Why Recruitment is Tough in Early Years
Why Recruitment is Tough in Early Years
The Current Landscape
It’s no secret that recruitment remains a challenge across the Early Years sector. A combination of increased demand for nursery places and the ongoing expansion of government-funded entitlements has placed additional pressure on providers to grow their teams.
According to the Early Years Workforce Survey 2023, over 40% of childcare providers reported difficulties in recruiting new staff – a trend that continues to rise across the sector.
What This Looks Like at Tommies Childcare
Like many providers, we experience a varied picture across our nurseries. What we see time and time again is that settings with a stable Nursery Manager and a strong, well-led team tend to enjoy more success in both recruiting and retaining staff.
While recruitment is important, we believe retention is even more crucial. It’s the long-standing, familiar faces that build meaningful relationships with our children and families.
There are, of course, times when staff changes are unavoidable – whether due to relocation, career progression, or family commitments.
We also recognise that during periods of change, such as a vacancy in a management role or changes within a leadership team, this can naturally influence how teams feel.
That’s why we remain focused on supporting those nurseries closely to maintain a strong culture and high-quality care.
How We’re Strengthening Recruitment and Retention
At Tommies Childcare, we’ve always believed that looking after our people is the key to delivering excellent care. When our teams feel supported, they are better equipped to nurture and educate the children in our care.
We’re proud to have held a Best Companies accreditation since 2018 – a recognition based entirely on feedback from our employees. In a sector where staff can often feel undervalued, this is something we’re incredibly proud of.
Here are just some of the initiatives we offer to attract and retain great people:
- Generous annual leave entitlements
- Additional long service days
- Buy and sell annual leave scheme
- Attractive childcare discount
- Enhanced maternity and paternity pay
- Private health care (role dependent)
- Employee counselling and wellbeing support
- Company sick pay
- Annual staff awards evening
- Annual professional development day
How We Support Nurseries with Staffing Challenges
We take our responsibility to maintain safe staffing levels seriously. In line with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory guidance, we are required to meet staff-to-child ratios at all times.
To support this, we have the following measures in place:
- Nursery Managers are not counted in ratios – ensuring they can support with operational matters and step in if unexpected staffing issues arise.
- Our own Bank Staff Team – a group of Tommies Childcare employees who work flexibly across nurseries, providing consistency while supporting where needed.
- Agency staff are used only when essential – and always through trusted agencies who DBS-check and vet their teams thoroughly.
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So, while recruitment across the Early Years sector remains challenging, our commitment to building strong, nurturing teams never wavers. We’re focused on bringing in the right people to maintain the high standards families expect from us.
