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The Early Years Workforce in England 2025

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Bibliographic Details
Title: The Early Years Workforce in England 2025
Language: English
Authors: Lillian Flemons, Jack Worth, National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) (United Kingdom)
Source: National Foundation for Educational Research. 2025.
Availability: National Foundation for Educational Research. The Mere, Upton Park, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 2DQ, UK. Tel: +44-1753-574123; Fax: +44-1753-637280; e-mail: enquiries@nfer.ac.uk; Web site: http://www.nfer.ac.uk
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 28
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education
Descriptors: Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Teachers, Labor Force, Teacher Persistence, Teacher Salaries, Working Hours, Teaching Conditions, Teacher Education, Well Being, Teacher Recruitment, Foreign Countries, National Surveys
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom (England)
ISBN: 978-1-916567-36-8
Abstract: The Government has promised increases in the quantity and quality of early years provision available to parents in recent years, but the attractiveness of the sector remains a challenge, as does recruitment and retention of higher qualified staff. The aim of this report is to provide an overview of the early years workforce in England and identify risks and challenges for recruitment and retention. This report summarises the key trends in recruitment, retention, pay, working conditions and wellbeing within the early years workforce, and points towards actions that are likely to have the greatest impact on addressing the workforce challenges identified. Publicly available data from the Department for Education's (DfE) Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers (SCEYP) is used to examine overall trends in workforce numbers and characteristics. As there is limited practitioner-level data available, data from nationally representative labour market surveys--the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) and the Annual Population Survey (APS)--is also analysed to better understand factors relating to pay and working conditions that may be influencing the recruitment and retention trends and challenges. In these datasets the authors identify the early years workforce according to occupation and industry codes and compare the early years workforce to workers in other jobs who are otherwise similar according to their age, sex, region, highest qualification level and contracted working hours.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: ED676278
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:The Government has promised increases in the quantity and quality of early years provision available to parents in recent years, but the attractiveness of the sector remains a challenge, as does recruitment and retention of higher qualified staff. The aim of this report is to provide an overview of the early years workforce in England and identify risks and challenges for recruitment and retention. This report summarises the key trends in recruitment, retention, pay, working conditions and wellbeing within the early years workforce, and points towards actions that are likely to have the greatest impact on addressing the workforce challenges identified. Publicly available data from the Department for Education's (DfE) Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers (SCEYP) is used to examine overall trends in workforce numbers and characteristics. As there is limited practitioner-level data available, data from nationally representative labour market surveys--the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) and the Annual Population Survey (APS)--is also analysed to better understand factors relating to pay and working conditions that may be influencing the recruitment and retention trends and challenges. In these datasets the authors identify the early years workforce according to occupation and industry codes and compare the early years workforce to workers in other jobs who are otherwise similar according to their age, sex, region, highest qualification level and contracted working hours.
ISBN:978-1-916567-36-8