High nursery staff turnover

[Jobchangeadvice]

Hi,
I was wondering if any of the nurseries your children attend are experiencing high staff turnover.

I know that retention in education is low anyway (I am an ex secondary school teacher).

Anyway, is this something that is increasingly common in the early years sector too?

Or should I be worried about underlying issues with the nursery (everything seems fine).

I'm in London if that helps.

Our nursery has a very high turnover of staff.

I assume it is a mixture of low pay, long hours and young staff, who either move on to promotions or leave after their own child starts school and they no longer need discounted childcare.

My kids are happy there and I’m pleased with what I see of it all so I’m not concerned about the staffing.

Thank you.

I was thinking the same! Just thought I would get extra opinions

Yes, higher than normal. My DC’s nursery actually has very low turnover (linked to an employer rather than run for profit, so they have v good ts & cs) but a few staff have retired recently and they’ve struggled to recruit permanent replacements, and have also been struggling to get people to cover maternity leaves.

Recruitment and retention in early years is a nightmare at the moment. Your hands are tied on all sides because you need qualified staff in certain ratios. Pay is very low and it's been immensely stressful over the last two years. It's felt like the forgotten sector over the pandemic - just expected to get on with it. Staff are fed up and leaving.

Yes it's common. Low pay & the nurseries round by us are staffed by overseas qualified teachers who want to get a foot in the door to the UK system and then move on to schools. If everything seems fine, and the staff turnover isn't affecting your child, why worry?