Good to see that the Government has leapt into action regarding the recruitment crisis they have been warned about over the last few decades. Spurred on by the looming car crash that is their flagship economic policy of giving out ‘free’ (I use the word loosely here) hours, they are in their infinite wisdom offering a £1,000 ‘Golden Hello’ to new childcare recruits.
It’s happening already; I see adverts offering all sorts of incentives to encourage childcare staff into vacancies that are becoming almost impossible to fill. It’s been common in the teaching sector for a few years, especially in the subject areas with shortages.
This approach doesn’t sit well with me. Of course, we need to make childcare an attractive proposition; however, I do think that it’s insulting to the staff already doing the job. I can think of hundreds of people who have worked through thick and thin for decades. They have incredible drive, are immensely caring and turn up for work every day without fail. Their pay is essentially capped either by funding, profit or grade, and avenues for promotion are few and far between. Shouldn’t the priority be to keep those people in the childcare sector; after all, they are the ones who will be training the new recruits?
It is another example of knee-jerk policy. Listening to Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, there was a piece about the Nordic approach to childcare, interviewing the author Helen Russell (How to Raise a Viking). The contrast is so stark; even putting cultural differences aside, it is obvious that in Norway the state aims to improve the lives of its citizens, rather than trying to make money out of them. According to the reporter Lewis Goodall, ‘The Norwegian government recently valued the contribution of additional working mothers to the country’s GDP, and found it equivalent to the value added by its oil reserves over the same period.’
Now, I don’t want the childcare sector to be viewed simply as an economic necessity to increase ‘output’, but anyone can see that a well-planned, well-resourced and valued sector has a positive impact on everyone in the country, especially with a falling birth rate.
Isn’t it time for a simple, one qualification, national pay scale that reflects the value of those who work in our nurseries, rather than pulling half-thought-out proposals out of a hat in front of a news camera and hoping that it will look as if there is an idea there.