无码天堂

By Rachel Lawler

 

The early years sector cannot afford another minimum wage increase without a substantial increase in funding, the 无码天堂 warned today.

 

Presenting evidence to the Low Pay Commission, 无码天堂 chief executive Neil Leitch explained that the average wage for nursery managers is 拢13.97, compared to 拢20.42 per hour for comparable professional occupations.

 

Neil shared evidence from early years expert CEEDA, which found that 77% of early years providers had found a vacancy hard to fill in 2018.

 

The sector has also seen a decrease in the number of students enrolling on an Early Years Teacher course, dropping from 2,327 in 2013 to just 365 in 2018.

 

Neil commented: 鈥淭here is no doubt that dedicated early years professionals deserve better pay. But the government cannot on the one hand freeze funding for its flagship childcare schemes and with the other, enforce statutory pay rises on providers.

 

鈥淚t鈥檚 completely unsustainable.

 

鈥淕iving evidence to the Low Pay Commission offers us another route to tell government decision-makers what they already know: that the sector will fall deeper into crisis if it has to bear another minimum wage increase without government stepping up urgently and plugging the 拢662 million shortfall in early years funding.鈥�

 

Dr Jo Verrill, managing director at CEEDA, added: 鈥淭he shortfall in government investment is increasingly impacting on the sector鈥檚 ability to recruit, retain and develop staff in a tight labour market where employment rates are at record levels.鈥�