Nursery World - Workforce Strategy, Part 2: Level 3

With the number of Level 3s completing courses falling by more than half, the sector is still in the grip of a recruitment crisis. What can the Workforce Strategy do, asks Charlotte Goddard

Want to work in the early years? Well, according to a recent classified ad for a Level 3 practitioner, you don’t just get minimum wage salary, you also get a ‘free DBS check’ and ‘uniform provided’ as perks. Tempted? As Sophie Haylock, consultant at Early Years HR, says, ‘Some providers are facing such a financial challenge that they ask candidates to fund these things themselves. But it really doesn’t reflect well on the sector when essential criteria are listed as benefits.’

There has long been talk of a crisis when it comes to recruitment and retention of Level 3 practitioners. The necessity for early years practitioners at Level 3 to hold GCSEs in English and maths at C or above was part of the reason, and the decision to finally scrap this requirement felt like the most significant part of March’s Workforce Strategy.

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