£1000 Cash Incentive in Attempt to Increase the Number of Childcare Staff

Preschool teacher laying on the floor with two young children in a classroom reading to them. One of the young children is pointing to a page of the book and asking a question.

£1000 Cash Incentive in Attempt to Increase the Number of Childcare Staff

The Government has launched a recruitment campaign to address the shortage of early years workers in England. The campaign includes a trial offering £1,000 tax free cash payments to newly hired staff.

The “Do Something Big” recruitment campaign is also trying to promote the profile of childcare workers through highlighting the career routes, career progression and the privilege to shape the lives of children. The trial will cover 20 local authorities and will offer the £1,000 reward for up to 3,000 new or returning staff, with the payment due 3 months after being in the role. The campaign will begin on 2nd February and there is hope that it will have a positive impact on securing new staff.

However, despite any incentive being welcome to the sector, there is a general disappointment with the proposal. It comes on the eve of the first phase of the expansion of free childcare coming in April. According to the DfE, over 102,000 working parents have signed up for the 15 hours free childcare for 2 year olds for the April rollout. This shows the immediate need for an increase in staffing and various reports, including ones by the Early Education and Childcare Coalition, state that around 100,000 extra staff are needed to meet demand by 2025.

The timing and the scope of the proposal has been heavily criticised throughout the sector. It is evident that alone this proposal will struggle to drive up staff numbers in time to cover the April expansion. There is also a concern that it will have little impact on retaining both new and existing staff. A feeling of disconnect between the Government and the sector is apparent, emphasised by the fact this proposal has come amidst local authorities calculating budgets but the funding rates they can expect for the expansion may not be confirmed until the end of February.

The campaign may have come too late to have any significant impact on staff numbers before April, but given the sector's ongoing recruitment difficulties, any newcomers to the childcare profession can expect a warm welcome. It remains to be seen whether this policy can help bring the expanded entitlement back on track, but there is no doubt that more measures are needed to sustainably increase the sector’s staffing.