Underpaid and undervalued: the reality of childcare work in the UK
Eva Lloyd, University of East London Despite the important job they do, wages for people working in childcare tend to be low . These workers earn less than the average wage across all UK employment sectors and barely half that of qualified teachers . In the latest government provider survey , it was found almost 20% of day nursery workers in England earn less than the national living wage – including 10% of those aged 25 and over. In contrast, qualified teachers working in state nursery schools, children’s centres or state primary nursery classes receive nationally agreed pay and employment conditions. This is partly because, since 1998 and the introduction of universal entitlement to early education for all three- and four-year-olds, early education is no longer required to be delivered by graduate teachers – except in state nursery schools and nursery classes attached to state primaries. Instead, working with children in private sector settings – such as ...