Ï㽶ÊÓƵapp

The Early Years Alliance has issued a comment  in response to Ofsted's 2022/23 annual report.

The report warns that "the challenges of recruiting qualified [early years] staff before COVID-19 ... continue to get worse" citing "low wages, perceived low status, poor working conditions and limited opportunities for professional development". It also highlights that "childminder numbers have halved in the past 10 years, from 55,300 in 2013 to 27,000 at year end".

Commenting, Neil Leitch, CEO of the Early Years Alliance, said:

“Ofsted is absolutely right to highlight the effect of ongoing recruitment and retention challenges on the early years, and the long-term detrimental impact that these are likely to have on quality.

“For years now, settings have had to survive on wholly inadequate funding rates, resulting in consistently low rates of pay throughout the sector. Is it any wonder, then, that we are seeing so many talented professionals leave the early years – and that it is such a struggle to recruit new qualified with the right qualifications and skillsets?

“The early years is the single most critical period of a child’s learning and development and yet, as this report points out, more and more settings are being forced to rely on temporary agency staff just to remain open, result in a poorer consistency – and in some cases - quality of care and education for children.

“Add to this the fact that we are losing childminding professionals in their droves, and it’s clear that the sector is reaching breaking point.

“If we are to ensure that all children get the best possible start in life, then it’s vital that government makes tackling the early years staffing crisis an urgent priority. The current situation simply isn’t sustainable.�