The Early Years Workforce in England Annual Report 2026
26 February 2026
Early childhood education and care has become an increasingly prominent focus for the Government (both currently under Labour and previously under the Conservatives) and the public in recent years. The Government has promised increases in the quantity and quality of early years provision available to parents. However, providers have expressed significant concerns about the feasibility of staffing any increase in provision.
This report is funded by the Nuffield Foundation as part of an expanded series of annual labour market reports. The aim of this report is to provide an overview of the early years workforce in England and identify risks and challenges for recruitment and retention.
The report summarises the key trends in recruitment, retention, pay, working conditions and wellbeing within the early years workforce, and points towards actions that are likely to have the greatest impact on addressing the workforce challenges identified.
Key Findings
- Early years staff numbers may have plateaued after years of strong growth and appear to be considerably below the Government’s estimated requirement for delivering the expanded childcare entitlement
- Regions such as the South West, West Midlands and North East may be worst affected by potential staffing shortfalls
- A higher qualified workforce is likely to deliver better quality early years education and care, but qualification levels remain low
- Early years pay is low compared to otherwise similar workers, especially for those early years staff who are more highly qualified
- Early years workers with higher qualification levels report more limited opportunities for career progression compared to similar workers
- Early years work offers higher levels of workplace representation and staff report higher levels of wellbeing compared to similar workers
