�㽶��Ƶapp

by Shannon Pite

Ofsted's latest annual report states that the ongoing recruitment and retention challenges in the early years sector are putting the quality of early years provision at risk. 

Published yesterday, the 2022/23 Education, Children’s Services and Skills report notes that that "the challenges of recruiting qualified [early years] staff [...] continue to get worse" due to "low wages, perceived low status, poor working conditions and limited opportunities for professional development". 

It warns that the growing use of unqualified or agency staff and apprentices to maintain staff:child ratios in some settings means that “children may not have a consistent key person who knows them and understands their needs”, and describes the fact that one in five staff working in nurseries and pre-schools is unqualified – up from 16% in 2020 to 21% in 2023 – as “one of the greatest challenges to high-quality early education”. 

The report, which is Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman’s last in her current role, also highlights that the number of providers on its registers has been falling steadily since 2016. This is primarily related to a significant drop in childminders, with numbers having “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.”