Childcare managers fear closures due to low pay and stress

Siptu has called for an investment of €75m to improve pay conditions for early years professionals and a further €75m to help reduce full-time childcare fees by between €30 and €35 euro per week. File Picture

Childcare facilities across the country face reducing services or potential closure over the coming months due to an inability to recruit the necessary qualified staff required to run them, according to a new survey.

The Early Years Staffing Survey Report 2021 was launched by Siptu at a special online briefing for members of the Oireachtas this morning.

The union said its report reveals “a sector drifting further into crisis” due to the impact of low pay and staff members exiting the sector.

For the survey, Siptu asked more than 3,000 managers and staff in the childcare sector for their views on staffing issues in the sector on the whole.

The report was produced by the New Deal for Early Years coalition, which includes Siptu, the Association of Childhood Professionals, National Childhood Network, PLÉ, National Community Childcare Forum, CRANN Support Services, Irish Congress of Trade Unions, OMEP Ireland, Further Education Teachers Network, Men In Childcare, the National Women’s Council and SPARK.

Findings

70% of the managers surveyed said they had been finding it “extremely difficult” to recruit staff, while another 25% found the process to be “difficult.” 

Some 57% of respondents said poor pay was the biggest obstacle to recruitment, while 33% said stress and burnout was their primary concern.

63% of the managers expressed the belief that problems in recruiting and retaining staff would impact the quality of services provided to children.

61% feared the issue would lead to reductions in the number of children that can be cared for, while 34% said they feared childcare providers would have to shut as a result of staffing issues.

Of the staff members surveyed, 44% said they had been "actively looking for work outside the childcare sector", with the majority of these citing low pay rates as their primary reason for doing so.

80% of the staff surveyed said they did not intend to be working in the sector in one year’s time “if things stay the same.” 

Just 11% of the early years staff who responded said they would recommend a career in the sector to a friend or family member. Among managers, this figure was only marginally higher at 13%.

Although additional burdens had been placed on childcare facility staff due to the pandemic, the report found that Covid-19 was not a significant reason for workers choosing to leave the sector.

“The results of the survey highlight the escalating difficulties in providing childcare services to families," said CEO of the National Childhood Network, Denise McCormilla.

“This recruitment crisis is having clear consequences, with 97% of managers stating it will negatively impact on service provision," she said. 

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Siptu has said the Government needs to recognise the work being done by those in the sector and to address the staffing crisis by investing in better pay in the upcoming budget.

It has called for an investment of €75m to improve pay conditions for early years professionals, and a further €75m to help reduce full-time childcare fees by between €30 and €35 per week.

"Many qualified and skilled educators simply cannot afford to stay in their profession," said Siptu's head of organising, Darragh O’Connor.

"The reality is most early years educators earn below the living wage of €12.40 per hour and are struggling to make ends meet."

Ms McCormilla added that if Budget 2022 did not increase investment in the sector - particularly in the area of salaries - then the consequences would be "a significant collapse of service provision.”