Brexit: A Childcare Crisis Is Coming?

Staff shortages exacerbated by Brexit are threatening to undermine a new British Government program to improve access to childcare. The program began last month in a bid to double the entitlement of free childcare available to children aged three or four to 30 hours a week in term time or 22.8 hours a week across the year.

Almost half of the private and voluntary sector day nurseries and pre-schools in the UK have staff vacancies according to data collected by the early years research firm Ceeda in July and August. The unfilled jobs totalled an estimated 24,600 posts and that figure is sure to rise further as more EU workers lose interest in the post-Brexit UK.

The Weaker Pound

Dr Jo Verrill, the managing director of Ceeda, blamed poor opportunities for career advancement and unattractive wages, which meant the sector was failing to compete for staff even before Brexit shrank the buying power of the pound and caused uncertainty for European workers.

“Recruitment difficulties are rife in the early years sector and show little sign of improving in the short term,” she said.

“It will take time to replace the fall-out in new entrants; meanwhile, wider market pressures are building.” Verrill noted that in the broader economy employment levels are at 75.1%, their highest since comparable records began in 1971, which she said was “mainly driven by increases in full-time female employment.”

“We have also yet to feel the full impact of Brexit on labour supply, with an estimated 6% of childcare workers being EU nationals. To recruit and retain staff employers need to remain competitive. As the 30-hour childcare offer rolls out across the country, Government funding levels have an ever-increasing influence on what the sector can afford to pay its workers.”

For consumers, UK childcare costs are among the most expensive in the world, with an average of £15,000 per year for a child under two in London, according to the Family and Childcare Trust. That figure is expected to rise with the loss of EU workers and the Government’s focus on creating more free spaces.

Lower Entry Requirements

The Department for Education told Nursery World magazine that it had even had to lower its entry requirements to improve staff levels after numbers slumped when English and Maths GCSEs were made compulsory for entry.

“In March this year, we broadened the entry requirements for early years staff to enable employers to attract, retain and develop more people with the skills and passion for this rewarding profession,”a spokesman said.

“This means that Level 2 functional skills are accepted alongside other suitable Level 2 qualifications, including GCSEs.”

Nevertheless Ceeda insisted that leaders in early years care need higher levels of education. “More than half of all childcare vacancies (12,850 posts), are for staff with level three (A-Level equivalent) childcare qualifications,” the researchers Ceeda. “These qualified staff play a lead role in nursery teams and are essential in meeting legal requirements for adult-child ratios and the delivery of high-quality care and education.”

Meanwhile the Government has pressed ahead with increasing the demand for more services. Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said the new measures put more strain on an already drained sector. “Put simply, if you don’t have enough staff, you can’t offer more places – or extended hours – to local families,” he said.

Luxury Market?

On the flip side, the weaker pound has boosted travel to the UK and lifted demand for short-term childcare among visitors whose currency is going further.

The tourist agency VisitBritain says the n umber of overseas trips to the UK will rise 6% to 39.7 million this year with tourist spending up 14% to £25.7bn.

Cara Aitken, the founder of Neverland Children’s Tours, which offers days out for children as a form of high-end childcare, said that while her business will benefit from boosted tourism even that end of the care industry needs staff. “If the cost of living increases and wages stay low we have a problem as childcare professionals are often paid low wages and work long hours,” she told Felix Magazine.

“The interesting thing will be how the tourism industry is affected by limitations on EU nationals coming and going with many jobs being seasonal. If we get clear high and low seasons with trade I may need to hire some staff on seasonal  terms.”

As yet another industry that has been propped up by EU workers, the reality for early years care is that unless there is soon clarity o future visa rules and working rights many parents are going to face even bigger headaches trying to look after their nearest and dearest.

by Stewart Vickers

 

 

The post Brexit: A Childcare Crisis Is Coming? appeared first on Felix Magazine.