Key findings:
- Pay and conditions in the ECEC sector are extremely low in comparison with similar positions in other parts of the children's sector.
- Government has made substantial progress in improving the qualification levels of staff in the ECEC sector, and also in extending the range of routes to achieving qualifications.
- Raising pay and conditions for staff has a key role to play in improving skills, and thus quality, within the ECEC sector. If this is not addressed it may jeopardise other initiatives to improve qualifications of staff and raise quality in settings.
- The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) has expanded the role of ECEC workers by merging the concepts of education and care. There is now little justification for those in ECEC services to have much poorer pay and conditions than other professionals in the sector.
- ECEC work must be seen as a viable career option for all people in order to recruit the most talented and committed staff. There needs to be a range of routes to entering work in the ECEC sector to ensure the best chance of obtaining quality staff.
- It seems unlikely that pay and conditions for ECEC staff, especially those working in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector, can be raised without direct intervention.
- The report makes a series of recommendations designed to encourage greater attention to be applied to addressing issues around pay and conditions in the ECEC workforce, including that the Government should establish a high-level social partnership group with a clear remit to address the detrimental impact of poor pay and conditions in the sector.