A crisis exists relating to the status of qualifications and pay in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce in England (Nutbrown, 2021) marked by both low pay and morale. In this contribution to this special issue, I address the injustices experienced by ECEC practitioners that are causing this crisis and forcing graduates to leave the profession. An educated and experienced workforce is needed to provide a consistent learning environment for young children; however, graduate practitioners leave the profession they love, often for better paid jobs, due to low salaries and lack of recognition (Saks et al., 2024).

Recruitment and retention in the ECEC workforce

In 2024 the Early Education and Childcare Coalition advocated for both the rescue and reform of the ECEC system in England; it called on government to establish and invest in an early years workforce strategy by addressing pay and working conditions. Smedley and Hoskins (2022) found that attracting and retaining qualified practitioners has become increasingly complex, leading to negative implications for the quality of care and early education. Pay within the ECEC sector fails to reflect the significance and complexity of practice (Mikuska et al., 2023). However, pay is not the only issue as practitioners report increased work-related stress arising from recent government policy changes relaxing staff-to-child ratios in ECEC provision so that one practitioner can work with five instead of four children.

The value of graduates

Research by the Education Policy Institute found a small but positive association between the presence of degree-qualified ECEC practitioners in a setting and children’s learning outcomes, as measured by the Early Years Foundation Stage profile. Furthermore Mikuska et al. (2023) argue that early childhood studies (ECS) courses at degree level contribute to improvements in the quality of provision across a range of domains due to their emphasis on the combination of academic knowledge, reflective practice and professional skills.

‘To achieve higher renumeration, graduates seek employment as teachers in the maintained school sector and this limits opportunities to create a skilled graduate workforce that integrates care and education.’

The Early Education and Childcare Coalition commissioned research into the workforce implications arising from government policy to expand publicly funded childcare; recommendations from this study call on government to commit to a graduate-led workforce by 2028 and to reestablish the Graduate-Led Grant scheme (Hardy et al., 2023). If realised, such initiatives will encourage ECEC practitioners to engage in further study. However, the structure and scope of ECS degrees themselves is variable and is not a guarantee of improved pay for graduates in the ECEC workforce, which thereby disincentivises them to remain in the sector (Campbell-Barr et al., 2020). To achieve higher renumeration, graduates seek employment as teachers in the maintained school sector and this limits opportunities to create a skilled graduate workforce that integrates care and education (Lumsden & Musgrave, 2023).

A comprehensive workforce strategy is needed

Since March 2023, successive governments have focused on expanding parents’ entitlement to funded early education and childcare, requiring an estimated 11 per cent increase in the paid workforce by September 2025 (Foley & Roberts, 2024). As an ECS student and experienced ECEC practitioner, I call on the government in England to invest in a comprehensive workforce strategy that includes a qualification framework. Such an approach also has the potential to address challenges in recruitment, retention and progression in the workforce (Nutbrown, 2021).

References

Campbell-Barr, V., Bonetti, S., Bunting, F., & Gulliver, K., (2020). A systematic review of early years degrees and employment pathways. Education Policy Institute. https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Early-years-degrees-Plymouth-EPI.pdf

Foley, N., & Roberts, N. (2024) Childcare workforce in England. House of Commons Library [Research briefing, 18 September 2024]. https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9948/CBP-9948.pdf

Hardy, K., Stephens, L. Tomlinson, J., Valizade, D., Whittaker, X., Norman, H., & Moffat, R. (2023). Retention and return: Delivering the expansion of early years entitlement in England. Early Education and Childcare Coalition. https://www.earlyeducationchildcare.org/early-years-workforce-report

Lumsden, E., & Musgrave, J. (2023). Early childhood studies is more than a degree; it is an experience: Undergraduate students’ motivations, professional aspirations and attributes. International Journal of Early Years Education, 31(4), 1086–1104. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2023.2240836

Mikuska, E., Fairchild, N., Sabine, A., & Barton, S. (2023). Quality Early Childhood Education and Care practices: The importance of skills, knowledge and the Early Childhood Graduate Practitioner competences. International Journal of Early Years Education, 33(2), 411–425. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2023.2254819

Nutbrown, C. (2021). Early childhood educators’ qualifications: A framework for change. International Journal of Early Years Education, 29(3), 236–249. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2021.1892601

Sakr, M., Halls, K., & Cooper, K. (2023). Early Years leadership development during workforce crisis: Perspectives of 24 UK training providers. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 32(1), 101–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2023.2234108

Smedley, S., & Hoskins, K. (2019). Exploring the role of Froebelian theory in constructing early years practitioners’ sense of professionalism. Early Years, 42(2), 217–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2019.1668355