This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Pre-school education and childcare workforce statistics, 2005
24/02/2006
Statistics on staff working in pre-school education and childcare centres in Scotland in September 2005 are published today.
The main points are:
- There were 30,640 staff in pre-school and childcare centres in Scotland in September 2005, virtually unchanged from 2004. Of these, 28,110 worked directly with children.
- There were 5,820 staff recruited in the year to September 2005. Many were recruited from within the childcare industry. There were 4,970 staff who left their employer in the year to September 2005. Approximately 42 per cent of staff who left their employer moved to another job within the childcare industry.
- In September 2005, there were 1,450 full-time equivalent vacancies within 870 pre-school and childcare centres. Approximately 28 per cent of all vacancies were long-term (had been vacant for at least three months).
- Of staff working directly with children, approximately 82 per cent had a childcare relevant qualification at any level, and 71 per cent had a childcare relevant qualification at SVQ level 2 or above.
- There were 4,990 staff (16 per cent of the workforce) who did not possess any childcare qualifications at any level. Of these, 51 per cent were training for qualifications.
- Childcare staff earned on average £6 per hour. This compares to £9 per hour for all employees in Scotland, and £8 per hour for all female employees in Scotland.
STAFF AND VACANCY NUMBERS
There were 30,640 staff in pre-school and childcare centres in Scotland in September 2005. Of these, 6,110 worked directly with children and managed other staff, 22,000 worked directly with children but had no management responsibility, and 2,520 did not work directly with children.
Of the 30,640 staff, 12,130 worked in Local Authority managed pre-school and childcare centres, 10,500 worked in private centres and the rest worked in voluntary or other centres.
The vast majority of staff (27,300) were on permanent contracts. There were 1,170 temporary staff covering sick leave, 900 temporary staff covering vacancies and 1,260 other temporary staff.
There were 1,450 full-time equivalent vacancies within the pre-school and childcare sector. Of these, 360 were posts working directly with children and managing other staff, 1,030 were posts working directly with children but with no management responsibility, and 60 were posts not working directly with children.
Approximately 28 per cent of vacancies were long-term (3 months or more). Vacancies were more likely to be long-term in the most deprived areas.
Approximately 42 per cent of vacancies in privately managed centres were long-term compared to 21 per cent in both Local Authority and voluntary run centres.
There were 870 centres with at least one vacancy (18 per cent of all centres). Centres in urban areas and centres
The most common reason reported for not being able to fill vacancies was "too few experienced applicants" (58 per cent of centres with at least one vacancy cited this as a reason). Other common reasons included "too few qualified applicants" (47 per cent) and "too few applicants" (42 per cent).
Centres in rural areas were more likely to report that "too few applicants", "too few experienced applicants" and "candidates unable to work hours needed" are problems in filling vacancies compared to centres in urban areas and small towns.
Centres in the least deprived areas were more likely to report that "can't afford wage demands" and "candidates unable to work hours needed" were problems in filling vacancies than centres in other areas.
Approximately 72 per cent of Local Authority managed centres with at least one vacancy reported that "too few experienced applicants" was a problem in filling vacancies, compared to 31 per cent of private centres and 53 per cent of voluntary run centres. Almost no privately managed centres reported that "Candidates unable to work hours needed", "Competition from other types of work" or "Cost of living in area is too high" were problems in filling vacancies.
There were 5,820 staff recruited by employers in the year to September 2005. Many of whom were recruited from within the childcare industry.
Approximately 4,970 staff left their employers in the year to September 2005. Approximately 42 per cent of staff who left their employer moved to another job within the childcare industry.
Approximately 8 per cent of staff who left a Local Authority managed centre in the year to September 2005 went to work in a privately run centre. In contrast, 30 per cent of staff who left a privately run centre went to work in a Local Authority centre.
PROFILE OF STAFF
The vast majority of staff working in pre-school education and childcare were female (98 per cent) and White (98 per cent). Approximately 15 per cent of the workforce were aged 50 years or older. In the Scottish workforce as a whole, 47 percent of staff were female, 98 percent were White and 26 per cent were aged 50 years or older.
Approximately 3,030 staff (10 per cent) reported having a disability or health problem lasting one year or more. 1 per cent of staff reported that they had a disability or health problem which affects the type and amount of work they can do. This compares to 7 per cent of staff in the whole Scottish workforce who have a disability or health problem that affects the type of work they do, and 5 per cent with a disability or health problem that affects the amount of work they do.
Forty-one per cent of staff reported that they have worked within the childcare industry for 10 years or more. A further 19 per cent had worked within the industry for more than 5 years.
Amongst those staff who have worked for their current employer for one year or less, 35 per cent previously worked for another childcare provider, 12 per cent worked outside of the childcare industry, 23 per cent were students and 14 per cent were previously looking after their family.
Eight per cent of staff who responded to the survey reported that they have other childcare work, 12 per cent report that they have other non-childcare work.
Approximately 45 per cent of staff work full-time, 51 per cent work part-time and 4 per cent unknown.
QUALIFICATIONS AND PAY
Approximately 80 per cent of the pre-school education and childcare workforce had a childcare relevant qualification. 68 per cent had a qualification at SVQ level 2 or higher, and 59 per cent had a qualification at SVQ level 3 or higher.
Of staff working directly with children only, 82 per cent had a childcare relevant qualification, 71 per cent had a qualification at SVQ level 2 or above, and 61 per cent had a qualification at SVQ level 3 or above.
Approximately 75 per cent of all staff working in voluntary centres had childcare relevant qualifications compared to 78 per cent in Local Authority centres and 80 per cent in private centres.
Of the 4,990 staff without any qualifications, 51 per cent were undertaking them. Of the 12,580 staff without qualifications at SVQ level 3 or above, 48 per cent were undertaking further training.
The median hourly pay of all staff was £6. There was a strong relationship between pay and length of time in the childcare industry with those who have worked for longer earning more.
There was also a strong relationship between childcare qualifications and hourly pay with staff qualified at SVQ level 1 or 2 earning on average £6 per hour, compared to £13 for those with a childcare relevant degree.
Staff who did not work directly with children earned more than staff who worked directly with children, and staff with management responsibility earned more than staff without management responsibility.
REVISED 2003 AND 2004 FIGURES
A methodological error was found to have occurred in the production of both the Pre-school and Childcare Workforce Bulletins 2003 and 2004 and those publications have since been withdrawn. Full details of the error are provided in background notes 11 to 13. Revised key estimates are presented in tables 2.1 to 2.5.
It was previously reported that there were 26,700 staff working in pre-school and childcare in 2003 and 28,150 in 2004. Revised estimates are slightly higher: in 2003 there were actually 29,270 staff working within pre-school and childcare, in 2004 there were 30,660.
It was previously estimated that there were 1,100 vacancies within the pre-school and childcare sector in 2003, and 1,240 in 2004. Revised estimates are slightly higher: in 2003 there were 1,350 full-time equivalent vacancies of which 45 per cent were long-term. In 2004 there were 1,250 full-time equivalent vacancies of which 41 per cent were long-term.
It was previously estimated that 67 per cent of staff had a childcare relevant qualification in 2003. The revised estimate is slightly higher at 68 per cent. The previous estimate for number of qualified staff in 2004 was 74 per cent, the revised estimate is exactly the same, 74 per cent.
Median hourly pay in both 2003 and 2004 was £6.