Headteachers and early years sector leaders have warned that plans for a new government recruitment campaign and introductory bonus payments will not be enough to solve staffing problems.
The government has launched a £6.5 million-backed recruitment campaign to encourage people to work in the early years sector just two months before the first phase of its flagship childcare expansion begins.
But sector leaders said the “Do Something Big” campaign has come “too late” and introductory bonuses alone will not fix long-term retention problems and supply enough staff.
A trial - taking place in 20 local authorities in England from April - will give new recruits and returners to the early years workforce a £1,000 cash payment shortly after they take up post.
Staff shortages in early years
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said it was “frustrating that the government has realised so late in the day the issue with early years staffing”.
“Introductory bonuses alone won’t fix long-term retention and supply enough staff. There is no real sense of an effective workforce strategy here, just attempts at sticking-plaster solutions,” he said.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced in March last year that eligible families of children as young as nine months in England will be able to claim 30 hours of free childcare a week.
Under the plans, working parents of two-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare from April. This will be extended to working parents of all children older than nine months from September.
From September 2025, working parents of children under 5 will be entitled to 30 hours’ free childcare per week.
Children and families minister David Johnston said: “One of the things that people in the sector say to me is that too often people feel they’re seen as babysitters rather than what they actually are, which is early educators who are playing a vital role in a child’s first five years.
“So what we’re trying to do both with the financial incentives - but more with the big national campaign - is get people to understand just how important these roles are and the difference you can make in shaping young lives at the earliest stage.”
He added that the government wanted to test out the £1,000 “golden handshake” in some areas to see if it does encourage people who have worked in the sector to return, as well as increase new starters.
The Department for Education recruitment campaign will look to boost recruitment across the sector by highlighting different childcare career routes and progression opportunities.
Education secretary Gillian Keegan said: “From April, hundreds of thousands of parents of two-year-olds will get 15 funded hours. This is good for families and good for the wider economy, ultimately putting more money in parents’ pockets at the end of the month.
“The fantastic nurseries, childminders and professionals across the childcare sector are central to the success of this rollout and our new recruitment campaign will support them in continuing to deliver the flexible and high-quality childcare parents need.”
EYFS workers ‘leaving in droves’
Labour shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “This is a startling reminder that the Conservatives have offered a childcare pledge without a plan.
“Childcare staff are leaving in their droves, leading to nursery closures right across the country. Cheap bungs to new staff when existing workers are turning their back on this key industry will not magic up new places for parents.”
Mr Whiteman’s concerns were echoed by Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance. “While a £1,000 cash incentive may encourage more people to join the early years in the short term, it does little - if anything at all - to retain both new and existing staff in the long-term,” he said.
Mr Leitch added that the government should invest in “what is needed to allow providers to pay fair wages”, “establishing clear paths of career progression” and “crucially, recognising that those working in the sector deliver not just ‘childcare’ but vital early education”.
“After all, there is little point in attracting more people into the early years if the realities of working in the sector make it impossible to convince them to stay,” Mr Leitch added.
The funding announcement comes after charity the Sutton Trust warned of a “major deterioration” in the learning of disadvantaged young children in a report earlier this month.
