Low pay and poor prospects are often not enough for good people to stay

She told the TUC: “I trained in childcare when I was 17 and got my first job in the childcare sector working for a local authority nursery aged 19. 

“I’m now reaching the end of my career. I’ve loved every minute of working in childcare. It’s so rewarding working with young children and their families. 

You have an opportunity to provide life-affirming experience in those earliest years, and I really value that the difference you can make to a child’s confidence and self-esteem early on in life. That’s the best part of the job for me. 

But there are definitely issues within the sector. 

Lack of respect 

There’s a lack of understanding about the role and a lack of professional respect that comes with the territory.  

Those working in the childcare sector do not have professional status related to their level of qualifications, knowledge and experience. Something about the word ‘care’ seems to give the impression that it’s lesser role. It’s time it had a suitable identity. 

In childcare settings the job can involve long hours, awkward shift patterns and can be very hard work when working with groups of young children. 

When I started in childcare, we looked after children aged 3 and older and the work was sessional – but I now see many more nurseries open much longer hours with much younger children and many more of these on a private business basis with the related costs. 

In the past I’ve seen childcare workers on their own in the baby room supporting several babies. The job can be very demanding. 

High turnover of staff 

The low pay also means a high turnover of staff. When I was a training adviser, I’d visit nurseries to train staff. They were always so enthusiastic and receptive to taking on ideas. Some went on to promotion, leadership roles and foundation degrees, but most of the time you’d constantly be starting again with new faces as people left the job to get better pay elsewhere. 

I’ve been lucky over the years that I’ve had mentors who recognised my skills and helped me progress in my career, there is a breadth of roles available in this sector that come with better pay, qualifications and prospects. 

But that is down to the luck of the draw and others don’t get the same encouragement and opportunities. Without this sense of professional progression in the childcare sector it’s no wonder there’s such a high turnover in the workforce. 

Low pay and poor prospects and the physical and emotional demands of working with very young children isn’t rewarded highly enough and it’s often not enough for good people to stay.”