A mass exodus of childminders and nursery staff risks scuppering the government’s flagship new funding for parents of young children in England, according to a new coalition of early years providers and campaigners.
More than half of all nursery workers surveyed by the Early Education and Childcare Coalition (EECC) said they were considering or planning on leaving the sector in the next 12 months.
In the spring budget, the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, announced plans to massively extend the government’s offer of 30 hours of “free childcare” to children aged between nine months and two years by 2025, billing it as “the single biggest investment in childcare in England”. But the EECC said there are likely to be a “lot of disappointed parents” if staffing means places are undeliverable.
The report – Retention and return: delivering the expansion of early years entitlement in England – estimates that about 180,000 extra children will enter childcare settings by 2025, at the same time as large numbers of staff say they are planning to leave because of low pay, lack of career progression and increased workload.
The first tranche of free hours – 15 hours of childcare for eligible working parents of two-year-olds – is due to start in April next year.
“It pains me to say it but I think there’s going to be a lot of disappointed parents,” said Sarah Ronan, the acting director of the EECC. “Just because the chancellor says you get 30 free hours – like Oprah handing out free cars – it doesn’t make it a reality. What makes it a reality is having the infrastructure and a well-trained, qualified, well-paid workforce in place.”
