Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with early years providers to help tackle early years staffing shortages in areas identified as childcare deserts.

The early years workforce is at the heart of our mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver the Plan for Change.

We are supporting recruitment through our national ‘Do something BIG’ campaign, with a dedicated website setting out information on qualifications and linking to job vacancies, alongside financial incentives to attract and retain educators in areas of most need.

In addition, we are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to promote and raise awareness of early years careers through the Jobcentre Plus network. We are creating new routes into the workforce through Skills Bootcamps and funding early years initial teacher training, while our delivery support contractor, Childcare Works, is supporting local authorities and providers with one-to-one targeted support.

These efforts are starting have an impact, with staff numbers increasing by over 18,000 between 2024 and 2025.