One In Eight Childcare Workers Paid Less Than £5 An Hour, Report Exposes
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One in eight childcare workers are paid less than £5 an hour, a new report which warns the UK faces an early years workforce crisis has found.
The Social Mobility Commission says the childcare sector is “increasingly unstable” and it could affect the quality of education and childcare provision for under-fives.
It comes as the Covid-19 crisis threatens to close scores of nurseries and childminders struggle to make ends meet.
But the SMC underlines how the sector has been under pressure long-term, with not enough new childminders, nursery and early years staff replacing those leaving the sector amid low pay, a high workload and lack of career development.
The new report also cautions that high turnover of early years staff can affect children’s outcomes, especially in more disadvantaged areas.
The research suggests around one in eight (13%) childcare workers are paid under £5 an hour.
In England, average hourly pay in the sector is £7.42, which is lower than the average pay for female workers (£11.37), according to the analysis.
Childcare professionals also work longer hours than people in comparable occupations, the report suggests.
More than one in 10 (11%) full-time early years workers reported working more than 42 hours per week, compared to 3% of retail workers.
The research, carried out for the SMC by the Education Policy Institute (EPI), found that around 37% of early years workers leave their employers within two years.
Lydia Pryor, pre-school leader in Aldborough, Norfolk, said her deputy recently handed in her notice for a job that pays more.
She said: “I had nothing that could entice her to stay. She’s had enough of just making do and worrying about money when her car breaks down.”
Childminders also described long hours and “inadequate” working conditions as causes of exhaustion and low morale, feeding a desire...
