The 4th wave of a series of rapid surveys designed to capture evidence
during the Covid-19 pandemic has been published.

Wave 4 of the survey is designed to provide a representative, stand-alone
snapshot of all early years providers operating in 2021.

The purpose of this study was to understand how childcare providers have
responded to the pandemic, the status of childcare provision and any potential longer-term consequences for the childcare market.

Key Findings
Leavers

• Group-based providers (GBPs) reported a higher average number of staff leaving their setting since the start of the pandemic compared to school-based providers (SBPs)
• On average, GBPs reported an average staff turnover rate of 28%, compared with 11% for SBPs. Just over half (55%) of SBP’s reported a 0% turnover rate, compared with 28% of GBPs
• GBPs who had at least one member of staff leaving at the time of the survey, reported an average of 1 staff member leaving their setting for issues specifically related to Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic compared to an average of 0.4 in SBPs.
  
  Providers who had staff who left the setting since Covid-19 were asked to select the reasons why staff left their setting for employment elsewhere. For GBPs, the three most common reasons were for better pay (47%), better and more suitable working hours (43%) and a better work-life balance/ less stressful job (43%).
  
  Changes to provision

• Since the start of the pandemic, the majority of providers (73%) had made no notable changes to their opening hours/days
• Of the providers who increased their opening hours/days, the primary reason was because of a change in demand from parents (63%)
• Since the start of the pandemic, the majority of providers (65%) have made no notable change to the choice/flexibility in hours that parents can use.
  
  
  

Purnima Tanuku OBE, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said: “This research spells it out in black and white for the government: the early years sector is struggling financially and with a workforce crisis. Although this has been made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been sharing the evidence of these challenges for years.

“It is clear from the data the sector faces huge challenges from high staff turnover, vacancies that they cannot fill and working with staff that are less qualified or experienced than they have had before. These are all vital issues that must be addressed before any discussion of changing ratios; otherwise we risk undermining efforts to improve quality and forcing more dedicated practitioners to leave the sector.

“Our own research showed 95% of providers say government funding does not cover their costs and this is shown in the numbers relying on reserves, increasing fees or cutting staff costs just to stay open.

“The government needs to set out a clear strategy for early years to tackle these issues. We also need to see action on ways it can reduce the burden on providers through VAT, business rates and ensuring funding rates truly allow providers to deliver the high quality provision we all want to see for our children.”