Childcare Sector Insists Workforce "Has To Grow" To Cope With Free Hours Expansion

Leaders in the childcare sector have said that the workforce “has to grow” if the sector is to cope with the upcoming expansion of free hours, but worry that efforts by Government to launch a large-scale recruitment campaign could amount to “too little too late”.

Jonathan Broadberry, director of policy and communications at the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) told PoliticsHome that pressures on the workforce is “the number one concern” for many providers when it comes to the “practicalities” of delivering the government’s promise of expanded free hours provision. 

In the coming weeks, the Department for Education is set to launch a recruitment campaign to “make sure the rollout of our largest ever investment in childcare is a success”, and while Broadberry believes "the workforce has to grow" and anything the government does to help that is "welcome”, he said there is still “a lot of concern that there won’t be the staffing, there won’t be the resources for this policy to work”.

PoliticsHome has previously reported that childcare sector leaders are seeing early years staff leave to work in other industries such as retail or hospitality for better pay and conditions. 

Any recruitment campaign, Broadberry said, needs to address “How do we get more people working in the sector, how do we keep the excellent people who are already there?”

He also warned that the issues could become more acute as the policy continues to expand to include younger children, as fewer children can be looked after per staff member among baby age groups. Plus, parents could be making longer-term plans about their return to work after parental leave, in which childcare provision could play a key part.

Broadberry also felt that ministers have not