In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, most early years settings will remain open for vulnerable children and those of key workers, but will be operating at significantly reduced capacity.
For many early years workers, this is a time of deep uncertainty. Exactly how many children continue to attend will vary depending on local needs. An early indication on the number of children attending schools since the closures suggests that occupancy is about 20 per cent of what it is usually. This means that many, if not most, staff in many early years settings may face being furloughed, where they are paid 80 per cent of their salary, up to a maximum of £2,500 a month.
Our research shows that the average pay of all early years workers is £8.20 an hour, and it is even lower for some specific roles, such as nursery nurses and assistants at £7.70 per hour. With so many early years workers paid at or near to the National Minimum Wage, some will undoubtedly find themselves without enough income to get by without other support. We know that before the recent crisis, around 45 per cent of childcare workers claimed state benefits or tax credits, well above the average among the female workforce. We may see an increase in this in the coming weeks and months.
Staff pay is further complicated by the fact that the Government’s job retention scheme, announced in March, isn’t due to make payments to employers until late April. Some early years providers may struggle to pay staff while they wait to receive the necessary funding from government.
Childminders face a more immediate challenge as they are self-employed and therefore ineligible for the government’s job retention scheme. The support for self-employed workers recently announced will be welcome but, again, there is a delay to payments to the start of June, meaning childminders may be reliant on savings or loans to tide them over until then. Childminders are also less likely than other early years providers to offer government-funded childcare, which means they may miss out on the benefits of the government’s commitment to continue that funding.
The early years sector faces many challenges at present and it is uncertain how many providers will be available to reopen their doors after the current crisis. In the medium-term, it might be the case that some number of early years workers are left without work. In this case, the skills of these early years workers could be of great assistance in the health and social care sectors which are likely to face staff shortages in the coming months. The provision of relevant training, and an organisational body to support the movement of workers between sectors, could help to ensure that the valuable skills of the early years workforce are made use of during this crisis.
As the closure of childcare providers is highlighting, early education and care is essential to children and families across the country. The current crisis may debunk some common misconceptions about work in the sector being easy, unskilled or inessential. To safeguard the future stability of the workforce, this is a crucial time for the Government to recognise the value of the early years sector by ensuring that support for early years workers is timely and sufficient.