In the 2023 Spring Budget the Chancellor announced a significant expansion in government-funded childcare support with the aim of providing 30 hours of ‘free’ childcare to certain eligible parents by 2025. The announcement focused on the funding of this expansion, but little was said about the workforce who would deliver it.
New research by the Early Education and Childcare Coalition, the University of Leeds, and the Women’s Budget Group combines modelling focused on the additional demand likely to be generated by the expansion, with the working conditions and experiences of those currently employed in the sector and those who have recently left.
This new report aims to better understand the conditions of the current early years workforce (those working in group settings and childminders), the implications of the extended entitlement, and what is needed to ensure any expansion of access can be successful while delivering the high-quality provision that children deserve.
