Exhausted, undervalued and leaving: the crisis in early education

This report shows the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector in Australia is on the brink of crisis. In the largest survey of its kind, nearly 4,000 current and former educators revealed they are leaving the sector at record levels because of excessive workloads and low pay. Over a quarter of current educators reported they plan to leave the sector within the next twelve months, and of those educators who do plan to stay, almost half (46 per cent) think about leaving 'all of the time' or 'most of the time'. In contrast, projections show the sector needs 40,000 additional staff by 2023 to meet growing demand for early learning services.

The report also found: 70 per cent of educators surveyed said they 'always' or 'often' worry about their financial situation; 81 per cent of centre directors say they have had difficulties in attracting and recruiting staff; 92 per cent of educators told us 'under-the-roof' ratios compromise the safety and wellbeing of children; 65 per cent of educators report that their services are already understaffed, and providers are reporting having to cap new enrolments because they can't find enough staff; 82 per cent of current educators say that in the past month they 'always' or 'often' felt rushed when performing key caring and/or educational tasks; over 75 per cent of educators strongly agree that turnover negatively impacts how children learn and develop as well as their emotional wellbeing more broadly; and almost half of educators surveyed would not recommend ECEC as a career.

The [Coronavirus Disease 2019] COVID-19 pandemic has taken the workforce crisis to breaking point. Educators report an increase in workload since the pandemic and over the last few years. The main reason for this increased workload is 'extra time needed for cleaning duties' (85 per cent). Educators have also had to deal with a more stressful and anxious working environment since the pandemic began. Not only are they themselves under more stress, but just under half (49 per cent) of educators said they have needed more time to manage children's anxiety, and just over half (53 per cent) said they have needed more time to manage parent anxiety.

Edited excerpt from publisher's website and publication. Show less