Reports
Essential but undervalued: early years care & education during COVID-19
A major study examining the effect on of the pandemic of the early years sector, its workforce and the families who rely on it. Drawing on two waves of surveys with 5,542 responses and 321 interviews with 197 participants including nursery managers and workers, childminders, nannies, parents and grandparents. The findings demonstrate the financial pressures experienced within the sector, their uneven impact and the ways in which the pandemic has exacerbated existing intra- and inter-household inequalities. This project was funded by the ESRC as part of the UK Research & Innovation’s rapid response to COVID-19.
Authors: Dr Kate Hardy, Professor Jennifer Tomlinson, Dr Helen Norman, Dr Katie Cruz, Dr Xanthe Whittaker, Dr Nathan Archer.
Authors: Dr Kate Hardy, Professor Jennifer Tomlinson, Dr Helen Norman, Dr Katie Cruz, Dr Xanthe Whittaker, Dr Nathan Archer.
Retention and return: Delivering the expansion of early years entitlement
In the 2023 Spring Budget the Chancellor announced a significant expansion in government-funded childcare support with the aim of providing 30 hours of ‘free’ childcare to certain eligible parents by 2025. The announcement focused on the funding of this expansion, but little was said about the workforce who would deliver it.
New research by the Early Education and Childcare Coalition, the University of Leeds, and the Women’s Budget Group combines modelling focused on the additional demand likely to be generated by the expansion, with the working conditions and experiences of those currently employed in the sector and those who have recently left. This new report aims to better understand the conditions of the current early years workforce (those working in group settings and childminders), the implications of the extended entitlement, and what is needed to ensure any expansion of access can be successful while delivering the high-quality provision that children deserve.
New research by the Early Education and Childcare Coalition, the University of Leeds, and the Women’s Budget Group combines modelling focused on the additional demand likely to be generated by the expansion, with the working conditions and experiences of those currently employed in the sector and those who have recently left. This new report aims to better understand the conditions of the current early years workforce (those working in group settings and childminders), the implications of the extended entitlement, and what is needed to ensure any expansion of access can be successful while delivering the high-quality provision that children deserve.