Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of salaries of staff working in nurseries.

Research into early years provider finances based on the survey of childcare and early years providers 2019 sets out the most recent information available on staff hourly pay. This can be found in section 4.3 here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providers-finances-survey-of-childcare-and-ey-providers-2019. An updated finance report is due to be published in summer 2022.

The latest survey of childcare and early years providers (2021) shows that almost a fifth (18%) of group-based provider staff aged 23 and over received less than the National Living Wage (NLW). Just over one in ten (12%) school-based provider staff received less than the NLW. The survey can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2021.

We acknowledge the concerns raised by the early years sector regarding workforce recruitment and retention, including the perceived impact of salary rates. We are working with the sector to build our understanding of the workforce situation, and how we might support providers in this area.