They once called us key workers,
And they said our roles were vital.
But suddenly our voice doesn’t matter,
They were quick to take our title.
They say “join teaching early years,
It’s a meaningful, rewarding career”.
But they take away with the other hand,
And for the future, we all fear.
At the moment early years,
Is getting pushed right off the rails.
Please know our country will crumble,
If our essential sector fails!
So what do we do when there’s nothing left,
So many are running on empty…
Trying to keep our settings alive,
Yet your advertising campaign’s got plenty.
Retention crisis, settings closing down,
How will we stop from sinking?!
Yet they reduce our ways to make ends meet,
We all scream “what were they thinking”?!
Changing goalposts, more admin,
Yet no increase in pay.
Soon new-borns will be forced in schools,
If they keep getting their way.
Despite the fact that research shows,
Through play, young children thrive.
Child-led, freedom, love and nature,
No – the classroom is the DFE drive.
“Self employed, well not anymore”,
The childminders all cry!
But no holiday pay, no benefits,
And no pension, we all sigh.
The nurseries need to pay their staff,
Funding is not enough!
“We are becoming unsustainable”,
But the government says it’s ‘tough’.
The parents need more childcare,
“Our jobs require us in”.
But settings are all closing down,
“No one can fit us in”.
Every single child needs quality,
Education, nurture and care.
But so many practitioners are leaving,
There will soon be no one there.
No, our job is not a 9-5,
We work more than a 10hr day.
We’ve built our provisions with time and love,
Yet now we have no say.
Despite love and passion,
These choices are stealing that drive,
Without change our essential sector,
Will never be able to survive.
©️ – Poem by Georgina Young – Guiding The Young Ones
Guiding The Young Ones 
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