Report

The Covid-19 pandemic and the early years workforce: February-May findings

Think tank: Education Policy Institute

Author(s): Sara Bonetti; Stella Ziolkowski; Jonathan Broadbery

July 21, 2021

This report from UK think tank the Education Policy Institute looks at the impact of the pandemic on the early years.

This survey, in partnership with NDNA, which is the final report from a year-long research project investigating the impact of the pandemic on the early years, examines the experiences of smaller early years settings, which make up the vast majority of settings in Great Britain. Covid isolation drove up to four in every ten early years settings to close across England, Wales and Scotland during the spring. As well as dealing with closures – of which the majority were caused by staff or child isolation – nurseries, pre-schools, and other small private, voluntary and independent early years settings have had to contend with significant instability in the workforce, with a large proportion of staff still being furloughed.