to respond to the demand triggered by the government policy.

Many nurseries explain they are not likely to provide the new measures due to struggling to both recruit and hold onto properly trained employees.

Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, told The Independent: “Families up and down the country already struggling to get childcare will see the Conservatives’ announcement in last year’s Budget for what it was – a short-term attempt to grab headlines.

“Widening eligibility for childcare without a plan for new places or a workforce to staff them could see the Tories crashing the childcare market just like they crashed the economy.”

The report found that only one in six of nursery managers said it was likely they would boost the number of spots they deliver, with just over a third saying they would have to reduce the number of places offered unless the government provides them with more help.

Researchers said recent changes to the amount of staff looking after children has increased the chances of employees considering quitting their jobs.

Two-thirds of nurseries said they were grappling with average waiting times of almost six months to get a spot and researchers estimate nearly 50,000 extra staff would be required in 2024 and again in 2025 to deliver the new policy.

Sarah Ronan, director of the Early Education and Childcare Coalition, said: “Promising more free childcare without the infrastructure to deliver it is raising false hope among already struggling families.

“If the government is to have any chance of delivering this expansion, it must listen to the people on the ground educating and caring for our children. Years of underfunding have left them underpaid, overworked and feeling disrespected.”

Ms Ronan called for the government to act now to stop “any further haemorrhaging of professionals from the sector”.

Abby Jitendra, of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation charity, said: “Government needs to value workers to attract them to the sector – this means development opportunities and ultimately, higher pay.”

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found the UK had one of the most expensive childcare systems in the world, while troubling research carried out by campaign group Pregnant then Screwed previously found six in 10 women who have had an abortion say the cost of childcare in the UK put them off pregnancy.

Ms Phillipson, the MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, said Labour had commissioned ex-Ofsted chief inspector Sir David Bell to carry out an early years review on how to deliver new childcare places.

A Department for Education spokesperson said the government is introducing “the single biggest investment in childcare in England’s history” – adding they are confident the childcare sector will deliver.

They said the department’s own figures demonstrate the “early years workforce is stable, but we know there is more to do – which is why we are launching a new national recruitment campaign in the new year, and an accelerated apprenticeship route into the sector to help recruit new staff”.

The spokesperson added: “To support existing staff we are investing hundreds of millions of pounds to increase rates paid for government-funded hours and are providing a package of training, qualifications, and expert guidance worth up to £180m.