LONDON - Mr Rishi Sunak’s government will offer sign-on bonuses worth £1,000 (S$1,700) to entice people to take up childcare jobs, as it tries to tackle a chronic staff shortage that risks undermining the Prime Minister’s promise to offer more support for working families.

A national campaign across TV, radio and cinema began on Feb 1 to find workers for nurseries and childminders so they can provide more childcare places, the Department for Education said in an e-mailed statement.

Yet with two months to go until the British government’s offer of 15 hours of free childcare per week for most two-year-olds, campaigners warned that the move was too little, too late.

Nurseries say they may not be able to deliver the extra places due to staff shortages. 

“We’re clear that any suggestion that this campaign alone will be enough to drive up educator numbers in time to meet rising demand is ludicrous,” said Mr Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance education charity.

In the statement, the Department for Education said more than 100,000 children had so far been registered for the extra hours, “reflecting the strength of demand across the country”.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt’s surprise £4 billion announcement in March 2023 that Britain’s free childcare programme would be extended to most children between the ages of nine months and five years in England was aimed at helping women get back into the workforce.

It will be introduced in phases, starting with two-year-olds in April and moving to nine-month-olds from September.

The £1,000 sign-on bonus for new childcare workers will be available in a trial of 20 districts across Britain.

The Early Years Alliance said that while a bonus may encourage more people to join, it would do little to retain workers in the long term – pointing to high levels of staff turnover due to low pay.

Ms Bridget Phillipson, shadow education secretary for the opposition Labour Party, said in a statement: “This is a startling reminder that the Conservatives have offered a childcare pledge without a plan.

“Cheap bungs to new staff when existing workers are turning their back on this key industry will not magic up new places for parents.”

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: “Parents shouldn’t have to choose between a career and a family, and our expanded childcare offer is going to make sure of that.” BLOOMBERG