Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government is taking to improve the recruitment and retention of childcare professionals.

In March 2017 we published the Early Years Workforce Strategy which set out how government will work with the sector to help employers attract, retain and develop early years staff: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/596884/Workforce_strategy_02-03-2017.pdf.

We have made good progress in delivering the commitments in the strategy. This includes consulting on new criteria to strengthen level 2 qualifications to ensure practitioners have a firm foundation to progress up to level 3 and beyond. We have also taken steps to improve careers advice by upskilling Department for Work and Pensions job coaches to update their knowledge on careers in the sector, and have supported the work of the Education and Employers Charity and Tinies Childcare to promote the sector through their careers and engagement activity in schools. Through a voluntary and community sector grant we have also funded the establishment of an online directory with information on early years training and qualifications.