CEY0447

Written evidence submitted by Broome and Ditchingham Preschool

I am the manager of a rural preschool on the Norfolk/Suffolk border. I have been in this role for over 9 years but have worked in the early years profession for 36 years. The preschool is a committee run, registered charity. We are open 5 days a week, 38 weeks of the year.

Cost of childcare

The funding that we receive from the government/county council for each child does not cover the cost of high quality early years education.

This results in settings putting up the cost of childcare and early education for those parents/carers who require the service outside of the funding system to try and keep their settings sustainable, for example, under 2’s, 2 year olds not  eligible for funding and parents who require additional hours above the 15 or 30 hours over 38 weeks of the year.

Staffing and recruitment

1. The underfunding of hours means early years settings can not pay early years practitioners a wage that reflects the importance of this profession and the impact it has on our children’s long term outcomes. Furthermore, the significant role the sector plays in helping parents back into work and the economy as a whole. The pandemic also highlighted this, with majority of early years settings remaining open to provide essential childcare for critical workers and a safe place for venerable children.
2. Many early years practitioner roles are on minimum wage for the vital part they play. Others who have taken on further training and qualifications, such as myself, who have a BA Hons early childhood degree, still feel undervalued by governments and society as a whole. More needs to be done to promote the profession and the impact it has on children and the economy and for it to be valued and given the same emphasis as all other parts of the education system. It is often forgot in government announcements which does help the perception for attracting educators in the profession or the perception of society as a whole.

This has led to a recruitment crisis where we can not attract qualified staff to the sector and keep them.

Countless research has shown how vital the first 5 years of a child’s life on the rest of their lives. High quality early years education and care with the child at the centre of any policy, should be given priority by governments.

January 2023