Workforce composition, qualifications and professional development in Montessori early childhood education and care settings in England.

Payler, Jane and Bennett, Stephanie (2020). Workforce composition, qualifications and professional development in Montessori early childhood education and care settings in England. Montessori St. Nicholas Charity and The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.

Abstract

In England, the early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce is largely characterised by a high proportion of young, female employees with lower than average qualification levels to comparable sectors, high staff turnover, poor pay, and restricted professional development opportunities, while carrying out demanding and responsible work. Within this context, the research reported here examined the workforce, professional development and qualifications of Montessori settings within the Montessori Schools Association (MSA) in England compared to the general ECEC sector in England. An online survey with a mix of closed and open text questions using the Qualtrics survey tool was administered through MSA from February - Summer 2020. A response rate of 22% was achieved with 77 responding settings. Key messages from findings were: Montessori settings reported well qualified, experienced staff and higher Ofsted ratings; nonetheless there were threats to maintaining qualification levels, difficulties in professional development and poor external recognition of Montessori qualifications; the future supply of trained Montessori workforce was insecure and currently has limited diversity; Montessori provision was more likely to be in areas of lower disadvantage and, within settings, higher qualified staff were most likely to be deployed with older children.

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